Thread repository for ALL non-PriusChat reviews of the 2017 Prius Prime

This is a nice video as well and yes Europe is getting carbon fiber hatch - that is marketed in Local Toyota sites

 

New UK from Daily Telegraph - disappointingly sneery and negative. Surprising as their Gen4 review wasn't too bad.

Toyota Prius Plug-in review – does this hybrid make sense?

The tired old Road Tax (VED) issue is referred to here - wouldn't be surprised if they have been encouraged by the UK Government to support and promote their ridiculous policy of withdrawing all Road Tax (Vehicle Excise Duty) benefits for those driving cars which produce lower Co2. (The old policy ends on 31st March, and it is creating a huge bulge in green car sales for people trying to beat the budget). All new cars registered from April 2017 onwards will pay VED rates - for the life of the vehicle - which have no relation to their CO2 output. A big backwards step for encouraging drivers to adopt green vehicles. [Edit: All electric vehicles retain their exemption from VED after 31st March, but PHEVs are treated just the same as gas-guzzlers under the new rules]

There seems to be a rather mindless school of thought over here on comments pages, among those who like to knock hybrids and green cars in general, that the Prius has no real merit or benefit to anyone and is just there as a sort of Tax Dodge.

They are especially negative about the ride quality compared with the standard Gen4. Does anyone have one of each (i.e. a Gen4 and a Prime), or have thoughts on how the two compare in terms of handling, from experience?

 

I test drove the G4 and the Prime very near to each other, and they handle about the same. I'd say the Prime is quieter and smoother.

 

Funny you mention this but upon reflection I think that might be true. I'll see if I can test it.

Bob Wilson

 

i'd be surprised if there was any difference. has toyota mentioned anything? i did find the engine kind of noisy, but i think i'm the only one.

one thing i noticed going from my pip with micheline energy savers to the prime with oem's was how noisy the tires were. but that seems to be true across all prius oem tires.

 

The weight difference with the Prime is greater than with the PiP due to the bigger battery. So that must affect the handling.

 

i think they said the lower cg improved it.

 

Apparently it has improved weight distribution over the axles giving something like 47 and 53 percent. Not bad. But some reviewers say it copes less well with bumps and corners than the Gen4. Of course some also say that 15 inch wheels with higher profile tyres handle differently, even on the same car, I.e. the Gen4, so that might be a factor, depending on which Gen4 we are comparing it with.

 

good point.

 

Huh?

. . . and it has best fuel returns of 282mpg (1.0 litre/100km) with emissions of just 22g/km CO2. . . . ​

Later, they fixed it:

And the fuel economy? Is it as stratospheric as Toyota quotes? Well... no. But it's still pretty good. On a long test route that involved crawling around the congested streets of Barcelona before heading out onto a lengthy 120km/h motorway stint, the Plug-in returned 3.6 litres/100km - a decent 78.5mpg. During that trip, the car wasn't being driven in a careful, hypermiling manner, so later we tried again and - despite a depleted battery that was at 18 per cent - it managed to turn in 3.3 litres/100km (85.6mpg) on a hilly route. So, regular use of the electric charging facilities should see owners surpassing 2.8 litres/100km (100mpg) easily on a daily basis. It also conserved its battery power well in full EV mode while scooting about the city, so the 48km zero-emissions range claim seems eminently believable.​

Bob Wilson

 

Miles per imperial gallon...

 

why can't we get that imperial gasoline?

 

I am pretty sure these are all Imperial gallons but there is a greater than 3x ratio between the first and the two review metrics. If we take my constant speed model:

• 114 MPG - peak @20 mph
• 38 MPG (114 MPG/3) - @85 mph

It is the high ratio between the EU official metric and the reviewer's 'on the road' that really makes the official EU metric all but unusable. If I use 1 USA gal = 0.83 imperial gal to scale the review mileage:

• 78.5mpg -> 65 MPG
• 85.6mpg -> 71 MPG

These are well within the range I've seen in our USA Prius Prime Plus. But the "282mpg":

• 282mpg -> 234 MPG . . . my best is 114 MPG

I can only get close to the Imperial gallon adjusted, 234 MPG, by using EV for about half of the distance at 20 mph.

Bob Wilson

 

Here is one very negative review:

The Electrek Review: 2017 Prius Prime – This is not the EV you’re looking for | Electrek