PHV Release Date

Would there be a problem for someone in Minnesota to go to whatever state the PHV is on sale in and buy one?

Mike

 

i need it in 2008

 

Maybe by the time the PHEV Prius is delivered, Gas will hit $6/gallon. Our Leaf will be 1 1/2 years old, and some PHEV Prius owner will be Jone'sing to trade me straight across for the Leaf.

 

the PHV, will not be early nor will it be late. the PHV will arrive precisely when it means to.

 

Of course. It's a free country and you can go anywhere and buy one.....when they become available. However if your local Toyota stores don't have at least one trained Master Tech on the phv then getting problems resolved might be an issue. The rollout for the rest of the country would probably take another yr or two.

 

OK thank you. Now it all stems on what the price is going to be. I also hope the production model allows the EV battery to regen charge once it gets to 0. As it is now I understand it goes into ECO mode and will not go back into EV mode until that battery is plugged in to recharge. No regen charging of the EV battery once it gets to 0 on the display. Might just be the way the preproduction models were setup.

Mike

 

Out of curiosity, why do you want this? There's not much terrain in Minnesota that would let you regen enough to fill the battery. Around me, there's a fair amount, but I spend very limited time on it. I see very few people who would really benefit from that feature. (Though I agree it might be nice to have, just for those rare cases. On the other hand, it could contribute to the battery needing replacement much sooner.)

 

Plenty of hills here. No mountains though Our use for the Prius would be traveling around the country. We go on road trips frequently and currently only being able to drive rental Prius's as we don't own one yet I would like the idea that the EV battery could be charged by regen to allow full EV mode while going thru towns or other off the Interstate driving. That would help the total trip fuel mileage more so than a regular Prius with no real EV capability.

When I drive the rentals, I give the car every chance I can get to throw it into regen so I can maximize our fuel mileage on our trips. Having the capability to run in EV mode for several miles would be the icing on the cake for us

Mike

 

A current model purchased just before another model year may be a great value, if discounted appropriately and if the buyer keeps the car for 8-10 years. I suppose depreciation management is critical for those buyers who trade every 3-4 years, but finance for 4-5 years.

Happy Motoring,

Tom

 

If most of your mileage is on road trips where you'll spend the majority of your time running in HEV mode, a low-mileage PHEV Prius (as per the test versions) would be a waste unless there are significant benefits from the modifications made to support the larger lithium batteries that are held back from the standard Prius.

Unless of course you're just happy to pay extra for the smooth feeling of EV mode. I can't say I blame you.

 

Sounds like you're making the mistake that many people do, that more regen equals better mileage. This is not (typically) the case. All the energy a non-PHV gets comes from the gas engine, as does all the energy in a PHV once the batteries are depleted. The most efficient way to drive is to only use the engine, and minimize the number of times that you convert that energy to chemical energy in the battery, and back to kinetic energy of the car - each time that conversion happens through regen, there are losses. Obviously, it's impossible to do that, and regen will help regain some of what is lost from the ideal way of driving (like when a light turns red right in front of you). But if you see a red light ahead of you, you are far better off coasting up to it slowly than keeping at speed, then trying to get as much regen as possible when you are close to the light and ready to brake.

My "(typically)" is because there are cases, such as going down mountains, where having a bigger battery would really help. In that case, there's no way to avoid the regen, as just coasting down the hill starting from a stop, you'd still have to brake to keep at a reasonable speed. So it's best to get the battery as empty as possible just as you get to the top, then regen as needed on the way down to maintain a reasonable speed. But the vast majority of people don't drive on terrain like this, or if they do, they don't do it on a daily basis.

 

Mike, all that turns of availability ... supply & demand. If locals are snapping 'em up, forget about it. If not, the dealer(s) would be more than happy to ship it to you.
--... ...--
.-- -.... . . --.

 

Simple answer and what I would do. Buy a one way ticket on Southwest to a dealer with a PHEV and confirmed to you. Fly there, buy it and drive home with it. By the time any mtce maybe required beyond oil etc it will be in your market anyway. Extra cost $200-$400 flight (or use points if you have them)

 

Hi Gary,
Secret signature figured that one out real quick I guess now it comes down to what the production PHV has in it for battery charging, either the way it is in the pre-production cars or allowing regen as well as plug in recharging. Might also be a good reason to go visit Southern California in 2012

tnx,
Mike
-... -.- - --- ..-

 

Wonder how soon we can place our orders!

 

I hope late 2012.
I'm trying to shoehorn a G3-II into the budget as a third car, and I'm hoping that when the PHEV's come out, then all the 'old' left over 11's will be sharply discounted!!!

 

Reuters reports that Toyota will start mass production of plugin batteries this autumn (September?) and release plugin hybrid (PHV Prius?) starting next year.

Toyota to make lithium batteries for hybrids: report | Reuters

 

Here is a question about possible federal tax credits for the Prius PHV:

The Volt, which to me is really a hybrid, apparently qualifies for a $7,500 tax credit, which is the only way that it becomes price competitive. What characteristics would the PHV have to meet in order to qualify for such a tax credit?

I presume Toyota is paying attention to this issue, for price competitiveness of the PHV. For example, if a 13 mile EV range doesn't qualify for a tax credit, but 25 miles would qualify, then I hope Toyota makes the adjustment to the PHV before release.