Hello everyone. I owned a 2019 Prius and loved it. Then a tree fell on it. That was fun. Ended up going 2020 Honda Insight, and while I like the car, I like the Prius more overall. I am considering a Prime, as we need another car. Current driving situation: I live in Oklahoma and drive about 50 miles one way to work. The main highway I drive on is hilly. I do get on the turnpike for a short stint, and it is 80mph for part of it and slows to 75mph closer to town. Sometimes, I need to go to other cities, and so I could drive 150+ miles in a single day. It is usually just to and from my main office site and is ~100 miles a day. We do plan on moving to the city where my office is eventually, but this is realistically at least a year away. I figure once we move, I would be able to drive in EV mode a lot more, if not most of the time. Questions: I start my drive in the morning, run out of EV only battery usage 1/3 - 1/2 the way to work (estimating), and then it kicks in to Hybrid mode. Not sure if I can charge at work yet, but assuming no, then I drive home and it is Hybrid mode. I assume this is OK and as long as I have gas in the car, I can just keep driving? Seems like a stupid question now that I read it back, but still want to ask. We do occasionally take trips and go to Dallas (for example). This is about a 4-5 hours of a drive. I assume, that we can just drive like normal and fill up when we need to? Then just charge when we can? Any issues if you are not able to charge/plug-in for (example) a week? I assume it will just be like driving a normal hybrid at that point? My previous Prius showed I was getting 50-55 mpg. I don't think I ever saw it below 50 mpg at time of needing to fill up. I am referring to the stat on the dash. Are the Prime's just as good I assume? I know what the sticker says, but want to know what real people get/think. My Insight does not get what the sticker stated. If driving a Prime is just like driving a Prius (non-Prime) when it comes to hybrid mode, then why go with anything other than the Prime? The added benefit of being able to charge and run on battery only at times would just be a plus. I am only taking into consideration the MPG here, and nothing else. I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions.
Another question I forgot to ask: I do not have a garage or covered parking. Nor do I have an outlet close by. I would need to use a good extension cord to plug in the charging cable. So first, is it OK to plug in the charger in the open elements? And, Can I use an extension cord? If so, what gauge should I go with and what would be a maximum length? I am sure there are more variables to this question and I would have to figure out where I would actually plug into to get a length, but lets just go with 20 feet.
Yes, you can drive the Prime without charging it like the regular Prius. People do get better fuel economy that way than seen in the Prius. The Prime loses cargo space; the cargo floor is a few inches higher than the bumper. Compared to the Prius L Eco, which doesn't have a spare tire like the Prime, the lost space is 6 to 7 cubic feet. For longest battery life, it is best to charge it up sometimes as hybrid only use has the pack below the charge point that is best for lifespan. I wouldn't worry about it too much though if you are likely going to be in a position of daily charging in a year or so. By longest lifespan, I mean getting it to last well past 10 years. Plenty of people just plug the EVSE(charger) into an outdoor outlet. You just need to make sure that the outlet's circuit isn't also being used for something else to avoid tripping the breaker. I believe you can set the charge rate to a lower amperage if tripping is an issue. Personally, I'd be more comfortable using an outlet that has a weather shield/cover in place; they are probably required with new construction. The manual says no to extension cords. People do use them. The car can pull 12 amps when charging, so a cord for Christmas lights won't do. You'll need something used for power tools, and the longer the distance, the heavier the gauge needed. Do you have a driveway or dedicated parking spot. Better to install an outlet closer to the car than using an extension cable. I don't know how long the EVSE with the car is, but the aftermarket ones are mostly 25 feet.
Some folks in California buy the Prime for the car pool lane access and never charge it. They do fine. Discuss with work if they want you charging at work. They may or may not be happy. I would not use an extension cord but if you do: You want a copper cord 10 gauge cable like Make sure your outlet is GFCI protected, the plug for the car is very safe, but the normal plugs at each end of the extension cord are no safer than any North American plug. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMA_connector#Additional_safety_features One solution would be to enclose the ends of the extension cord.
At freeway speeds its better to use the gas side of this car, then switch to pure electric in the city part of your drive, will have a pretty zippy drive on pure e - it really is a different car on battery power - you can even charge the battery while on the freeway - don't know about that as have never done it and also think trading gas for electric might not be a good trade. Now, can you find one - that is the real question....
Thank you for all the comments, I appreciate it. I need to see about how I could charge it at home. I am sure I can figure something out. I would rather not use an extension cord, as it does not seem like a good idea, but I wanted to ask. Knowing that longer charging cables are available is good to know. From what I am seen in response, it sounds like you can switch between EV and Hybrid mode easily and on the fly, so I am assuming there is just a button? I think I remember my previous Prius, and my current Insight, have different mode buttons. Is that all it is in the Prime? So I could drive to work on Hybrid and when I get into the city, I can just switch to EV mode? If so, that is pretty cool. Yes, finding one will be an issue. I think we planned on just ordering one and waiting for it. From what I have seen from looking online, it is much cheaper to do that right now anyways. Even cheaper than used Primes. Still need to do some more looking, but that seems to be the case.
I have written about my driving habits. I drive 3 to 20 miles daily, with a 1000 mile trip once or twice a month. The car handles it quite well. It gets great mileage, although the mileage is best when you drive around the speed limit. I make the 500 miles each way with gas to spare. I leave it in auto select mode virtually all of the time. It selects HV mode when it's appropriate, and EV mode when you have enough charge to use it. I like the feeling of running in stealth mode as I leave the house. It's smooth and predictable. ** To all of the original questions, your understanding is correct. ** In the 1960's it was not uncommon to have cars that stumbled if the engine was cold. This made it an adventure to cross a busy road or intersection.
Yes Yes, the hybrid system is designed to use the engine when the traction battery reserve is depleted. Yes You never need to plug in to charge the battery just to ensure that the vehicle can continue to operate. You can plug in when/if you want. None. I’ve been in situations where I could/did not charge for a month. The car operated like a hybrid. For reference, the EPA rating is 55 mpg city, 53 mpg highway. This is slightly better than the Gen 4 and nearly as efficient as Gen 4 Eco. My hybrid-only fuel economy overall is just over 60 mpg. The Prius and the Insight also drive differently. There can be more variables, so, this is hard to tell. Used Prius or Prius c (which I drove for 4 years) is much cheaper. Prius c fits better in tight spaces. (I personally miss having the moonroof, which my c had.) To the elements, Yes, and I also do not have a garage and my prime stays outside 24/7. I’ve charged my prime (L1) in it all here in Maine, well, mostly between 7F and 85F, in sun and in snow, in wind and in rain, when it’s nice, and when there is ice. I used the cable that came with the prime, and I can charge in all of these conditions. Skipping since I do not charge with an extension cord.
We routinely get 60+ MPG in ICE mode. On a recent 700 mile (round) trip we averaged 64 MPG at 65-70 mph, not even using EV mode at all (keeping it in reserve in case Gas Buddy APP found a cheap station a tad further than our gas tank would carry us). Didn't need gas until we were almost back home... love it!
as much as I enjoy my prime I don’t think your current driving pattern would make it cost-effective unless you could buy one with a tax subsidy. You would probably save a few thousand dollars in gas over the service life of the vehicle but would end up losing some of your cargo capacity. If you could charge at work that might change the calculation a bit. It’s real good for me because I often do some errands or take a little trip then spend some time at home to recharge and then maybe someone else in the family takes the car so I am able to often get over 1000 miles on a 9 gallon tank of fuel but in your case your extended drives will end up being mostly in hybrid mode which will be not much different from a normal Prius
John, I don't think you have enough data to make your opening statement with any certainty. The total cost of ownership relies on so much more than just the purchase price and the cost of gas. I don't think that there is a monetary value to be assigned to "losing some cargo capacity" as mentioned in the second sentence. That makes the assumption that the OP currently has a car (which he does not) with greater cargo area and that he carries cargo for a living. When you calculate the total cost of ownership you have to include the purchase price + operating costs (gas and electric) + foreseeable repairs/maintenance. Then you deduct the sale cost, the incentives, the rebates and the freebies. This last part is often ignored when people are looking at new cars. A car that depreciates a lot is often a lot more expensive to own than one that keeps it's value.
