Good evening, Prospective Prius buyer here. I'm gathering information and researching to see if this is the right fit for me. Current vehicle is a 2007 Honda Accord with very high mileage and needs to be replaced soon. Looking at getting a 2016 Prius to save on fuel, however if I'm barking up the wrong tree I'll simply pick up another conventional ICE vehicle. I live in Ontario which means cold climate for half of the year. My commute is 100 highway miles round-trip per day at 70mph, rolling hills with maybe 5% stop and go traffic. Question surrounds how much the battery/electric motor would assist the ICE in this scenario; Would I be right in assuming ICE keeps the battery topped off and electric assists on the rolling hills at this speed? Or would it be running 100% ICE? I'm here to get educated and look forward to constructive feedback. Cheers!
Minnesota former Prius owner here... of a 2001, 2004, 2010, 2012 PHV, 2017 Prime... then got a bZ4X. My wife still has here 2017 Prime. Anywho, lots of cold temp and long trip experience. The system will basically always have the engine on at 70 mph, but you'll be surprised how much assist from that battery charge & draw that results. The gas-engine simply won't run as hard. Heck, our trips through South Dakota at 80 mph would hit 50 MPG under ideal conditions. A conventional ICE cannot deliver that.
