Plug-in Hybrid Prius Destroyed in Fire

[MikeSF]

Originally Posted by hill

I may be mistaken, but doesn't the Hymotion's pack have less range and top-speed EV range? If you have an extra 20 or 30 mile range, rewrite the hardware to allow for freeway speeds, seems like that would be worth it. Especially considering fuel will only continue to spiral ever upward.

.

Range yes, but not freeway speeds by a long shot.

From their website

2.3  At what speed does the engine come on?

That is determined by the car manufacturer; we do not change that. The following values are just for your reference, are not not specified, are approximate, and assume that the engine is warm, the battery is full, and that you're driving nice and easy:

• Prius: 23 mph
• Prius, EV Mode: 34 mph
• Escape: ~30 mph

But really, people who ask this question may be missing a very important point: The PHEV conversion doesn't turn your Hybrid into an Electric Vehicle: it's still a Hybrid, and it still uses both the engine and the motor. Most of the time both the engine and the motor are contributing power, in a varying proportion. It's just that, after a PHEV conversion, the car will favor the motor for longer periods that it did before the conversion; and that results into a higher mpg. So, it's really of small consequence whether the engine is on or off. Don't worry about the engine. Just enjoy the high mpg.

Although don't know why they reference the Prius as coming on at 23 mph, I can easily keep the engine off without any EV switch or anything, just can't accelerate very fast

[Danny]

Since this is a local company, I emailed them to see if I could take a look at the car. I received an email response today letting me know that they have forwarded my request through the company.

Hopefully I'll be able to see it for myself here soon.

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by eurosteve

There are people out there paying $21,600 to $32,550 to have this PHEV system installed in their Prius? The Hymotion conversion is only $10,000. That seems awfully steep - especially now that their safety record appears to be marred.

No, there aren't really. The point of these sort of early expensive kits is to enlist the help of interested parties (like the electric company that bought this one) to help test out the technology. Almost none of these kits from this or similar companies have been purchased by private individuals, except a few who have an extraordinary commitment to helping further the cause.

These conversions have been going on for several years. The Hymotion offering is a brand new development. They are the first ones to try and offer this technology to the general public at a price that is almost reasonable. Since they are owned by a Li-ion battery manufacturer they can be pretty aggressive with pricing. There is even some speculation that they would be willing to sell these kits at a loss to help drive adoption and future demand for their batteries.

You can get a rough scorecard of what conversions are available from here:
Prius PHEV - EAA-PHEV

Rob

[Bob70]

Originally Posted by Danny

Since this is a local company, I emailed them to see if I could take a look at the car. I received an email response today letting me know that they have forwarded my request through the company.

Hopefully I'll be able to see it for myself here soon.

I'm in Columbia also. I'm very surprised this didn't make the local news. Hope you can get a viewing of the damage and give us some insight.

[Danny]

DENIED!

Danny,

We appreciate you interest in our PHEVs, unfortunately we must deny your request. Thank you for your time and patience.