Toyota PHEV Test Fleet Hit Road

[danatt]

- An article on PHEV developments from the major auto manufacturers.

Toyota PHEV Test Fleet Hit Road

However, there is a subtle error which could leave the reader misinformed. The author writes:

"Toyota’s PHEV prototypes, which share the same gasoline-powered internal combustion engine and electric motor hybrid system used in the Prius, have a top speed of 62 mph (100 km/h).

However, Toyota says increased battery capacity gives the vehicles a longer electric motor-only cruising range, and a battery-charging device allows users to replenish the batteries using household electricity."

The article fails to indicate that 62 mph is the top speed in electric only mode. This could create a perception problem.

[hill]

In light of the vapor vare GM volt spin stating it will do 60mpg-ish on pure electric (some day), I took it to mean that the Prius does that too ... on pure electric. After that, the ICE has to kick in to supply more power (above 62mpg). Of course, if that's the way it is, than they certainly don't have the present day electric motor installed that WE all have, as the best I can get our Prius to do on flat ground is 40mpg. The ICE always kicks on at that point. The article seems to say that the Prius PHEV only has the current electric motor. That's the weird thing.

[prius2go]

I thought the gearbox only allowed about 34mph without the ICE running otherwise MG1 over revs?
Is it MG1? - the smaller motor anyway

[DaveinOlyWA]

wow that sounds exactly like what i am looking for. i have a commute that runs 25 to 40 mph and is 7.1 miles. if i can EV that at least one way, that would be great, both ways would be a dream come true!!

i am seriously considering getting a Zenn car... now i might have to hold off if i can get one of these within say 18 months???

does anyone have any idea when we might see production of these?

[john1701a]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Sep 11 2007, 09:34 AM) [snapback]510575[/snapback]</div>

I thought the gearbox only allowed about 34mph without the ICE running otherwise MG1 over revs?
[/b]

No. And the clue to that for years has been the fact that the upper limit for Stealth is 42 MPH.

The HSD design has always had the 62 MPH limit (engine not in motion) abililty supportable. Concern of proper cooling was the primary reason not to allow it.

But now Toyota is testing the opportunity to take advantage of what they had ulimately hoped to deliver. Of course, battery cost (increased capacity) still remains a major hurdle.

[DaveinOlyWA]

by all reports, the battery is NiMH.... so why would cost now be an issue?

or are they on the same jag that unless they can provide a perfect solution, they will not provide any solution?

i would think that by now Toyota must know that a very good plug in option would be swooped up as fast if not faster than the gen 2 Prius was when introduced. why not provide the plug in with Nimh with option to upgrade the battery system when better technology is developed?

to have only one segment of new tech hold up everything is not wise especially when (i think) that many will gladly accept limited range as a temp measure

[clett]

The test fleet simply use two standard Prius 1.3 kWh NiMH batteries in parallel for 2.6 kWh with deeper cycling allowed to give the 8 mile EV range.

Toyota have said that the final PHEV product will NOT be NiMH, but will be lithium-ion once they have sorted out their lithium problems (they were trying to make cobalt based electrodes work - no go from a safety point of view so they are back to the drawing board for now). These are simply mules to test the principles of PHEV use in real world driving.

[clett]

The test fleet simply use two standard Prius 1.3 kWh NiMH batteries in parallel for 2.6 kWh with deeper cycling allowed to give the 8 mile EV range.

Toyota have said that the final PHEV product will NOT be NiMH, but will be lithium-ion once they have sorted out their lithium problems (they were trying to make cobalt based electrodes work - no go from a safety point of view so they are back to the drawing board for now). These are simply mules to test the principles of PHEV use in real world driving.

[mr_zorg]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Sep 11 2007, 10:18 AM) [snapback]510661[/snapback]</div>

by all reports, the battery is NiMH.... so why would cost now be an issue?
[/b]

Just guessing here, but most likely that's because in order to be an effective electric only vehicle you need something like 10x the capacity of the current battery pack (which is capable of MAYBE 1 mile in EV mode). 10x the capacity probably equates to something less than 10x the cost, but no doubt still significantly higher than the current battery. Not to mention the extra space.

[mr_zorg]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Sep 11 2007, 10:18 AM) [snapback]510661[/snapback]</div>

by all reports, the battery is NiMH.... so why would cost now be an issue?
[/b]

Just guessing here, but most likely that's because in order to be an effective electric only vehicle you need something like 10x the capacity of the current battery pack (which is capable of MAYBE 1 mile in EV mode). 10x the capacity probably equates to something less than 10x the cost, but no doubt still significantly higher than the current battery. Not to mention the extra space.