We are getting our PP in the next couple of months, EV range question...

I have a town 12km away (and with quite a bit of elevation change), and I enjoy driving back and forth in EV mode. I can go about 2-3 trips on one charge.

If you intend to go visit down, run errands and drive back and charge I see no reason to use HV mode. Why not experiment a bit and see what works for you?

 

On EV mode with other variables being equal, higher speed will always consume more energy than slower speed. Depending on how much in-town drive you plan to do before and after the highway drive, you can switch to HV mode shortly before getting on the highway. But if your total distance of travel is less than the total EV range before the next charging, then you can just keep in EV mode all the way.

 

Max speed in EV mode is 135km/h or 84mph

I have not tested that out yet.

 

@kojack the acronym “PP” is traditionally for Plug-In Prius, Toyota’s moniker for 2012~2015 Prius with plug-in. It’s in fact Prius Prime you’re getting?

 

I thought PP was Prius Prime
and
PiP was Plug in Prius

However I was not paying too much attention to the Plug in, before the Prime came out
and I didnt pay too much attention in high school

 

You might have me there.

 

I'm jealous...tried for over a month to get my hands on a Prius Prime but ALL hybrids have been pretty scarce here in the Rockies since gas prices have skyrocketed. I wasn't even able to pre-order one, but was able to pre-order an AWD but I love her, so far....she's the Pearl white and the wife named her Mini Pearl.

 

I'd go EV all the way. That 5km is so short it's not worth starting the ICE. It would barely get warmed up. Running that speed for that distance would use about 10% of your EV range if you're driving a Prime like you should.

 

It all depends on how much of driving OP is going to do off Hwy before and after the highway. And also it depends on how often the car is going to be charged. Yeah, if the total driving distance is less than 25miles (~40km), then by all means, keep the car in EV mode all the way. OP said "max EV when driving in town" but did not state the distance he would be driving in town.

 

Excellent point. If the day is going to be 40-50 miles w/o charging, then warming the ICE on the highway might be a good thing. But, if you go back to EV after just 5 km and then toodle around town for a couple hours until the EV is used up, the ICE will be cold again by then.

 

I’ve had my Prius Prime since April 2018. Have almost 60k on it. I keep it real simple. Daily commute is 70 miles round trip. I can get around 30miles per charge now (down from about 35 when new). I just keep it in EV until it runs out. My commute is more efficient going to work than coming home. I gas up once a month. So less than $30 per month in fuel. However you want to use the car, it’s super efficient. My hope is the next gen just ups the all ev range. 50-80 miles ev would be a dream bc since I can charge at work, would never need to turn on gas engine. One can dream. PS, although the car is allegedly faster in hybrid mode, it sure seems quicker in EV, for what it’s worth. Happy driving!

 

FYI - 2022 Nissan Leafs have dropped in price and have some low lease offers also - if you don't ever need the longer range of a hybrid. Pricing is competitive with Primes now, I believe.
We love the high mpg our Prime gets and can still nearly all local stuff on EV.

 

The Leaf is a disaster of a car. I know. I sold my 2018 Prime and bought a 2020 Leaf S plus. It was so annoying that I sold it 5 months later.

If you are accustomed to Toyotas, owning a Nissan will be a shock to you. Everything, and I mean everything, about the car is chintzy and cheap. The body panels don't even align evenly ... in a way that's visible from a distance. The backup camera is so blurry that you can't distinguish a shadow from a small animal or read 2-inch text (like NO PARKING). The HVAC system is so stupid in so many ways, but the most annoying to me was that the fan never stayed one speed. The fan varied speeds second to second, as if a child were playing with the fan speed knob. Another annoying aspect was that when the A/C was on, it was on. There was no setting the temperature to 75 and having 75 degree air blowing out. You set it to 75 and 50 degree air blows out until the cabin is 75 and then the compressor shuts off. Rinse, lather, repeat. Driving in the heat meant you were freezing then hot, freezing then hot. The system that detects vehicles in your blind spots would routinely indicate no vehicle when there was clearly a vehicle. The system to detect drifting out of lanes was triggered by everything: different shades of asphalt, tar lines, power line shadows, debris on the road, etc. The radio would always turn on when you started the car, even if it was off when you turned off the car. The dealer was wholly unmoved, reporting simply that my car was the same as the other Leafs on the lot. I'll just stop there.

I would recommend renting one for a week or two and driving it a lot before buying one.

 

I looked up "Grand Falls Windsor". It's a small town, only 2 - 1/2 miles from end to end. I'd keep it in EV for that first hour of driving around. Then when the ICE kicks in it will have a better chance of warming up all the way and the cycling on and off as designed.

One of the reasons that I went for a PHEV was the fact that I often do short errands with less than 5 minutes each way. My old Prius would start the ICE as soon as I turned it on and it would run while I sat at the stop sign and would still be running while I was at the next two traffic lights. The result was that the first 5 minutes of every trip would give me about 30 MPG. With the Prius Prime I stay in electric mode for virtually all my local driving.

 

Max speed overall (my 2020 PP) is 105MPH.. but it is governed. Meaning, there’s a speed limiter. It was climbing steadily (privately owned track ) and just stops at 105mph, even with the throttle at the floor. FWIW.

 

Yes, the engine and both motor/generators each have a redline, and the computers won't let you exceed them. You are not out of power, when you reach the rev limiter.

(My understanding of why the engine has to turn on over 84 MPH is that motor/generator1 would hit redline, so it has to spin the engine to avoid that)