By drawing a ton of energy from the battery? Not that difficult but obviously significantly cuts into your EV range.
OK, that makes sense. I remember that Toyota announced a joint effort with Tesla. The real question is does it have the Tesla's pickup - or is it slower than the normal vehicle - just as the PiP is slower than a normal Gen 3 Prius.
I watched a video review. I does have good pickup and immediate power but not as good as a Tesla. The Tesla model s is as fast as a M5. 2013 Toyota RAV4 EV Test Drive and Review - Electric and Effective - Forbes
Also, since when is pip slower? If anything, it's faster, because the battery can provide more assist to the engine.
I think PiP is 0.5 sec slower (0-60) due to additional weight. The total system power is rated the same 134hp.
I would be very surprised if it was slower, but I haven't driven a PiP. This summer I will though. Driving under an electric drive train is an incredible experience. I believe the superior driving experience is what will bring EVs to the masses. Your market will capture those that want to avoid using gasoline as the hybrids do, but you add to that the people that just want a more enjoyable driving experience.
Here are links from C&D. 2010 Prius (9.8 sec) and 2012 PiP Prototype (11.0 sec). They don't have the review of production PiP (lighter than prototype). Motorweek has the production PiP review and it recorded (10.7 sec). The figures may not be comparable but you get the drift. Check out the other reviews if you want. From the feel of it, PiP feels more powerful and faster than Gen2 Prius I replaced.
Toyota 0-60 Times & Toyota Quarter Mile Times | New Toyota Camry, 2013 Corolla LE, Prius 0-60, TRD Tundra, Supra Turbo and 2012 Toyota RAV4 0 to 60 stats! Toyota Prius Hybrid Car 0 to 60 mph and Quarter Mile Times 2001 Toyota Prius Hybrid 0-60 mph 12.9 Quarter Mile 19.0 2004 Toyota Prius Hybrid 0-60 mph 10.1 2007 Toyota Prius Touring Edition Hybrid 0-60 mph 9.9 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid 0-60 mph 9.7 2011 Toyota Prius Hybrid 0-60 mph 9.7 Quarter Mile 17.1 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid 0-60 mph 10.9 Quarter Mile 18.5 2012 Toyota Prius V 0-60 mph 10.2 Quarter Mile 17.8 2013 Toyota Prius 0-60 mph To Be Released
shouldn't a PiP in EV w/fully charged battery have faster 0-60 than one without charge left (in which case should be close or a bit slower than Prius)? unfortunately, haven't seen any 0-60 data that explicitly mentions whether battery was charged.
When in EV-BOOST mode, acceleration is way smoother than with the regular Prius. The ability for the electricity to hold engine RPM that low even when accelerating onto a highway is really nice. As for the 0-60 times, how often are drivers actually in need of dropping the pedal to the floor like that? Something like 45-70 times would be more realistic.
I have one more excuse to go to a racetrack I guess. You'd also want to make sure you run these tests with a warm engine so that the ECU isn't artificially keeping RPMs low.
Went over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, on I 80 to Reno. Started out with 100 EV and 0 HV percentage usage. About 3/4 of the way back I got distracted by the traffic and lost all my EV charge. However the HV portion stayed up nicely and I ended up with 73 mpg average for about 240 miles. No Complaints. As usual, 20 mpg improvement over my 2005.
0-30 is really what matters to most people, especially in traffic. I'd love to see numbers for that, because the car feels really quick in that range to me.
The acceleration is definitely adequate at any mode and any (reasonable) speed. I have never had the car fail me. I'm not sure that any posted acceleration rates would provide any more confidence than the car itself, already does.
I am wondering what happens to the EV Experience at exactly 992RPM. Here's why: When I'm coasting down a hill, there are several ways I can do it. 1) I can coast without touching the "gas" pedal and regenerate. RPM will generally go to 960 with MPG somewhere in the 1000–1200 range. 2) I can coast and press the "gas" pedal just enough to keep the car in a controlled coast - not in the regen region, not in the running region, but right on the "line". RPM varies between 960 and 1100 and MPG generally ranges between 2000 and 3000. 3) I can press the "gas" pedal just enough to keep the car in a state where the MPG goes to 9999, and the RPM goes to 992. That generally corresponds to letting the car move into the running region just a little - not right on the line. Apparently the engine turns at 992 RPM without spark or gas use, hence the 9999MPG. When ICE is running, 960 RPM in coast mode still uses a tiny bit of gasoline.
My first car was a 12 year-old VW Bus -- a 1971. It had an air-cooled engine. A fan blew air over the boxes which covered the exhaust pipe. This heated air was blown by this weak fan through a tube to the front of the car, where it came out as cabin "heat." It was a very, very cold car. It was a cool car, but it was very cold. Prius with seat heater only is far warmer.