Consumer Reports on PIP

Not a full review yet, but the July 2012 issue of Consumer Reports has a "First drive" sidebar.

"We've been able to go 12 to 15 miles solely on electricity, but we have to be gentle with the throttle and stay below 60 mph.

"The gas engine kicks in with even moderate acceleration, so unlike the Chevrolet Volt, you can't drive it completely gas-free. That could limit its appeal to people who want to maximize their electric-only driving."

This is a sidebar to a "Best ways to save gas" article, which lists the Volt at the top of the hatchbacks/wagons category of recommended cars for fuel economy, due to CU's "real world" MPG scores of 61 combined, 99 MPGe and 32 mpg.

My personal reaction: Being "gentle on the throttle" has certainly dominated my first weeks of PIP driving. It's intellectually fun and probably a lot safer than my old habits. After the first tank, for comparison, I will switch from Eco to power mode, turn off the EV miles remaining display, and "just drive it."

The Volts AER is the ONLY thing better than the PiP

PIP: mid size, Volt: compact
PiP: seats 5 Volt: seats 4
PiP: has rear seat leg room, Volt: rear seats only suitable for amputees
PiP: easy to get into drivers seat, Volt: impossible for larger people to get into the drivers seat
PiP: 51MPG or better (most get nearly 60), after 12-15 mile EV range depleted, Volt: 38-45MPG after 35-50 mile AER range depleted
PiP: uses regular octane fuel, Volt: requires hitest fuel

I could keep going, but that's enough for now.
New Plug-in Hybrids

CR jumped the shark years ago...

Since when is GAS FREE something mainstream consumers have listed as a purchase priority?

I've been averaging 100 MPG lately.

So what if the engine runs at times.

Oddly coincidental, this is my third day in a row where I've driven using nothing but electricity. There was no effort to do that. It just worked out that way.

I am not sure what CR considers "moderate acceleration", but I certainly don't have to nurse it along to stay in EV mode. Maybe my driving habits have been permanently altered from owning a Prius for so many years....

And why the big concern if the ICE kicks in for a few seconds? The Plug-in is primarily designed to be a very efficient HV with a bigger battery in which you can put some power in from the grid, and provide a place for more regenerated power to be stored.

reason 387 why I ignore CR these days. Everyone saw how bad they slammed the Prius C right?

The volt does have better handling for those who care, as the Chevy salemen will remind you time after time in between telling you how they only put paint protection on the cars because they have to sit in the sun at the dealership for a few weeks.

Who is the market for Volt? That question was asked countless times prior to rollout. We knew the consumers who would be interested would not the same as those who Prius targeted. It's like trying to sell a plug-in Camaro to someone that was looking for a fuel-efficient Cruze or Malibu. Yet, enthusiasts refused to acknowledge that. When they said "leap-frog Prius", it was implied as direct competition; now the claim is quite different.

So, we move on to discussion from other sources, now about what Toyota is offering. How will popular rating publications portray the plug-in model Prius? The "you can't drive it completely gas-free" comment really makes you wonder about market. Who's needs are they addressing?

Why would that matter to someone who was considering a different model of Prius, a Corolla, or a Camry? Would any of those consumers really have a priority of no gas whatsoever rather than just a significant MPG boost?

The beauty of PHV is that it is package option, an upgrade choice. It's an enhancement to a vehicle people already know and like. There's no paradigm-shift required. You're not buying something fundamentally different. There's a major improvement to efficiency & emissions. Simple to understand. Easy to sell. A small decision to purchase.

The market is Leaf wannabe's, in other words, people who want to drive all electric, and use no, gasoline, but have too much range anxiety to actually buy a REAL BEV, like the Nissan Leaf. Look at how much the Volt owners brag about how little gasoline they use, really now... The Volt is simply not a comfortiable car for me, and many others, its just too small on the inside, too cramped... yeah, it gets great All Electric range, as if that is important, which it is to some, at the expense of comfort, and buying a GM product (as many have said, they would never be caught driving a Prius, I will never buy another GM product either, too much bad mojo in the past)

John, How many miles? If over 11 miles, how did you do it?

I think CR is simply stating a simple misconception about the car. Their "preview" could just as easily be written by browsing Toyota's website; I don't know why they bothered to drive the car. They provide no insight or analysis, and in typical CR fashion, a very limited and shallow understanding of the products they're writing about.

Today was the 4th and the furthest: 11.4 miles. It was no big deal. Claims that "moderate" acceleration causes the engine to start really make me wonder how they are driving. PHV easily stays in pace with traffic around here.

I drive in stop and go traffic everyday on my inbound commute from Randolph to downtown Boston, it stays in EV, except when I switch it to HV if I happen to have a 65mph short stretch (like 1 or 2 miles at most). since it usually takes me 50-55 minutes to go those 15.0 miles to work, it's often entirely in EV. so much for a "6 mile EV range"

So when I subtract the EV miles and computer gas miles/gas used, I get 80 mpg. You can't just look at spec sheets and say that the PiP gets X, Y, or Z. The PiP and the owner bond and they become a unique pair.

It looks like CR has fallen into "the least gas consumption" trap instead of "the least fuel consumption". Electricity is fuel also.

For plugin hybrids that use both gasoline and electricity, why not report both gallons and kWh consumption? How much electricity consumption does the 99 MPGe translate to?

Does anyone know what Volt was rated in their "real world" MPG score?

Not only does the PIP get way better mileage in HV but more importantly, to me, it's much cleaner.

Sadly, I don't expect that to happen for years still. When online resources for tracking efficiency don't place priority on electricity consumption, it's pretty clear that consumer interest will remain low... hence it not getting reported about.

There was this article in Scientific American which noted that an EV car may actually be dirtier than an efficient HV, depending on how dirty the electric generation used to charge the car is. Hydro from the NorthWest --> very clean; coal from the MidWest --> very dirty. There is the failure to distinguish between primary fuels like gasoline, and secondary fuels like electricity, which is created using some other fuel.