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First Plug-In Impressions coming from Gen III 2010 to PiP 2012

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by inferno, Nov 21, 2014.

  1. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    I picked up my car in Boston and traveled my usual work route on the way back of 80 miles. It was 11/20/2014 about 29 degrees out, and I've had extensive Prius Gen III experience, averaging 47.5 mpg on a shared vehicle (wife probably averages 46 mpg while I 48.5 lol).

    Let me say I love the PiP! And I'm jealous because it's bought to be my wife's car...However, I can now see the supposed Toyota's disdain for plugins! Now that I have a plugin, I almost see where they're coming from. I don't think they should abandon the idea but rather do what makes them successful with the Prius, make the EV mode more efficient as well as the hybrid engine. Fuel Cell is a pretty large stretch, and BioDiesel may be more obtainable but, no options have an edge except good ol' gasoline.

    Anyway, on my 80 mile drive I averaged 51 mpg whereas with this whether on my regular 2010 Gen III I still consistently get 48 mpg on this trip.

    I don't drive slow, I only hypermile where I can, otherwise I'm going 60-70mph. Of course, no charge at work (yet!?) So I'm thoroughly impressed. And when I got home I totally enjoyed plugging it in.

    Overall I experienced immediately what we already knew. Gen III has more oomph in the engine, especially Power Mode. The PiP's acceleration was a bit less.

    The tech on the PiP was pretty amazing. The audio system is a bit worse (but I had JBL speakers), however the audio intelligence and voice command was much better. Controls for the system was much simpler (like 4 buttons versus 8 or so). But, I did like the MAP button on my regular Gen III to easily switch back when I was on a different screen. With the PiP I tap "Apps" but sometimes it brings me to the map, other times it's to the App Screen.

    Anyway, to Toyota's disdain.

    I love plugging in at home, yes it'll take some extra time, but the greater 'fake' mpgs are satisfying. And yes I'm saving some money on energy in general because we have solar. But...I am loathing the idea of going to a plugin station in the public where someone has a vehicle charging and they are the vehicle is just chilling because of the fact it takes a good amount of wait-time to charge.

    Fast forward to a potential future of EVs, Musk has more Teslas on the road...If they don't do the battery swap these stations will be occupied for 30 or so minutes at a time. It's just not scalable. People wait in line for gas sometimes, an EV society would be worse.

    If battery tech improves immensely where it's just a drop of biodiesel into a battery cell (or direct to the engine lol) then perhaps. Using water would use the earth's resources way too much. Hydrogen would probably give too much vapor to the environment.

    The *best* solution is an efficient solar panel to charge the hybrids battery while the main engine runs on gas/alternative fuel. Yes we would beholden to the sun, but the hybrid system would make up for it.

    Anyway, I'm excited to drive my PiP more and see where the adventure goes. I hope the Gen IV plugin is not scrapped, and I hope the EV more is much more efficient with much more efficient batteries. Right now, I feel like the best place for plugging in your car is at home. Best place to fill it up...Unfortunately, right now, is at the gas station.
     
    #1 inferno, Nov 21, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nice.(y) one disagreement, if there were plenty of charging stations at all places where people spend time, i.e., shopping, sporting events, movies, recreation, hotels, employment and etc., it would be a lot more efficient. then there would be less need for sitting at charging stations. and this could be accomplished for a lot less money than hydrogen stations.

    batmobile.
     
    #2 bisco, Nov 21, 2014
  3. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    One thing you'll soon observe with the car is how rarely you'll buy gas. Like you, my commute is about 80 r/t. I get about 650 miles on an 8 gallon fillup, and I fillup every ten or eleven days. If my commute weren't so long, I might need gas just once a month.
     
    #3 Rebound, Nov 21, 2014
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I don't know how you could possibly come to such a conclusion until you actually drive an EV. The PIp is a far cry from a real EV. Since hydrogen isn't an option currently I'm curious what you propose is a better solution. :)
     
    #4 F8L, Nov 21, 2014
  5. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    Solar Plugin Hybrid :p

    Yes, I propose still using two energy sources. If BioDiesel is viable, then that.

    Yeah PiP is a far cry from an EV, and the Volt is a closer cry...but a true EV would be pure electric, maybe the person would have range anxiety, etc...Tesla is set with the super chargers, but I'm really curious how Tesla drivers feel and if they ever go below...10 EV miles before 'filling up' and do they fill up for 30 minutes and hang around, or are they doing swaps? Tesla has been long enough for some data on this, and apparently they're moving forward, so something must be scalable there...

    But they also opened up their technology. That must mean they need help in the area to scale and make it viable.
     
    #5 inferno, Nov 21, 2014
  6. evfinder

    evfinder Member

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    Most Tesla drivers fill up at home while they are sleeping as do most EV drivers. They only use the supercharging option when driving long distances. Battery swap isn't an option right now they don't have swap stations yet. The Tesla drivers I know who use the superchargers usually go off and grab a bite to eat and hit the bathroom and by the time they are done the car is charged
     
    #6 evfinder, Nov 22, 2014
  7. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    I agree. EV are great, but just for short distance city/suburbs driving/commuting. Long distance driving (or flying or sailing) will have to be done by ICE.
    If you make battery swapping easy, the batteries will be stolen easily and some other similar fraud.
     
    #7 Former Member 68813, Nov 22, 2014
  8. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    What thing that I got to commend Toyota on is the battery gauge. Yes, the #s may be a bit inaccurate in terms of how many ev miles you have, but I enjoy seeing the numbers go up on regenerated breaking or letting the wheels roll. I find that information immensely helpful unlike the regular H/V battery screen/mode.
     
    #8 inferno, Nov 22, 2014
    CaliforniaBear likes this.
  9. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    My mpg readings are mostly 99 + . I charge everywhere, most of my trips are local. If I do have to drive beyond the EV range then I just let the EV/HV blend and still get 70-80 mpg. Between charging at my Fitness place everyday and charging at home off my Solar my gasoline bill has become almost non-existent . If solar installation were mandatory on all new construction, the Air would clean up dramatically. And that is really what it is all about.! Even a minimum number of panels producing 1-2 KWhrs would make a huge difference. Of course then the demand would be so great that the solar panel prices would come down even more.
     
    #9 Andyprius1, Nov 26, 2014
  10. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Battery-swapping is completely impractical, simply because it's the most expensive part of the EV. And so you need to manufacture and inventory like 1.5x or 2x or maybe 3x as many batteries. You can't build something like that into the price of a car. And second, the battery packs are custom fitted for the size of the vehicle. You can't build a generic-sized battery pack.
     
    #10 Rebound, Nov 27, 2014
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