exGen3 owner, now 2 days with his new Gen4...WOW!

Parallel parked yesterday and....


"Funny" thing was then to drive out IPA refused to do so because it said "too narrow"...
Still I find it parks a tad too much away from the curb...
With the backup camera I came out fine. It was really really tight though!

 

There are similar rules here too - essentially you cannot park in the middle of the road and "popping" out of the line of cars.
I wish IPA would park more closer to the curb. I think I am doing something wrong before starting the maneuver. Maybe I am too close/far from the car in front of the spot.

As for "clipping" mine, I agree and were I in Italy I would never park so tight - bumping others when going out or parking in is a bad italian habit. In Germany, Munich in particular, you touch anybody's car, you are in for some waste of time and possible trouble if you leave.
Essentially if you touch another car and make even the slightest damage, you have to wait for the owner to come back, I think up to 1hr, and then you need to call the police to make sure you were not the cause of the damage (they will make measurements to see if the damage is corrisponding to any damage you might have or size and position of your bumpers). In case you are not, they will file a report so that the other owner cannot file a complaint against you.
Simply leaving with a note, will land you quickly in front of a judge. It is essentially fleeing the scene of an accident.
It is theoretically the same in Italy, but police doesn't come if you call and insurances don't bother with simple scratches on bumpers. Also because it would be extremely expensive.

 

Here it seems the police tends to have a lot more time on their hands than elsewhere (compared to the rest of Germany too!).
Still the above means that in general, you never get scratched or bumped by anybody.

 

That sound like Italy...
I don't know what force it is required to damage the parking pawl - I have noticed it does have some leeway.

 

So, now after about 3 weeks of owning my Gen4 and a highway trip, I am even more confused by the HSD. Several things about that and some other in no particular order:

• the ICE now starts almost always, like Gen3, for warm-up regardless of battery charge - overall temps didn't change much (it is not 0C now - always around 20-24C when I turn on my car)
• it is the first time I ever hear on a Prius the battery fan going - during my trip back from Stuttgart, with 32C external temp, 22C internal AC temp, the battery fan was clearly audible behind me
• it seems the HSD favors ICE braking when the battery has 6 bars, rather than charging it further while in PWR mode
• there is quite some road noise when going faster than 140km/h (GPS) - almost too much
• the engine is so quiet, that you cannot really hear it as road noise is now become prevalent
• it seems that the MG2 is pushing more in acceleration from a full stop and at mid-low speeds, than in Gen3 - otherwise said, in Gen3 accelerating with a full HSI bar, yielded almost always a new bar in the battery charge. In Gen4, never - as it seems all current generated by the ICE is used by MG2 rather than saved in the battery - whereas it seems Gen3 was not able to use it efficiently anymore
• the battery charges in moments when I least expect it - I drive like a Gen3 in traffic, the battery goes down to 2-3 bars and stays there more or less my entire commute; I don't look at the battery and accelerate and drive without paying too much attention, and there you go, one extra bar is in the battery - where did it come from?? I think regen is the culprit here - very slow braking generates far more usable current that can be saved, as doing a full HSI bar acceleration where the current is not saved, but used immediately so that the ICE runs at a lower more efficient rpm as in Gen3 and consume therefore less; Gen4 was designed to avoid the ICE racing, and the new MG2 and higher efficiency battery and power electronics clearly allow that
• sometimes I distinctively feel the ICE is running, at mid-low speeds, but the EV light is on...
• I have not a clue how one could possibly reach the EU fuel consumption rating of 3.3L/100km // 71mpg for my model, I do reach and beat the EPA ratings though. In Gen3 I could reach and beat the EU ratings (4L/100km // 59mpg) quite easily. I don't see that happening with the Gen4. A 2.xL/100km (78+mpg) not an option, I think.
• at 150km/h // 93mph or more, the car is very stable and it has quite some breath left - I am waiting to reach the recommended 1600km // 1000mi break-in limit, to give it a spin at higher and max speeds (I was already concerned to have tarnished my baby by driving it so fast during break-in period...)
• BTW - going to Stuttgart this weekend at ~30C//85F both ways I consumed:

1. highway part to Stuttgart: 220km // 136mi @ 6,0L/100km // 39mpg avg speed 122km/h // 76mph 3% EV (what a surprise )
2. city part to get out of Munich: 22km // 13mi @ 3.5L/100km // 67mpg avg speed 26km/h // 16mph 62% EV
3.combined Munich --> Stuttgart 242km // 149mi @ 5.5L/100km // 43mpg avg speed 77km/h // 48mph 13% EV
4. trip back Stuttgart --> Munich 223km // 138mi @ 5,0L/100km // 47mpg avg speed 109km/h // 68mph 5% EV
5. Gen3 trip 1 245km // 152mi @ 6,1L/100km // 39mpg avg speed 99km/h // 61mph
6. Gen3 trip 2 234km // 145mi @ 7,0L/100km // 33mpg avg speed 92km/h // 57mph
7. Gen3 trip 3 229km // 142mi @ 5,5L/100km // 43mpg avg speed 96km/h // 60mph

This means, excluding the city part 2. mentioned above, that the Gen4 has consumed on average 15-20% less going 15-20% faster... Particularly impressive is the 1. vs 5. - same fuel consumption but 23% higher average speed...!

 

Regarding warm-up let's see if it changes again. The first week was totally random, the second week was the total opposite of Gen3 - starting when battery was full, not starting in the morning when battery also at 2 bars... Now it seems to start each time... It seems to me all over the place
Power Mode - too fast and too little modulation possible for city traffic - I use it only on the highway (as in Gen3). Normal mode for suburban.
I have noticed that when I change mode the HVAC remains in ECO - is that how it should be?
Clearly regen is way more efficient and effective as in Gen3 - it needs further investigation. So much so more efficient, that it seems that Gen4 will prefer ICE braking to MG2 braking it seems, in certain situations I have noticed - but not yet managed to recreate specifically.
I was also surprised the battery fan would start and be so "loud" - I never heard it on the Gen3 ever. And I have driven at more than 31C and faster than what I did - not considering that the battery is practically unused in highway driving (or is it?).

PS: I don't remember if I already mentioned it, but my first full tank gave an MFD error of 0%..... waiting for the next one sometime next week to see what the error will be. Likely at the same gas station, so I would get the same gas pump error (or theft depending on the point of view )

 

The dealer gave me the car with only 5L of fuel left. So my very first fuel up was full and I noted the first shut off, and the third as I usually do. (typically there is about 1L difference between first and third shut off). When I refuelled, I did the same. And got essentially 0% MFD error.... let's see what happens with my 3rd tank, i.e. second chance to check the MFD vs reality fuel consumption....

 

So, today in my commute to work I tried to focus more, as much as one can do it in city traffic, to regen and in the end with chilly 13C // 55F, I managed to get the same fuel consumption as yesterday at 18C // 64F (difference in temp that for the Gen3 will make a visible difference) on same route, same average speed, same EV% achieved. AC set at 20C // 68F. Sometimes doing good regen does yield an extra bar. Sometimes it doesn't. But then you look again after you finished braking and start your next run to the next red traffic light and the extra bar is there. A bit puzzling.

Clear also is that if you accelerate with full HSI, the battery will be charged. If you accelerate more gently (which is already faster btw as in Gen3), it is clear that the HSD decides to use the electricity generate and not to store. And rightly so, because the MG2 can take it.

Also really puzzling - turn on the car, 3 bars, cold. The ICE couldn't care less to start.... it eventually did after several hundred meters and a good 2 mins, I finally accelerated to more than 30km/h or so. And it wasn't the speed the culprit, it was the acceleration going over the mid-mark on the HSI...

When the ICE started the warm-up sequence (lasted maybe 1 min and the while going it turned off! on Gen3 it would go on until the first full stop....!) and I started going on a ramp at about 50km/h, it was clear that MG2 was doing all the work (or a good chunk of it), as the ICE stayed at a nice fixed rpm. On Gen3 one could hear clearly that in warm-up at more than 40km/h the ICE was forced to change "register" and RPM to push the car. That is not the case in Gen4.

Clear is that the new more efficient power electronics, better NiMH and better efficiency of the motors has allowed the Toyota engineers much room to play around with.

I can even keep 50-60km/h on a ramp in EV mode with only 4 bars (or was it 3?), whereas the Gen3 was already turning on the ICE.......!

BTW:

• fuel light came up yesterday at 72km // 44mi DTE - I didn't hear and "ding" which is not the best
• when the light came up, my tank showed about 695km // 432mi @ 5L/100km // 47mpg (34,75L // 9.18gal used), which means the tank still has about 8,25L // 2.179gal (and not 6.4L // 1.691gal as the user manual says it should still have, when the fuel light goes on). If this is all confirmed by other drivers and my next tanks, the system is once again too conservative and even does not follow what is on the user's manual. Assuming instead a most likely 5% optimistic MFD, then there are still 6,5L // 1.717gal left in the tank...I will fuel up later today (it is cheaper than on Fridays ) and see what comes out

 

I get around 0-20% fuel savings vs Gen3 so far. But the car has only driven 1300km - the break in finishes at 1600km/1000mi.
While fuel consumption at 4L/100km // 59mpg seem common, and 5L/100km // 47mpg at normal EU highway speeds are possible (and around 10% better than Gen3), I don't see how I can reach, let alone beat the EU rating of 3.3L/100km // 71mpg. I could beat the Gen3 EU rating of 4L/100km // 59mpg quite often.

With Gen4 for the time being, in the best conditions, I cannot get below 3.5L/100km // 67mpg. I don't see how I can get below 3L/100km // 78mpg.

Mind you, I get really good values, the ride at medium/low speeds is fantastic and I love it. And my first tank was the lowest ever since I own a hybrid (4L/100km // 59mpg).

But after all, I didn't buy the Gen4 for fuel consumption, I bought it for everything else to be honest. The styling, the improved noise insulation, the new airy cabin and safety features, the better handling, the LCD screens with new better modern graphics (I love them). And all that 5+ years development on a new platform can bring in this tech era. I work in the field and I was expecting "magic" to happen in the drivetrain, which it has Mind you, what we are driving now is 2-5 years old, more or less, depending on the component.

If I manage to get on average -20% fuel consumption, I have calculated that will save me something like 300€/year in fuel costs compared to Gen3 on a 6 year time frame (assuming prices at the pump will be more or less the ones seen since 2009). Which to be honest is not much and would not justify by themselves the purchase of the Gen4. I could have kept the Gen3 and "saved" money.
If the average fuel consumption will be more than -20%, hopefully, then things start to get interesting.

Owning before a Gen3, which was not that bad at all, doesn't help
And I hope that my Gen3 is sold to substitute some car from yester-year used in town guzzling fuel and polluting.