Consumer Reports review and ratings of Gen 5 Prius—with side-by-side comparison to Gen 4

Well then simply add 12V battery charging (as required) to this list of reasons for the EVSE to be ON.
As you said, other 'Plug Ins' do it.

Sounds like a simple SW update, and that should be Free since the original set up is ,,, strange, for no good reason I can think of.

This sounds like another example of 'Questionable SW Design'.

Have the Toyota Engineers never heard of leaving your car parked at the Airport, plugged into an L2, for a week's vacation?

I want my HV battery pack coddled in the winter. I don't care if I have to pay a Buck-and-a-Half more for the electricity to do that.

Sounds like a simple SW update, and that should be Free since the original set up is ,,, strange, for no good reason I can think of.

Wait... Are we saying that you should never plug in your Prime at the airport if you are leaving for a week or so of Vaca? Regardless of the season? No driving home as an EV?

This whole subject seems so strange. How many 12V batteries have permanently died due to this 'issue'?

 

Good Loadie, How is this an exceptable design?

I can see new owners not knowing this little tid bit of information and then what? They have a destroyed 12V battery.
Lead Acid batteries quickly deteriorate if left discharged.

 

I think a lot of people also get things like dashcams with parking mode which keeps the camera active, leave phantom draw plugged in, etc.

What really should be a thing is some sort of 12V health check and ability to keep it at least somewhat topped off when plugged in. Or, its entirely possible there's a bad batch of 12V out there that are being significantly impacted by the phantom draw and systems checks moreso than they should. Anyone with this issue should report it Toyota and hopefully it flags in their system and they send out a TSB or software update or something.

Heck, for all we know the Toyota app is somehow failing to disconnect and the car is running some subsystem check in that's never ending on the 12v draw similar to how a light would draw down in an older car. Or someone doesn't lock their car correctly, or close a door and there's actually a light on all night. etc.

I drive nearly daily but there have been a handful of 36 hours left plugged in periods since I got the car a month ago and haven't had a single 12V issue.

 

You play ice hockey and notice you need more agility or are getting old at 50 getting in to the new version. Honest review.

Maybe the 12 volt issue, seen since the first Prius, could be solved with a battery monitor in the gauge cluster, and a switch that turns on 12 v charging from the traction battery. If the TB has enough charge, or raise the buffer so it always does.

 

Even at 35, coming from a toyota matrix which is barely half an inch more car clearance I notice the car feels much lower because of the seat position and lower roof line too.

But its a small price to pay for the absolute killer value the car provides as a commuter vehicle - especially the prius prime.

Heck the trunk space is smaller in the prime, but only ever so slightly smaller than the matrix and we're fine with it with a toddler and an infant around town. If they get into hockey, it'll be fine for one set of gear at a time I'm sure. But we're not gonna be able to haul multiple kids like some other parents and for longer road trips as the kids get older we will likely need to get roof racks and a carrying solution there too to help with luggage.

But, given its going to spend 80% of its time taking my shift working wife on 60km daily round trip commutes to the hospital, and groceries/in town jaunts the other 20% of the time, we didn't exactly prioritize space over economy.

If we need a bigger car for things like sports that our kids get into when they're older and other such things, we'll grab a used hybrid to serve as a backup/secondary car for that. The price premium on a rav4prime for example is wild and it doesn't provide *that* much more space in terms of hauling groceries that can't be accommodated by just having me take out one of the kids seats and putting the 2/3 side down in the back and doing the big costco diapers/wipes/tissue/toilet/paper towel run on my own for bulk savings on those things - or just taking the matrix while it still lives with all the seats down and leaving the prius behind.

 

Try reading it aloud. Seriously, it makes more sense, when you see how auto-dictate mistook his words. Concur though, it's a tough, rambling slog, and I usually pass.

I was very impressed by the Matrix hatch, at least the older gen I saw; the back seats flipped down totally flat, and the floor was all vinyl with longitudinal runners, a veritable cargo bay.

I would kill for a decent hybrid of that ilk, with ergonomic heat/vent dials and sliders you could use without driving off the road.

 

to be fair, I didn't say I was very GOOD at ice hockey. LOL