EV range—brand-new 2021 Limited vs. 2020 XLE with 7,000 miles

Discussion in 'Prime Fuel Economy & EV Range' started by Gokhan, Nov 20, 2020.

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  1. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    @bico is correct. It is the sound of the Vehicle Proximity Notification System. The volume can be adjusted by a dealer or using Carista or Techstream. What strange is that the sound seems to be lauder only in Reverse, not as laud in Drive. Since the VPNS is located in the front of the vehicle, the 2020 manual cautions that "as the vehicle proximity notification system is installed on the front of the vehicle, it may be more difficult to hear from the rear of the vehicle compared to the front." Toyota might have changed the default volume of VPNS to be lauder when the gear is in Reverse for this reason.

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    #21 Salamander_King, Nov 30, 2020
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  2. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    Whew, thank you guys, that's a relief! It's very loud in reverse but I don't mind it. I'm glad everything is OK. I love this car!
     
    #22 Gokhan, Nov 30, 2020
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  3. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    I just checked the 2021 PP owner's manual and found that the 2021 manual does not list the Vehicle proximity notification system (volume of sound) customizable as it did in the 2020 and earlier PP. Toyota may really have changed this setting so that it can not be tinkered with by an operator anymore.
     
    #23 Salamander_King, Nov 30, 2020
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  4. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    That's a good thing!

    I really like the improved, more precise steering and TSS 2.0 update on the 2021. Perhaps the steering improvement was necessary in order for the lane-tracking assist in TSS 2.0 to work.

    I know you like the LE trim, but for me the BSM is a must after I've seen how well it works. It's like driving with a copilot and eliminates a lot of stress. I wish it were made standard on all trims as it is on the regular Prius (except L Eco).
     
    #24 Gokhan, Nov 30, 2020
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  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Yeah, there is a utility of having the third eye. I wouldn't mind having it for standard, but would not pay extra for it. For my driving, it serves a very little function most of the time for my driving is 99% on a rural road with only one lane in each direction. For now, adjusting the mirror to avoid any blind spot works fine for my occasional highway drives, as it did for the last 40 years of my driving.
     
    #25 Salamander_King, Nov 30, 2020
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  6. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    Yeah, you only need the BSM on a busy multilane road, which is basically every road in Southern California.
     
    #26 Gokhan, Nov 30, 2020
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  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Huh. I don't remember it being that loud in reverse as well. (It's your Vehicle Pedestrian Notification System, not the transmission).

    It's possible Toyota increased the volume while in reverse as it seems to be noticeable softer in Drive.
     
    #27 Tideland Prius, Dec 2, 2020
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  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Same. RCTA is more useful for me since I rarely drive into a spot (always back into a spot) so I have less practice backing out and it's nice to have a 3rd eye.

    But BSM is a "nice to have" for me but not necessary for me, even in city traffic. I have noticed it is a crowd favourite, however.
     
    #28 Tideland Prius, Dec 2, 2020
  9. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    I have never driven a car with RCTA, but it does sound I can use it even in my rural driving situation. Namely backing out of a parking spot in a crowded parking lot of a supermarket. But again, it is not something I must have and not willing to pay extra for it.
     
    #29 Salamander_King, Dec 2, 2020
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    On Toyotas, it's bundled with BSM because they both use the same radar unit mounted in the rear bumper. More advanced ones are called RCTB (B for braking so they actively brake to avoid possible collisions. The Camry ones will even show you the object on the MFD, overlaid on the backup camera screen - so yes you can see someone walk by and see a block of red shapes move across the screen as the person walks behind the car).
     
    #30 Tideland Prius, Dec 2, 2020
  11. David9962000

    David9962000 Member

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    I have never seen Vehicle Proximity setting in Carista,
     
    #31 David9962000, Dec 2, 2020
  12. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Now come to think of it, our Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid might have a function similar to RCTA. It emits a sound that warns the object too close to the rear sensor when backing up the car. Along with the Bird's eye view monitor, I found the system not very useful. It only warns when the car is very close to an object. I don't think it will warn me in advance enough to let me react to the cross-traffic that is coming my way when I am backing up.
     
    #32 Salamander_King, Dec 2, 2020
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Backup sensors are different from RCTA. Backup sensors just warn there's an object immediately behind the vehicle, which is what your Pathfinder Hybrid has.

    RCTA warns of vehicles perpendicular to your travel (which backup sensors can't detect). They also have longer range (to detect approaching cross traffic) than the sonar sensors.

    (And just to confuse you even more), Toyota has Intelligent Clearance Sonar which are backup and clearance sonars with intelligence lol. Basically they can auto-brake if they sense you're going to collide with something (front or rear) as well as display the usual audible and visual warnings. They can also guess the proximity of side objects using the side mounted sensors (e.g. if you pass a concrete pillar or parked vehicle) so when you turn, it can warn if it thinks your turn is too sharp and may collide with the object you've just passed.
     
    #33 Tideland Prius, Dec 2, 2020
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  14. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    Tonight was pretty cold for Southern California but I still managed to get about 30.5 miles.

    I think I've figured it out. It seems to be the heater. I set it to 78 °F, and it quickly drains the battery even when the car is idling, especially if you open and close the doors. I should get over 35 miles in warm weather as usual. I could also try setting the heater to 68 °F and see what happens.
     
    #34 Gokhan, Dec 6, 2020
  15. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yup. Check your A/C Load Ratio. It should be fairly high if your heater setting was 78°F.

    68°F will definitely make a difference (and you'll see your A/C Load Ratio drop).
     
    #35 Tideland Prius, Dec 6, 2020
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  16. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Wow!! It's WAY louder than in my '17 Prime with it set to its highest. Toyota must have changed something there.

    As for the range, mine drops quite a bit a around 50F like other here have reported. I very rarely use cabin heat but sometimes it will come on when I start up on a "chilly" morning after driving the day before with it on auto on a hot day. I usually don't notice until I've gone a few miles.
     
    #36 jerrymildred, Dec 6, 2020
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  17. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    It looks like my HV mpg is slowly increasing as the engine being broken in. I'm now getting about 78 mpg in mixed driving after accounting for the battery usage (~ 84 mpg with about 3.5% fall in SOC during a 16.5-mile HV driving). It looks like I may even hit the magic 80 mpg with a little bit more break-in. I have been very careful in breaking in this car, never going above 60–65 mph and keeping under 55 mph when possible. I've also set the HVAC @ 68 °F now, which is helping.

    I will see if the new HVAC setting has improved the EV range.

    I really like the steering of this car over the 2020 Prius Prime XLE. I don't know if it is because of the Dunlop tires over the Toyo tires or something else has improved. In any case I really like the Dunlop tires. Strangely sometimes it feels like the car is driving itself—I don't know if the new TSS 2.0 has anything to do with it.

    I really, really like my 2021 Prius Prime Limited Blue Magnetism—both how it drives and feels and the amazing color!
     
    #37 Gokhan, Dec 10, 2020
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2020
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  18. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    I swear my car is driving itself! LOL

    Whenever I'm entering a fork, the car seems to be automatically steering into the fork when it grazes a lane marking, which is actually very nice! TSS 2.0 seems to be a significant improvement over TSS 1.0, which was next to nothing. Imagine how TSS 3.0 will be. On paper the 2020 Prius Prime and 2021 Prius Prime are almost the same car, but when you drive both for a while, the 2021 Prius Prime feels much, much better.

    I hit 81 mpg in HV driving tonight (85 mpg before accounting for 2% battery use in 17 miles). The goal is 85 mpg after accounting for battery use when the break-in is complete.
     
    #38 Gokhan, Dec 11, 2020
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  19. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    It was the heater that decreased the EV range by about 20%!

    Tonight with the ambient temperature at 57 °F, I set the HVAC at 64–68 °F. My round-trip EV range for the 2021 Prius Prime Limited was 38 miles, which is the same as the best I ever got with my 2020 Prius Prime XLE in warm weather and with A/C off.

    I'll see if I'll be able to hit the magic 40 miles round-trip EV range after a little bit more battery self-calibration, which has also been helping a little, and setting the HVAC at 64 °F for the whole round trip.

    The moral of the story: The heater is a huge EV-range robber. When the heater is on, the SOC seems to drop by about 1% every minute at idle.
     
    #39 Gokhan, Dec 13, 2020
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  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yup. Found that out pretty quickly lol

    But keep in mind, we have a very efficient heater - a vapour-injected heat pump. Imagine the range hit on those EVs or PHEVs without a heat pump.
     
    #40 Tideland Prius, Dec 13, 2020
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