Dr. Rangelove (or “How I Learned to Stop Pumping and Love the Plugâ€)

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by TonyPSchaefer, Jul 27, 2010.

Comments

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by TonyPSchaefer, Jul 27, 2010.

  1. Danny
    That was a great read, Tony. Thanks for taking the time to put all of your thoughts down on paper and share them.
  2. DaveinOlyWA
    awesome article. it is strange to me that when we did not have a plug, we can select EV mode, but when we do actually have true EV operation, EV mode is not selectable???

    that is strange. other than that, definitely a great option. for me, my current commute is 7 miles. we are moving to a new building in September where the commute will be 9 miles (just about a 180 degree change in direction of travel for me) both similar suburban/country roads at 35-40 mph... a near perfect EV commute.

    other than that... the SOC range is 40 to 80% but we all know you knew that
  3. Tideland Prius
    Fantastic. Thanks for writing up your experiences in a full article, Tony!
  4. bisco
    my commute is 7 miles each way. it will be fun trying to do the whole thing on ev!:D
  5. darelldd
    Very cool, Tony.

    To answer your question (a bit) about range on 3.6 kWh from the plug - The big round number for plug-in efficiency is about 4 miles per kWh. And of course that translates to 14.4 miles. And that translates to "pretty damn good."

    Certainly we can do better with a dedicated EV with better aero, but I'm quite impressed with 4 miles per kWh out of a car that is as roomy inside as the Gen3 is... and is dragging around all the ICE components.

    14 miles does seem small when we compare it to what has come before, and what will be coming out soon. Still, it means that everybody's short trips across town, to the store, to soccer practice, to the tavern.... er... the diner - can all be done on battery power. When it is time to drive over the river and through the woods, we have the long-range, high mileage hybrid we've all come to know and love. No, I'm not changing my tune completely - and still believe that full EV is the way to go... but at the same time I certainly see the advantages of even this short battery range. For the same price, I wonder what would sell better - the Volt or the PHEV Prius.
  6. gbarry
    The number I carry around in my head for doing comparisons is, that the battery in the Leaf has a capacity of 24 kWhr. Given the claimed 100 mile range, that's 4.1+ miles per kWhr. The Leaf presumably weighs less than a Prius in order to go farther. These sorts of things may be obvious but they provide the confidence that we're using the right numbers.

    More figuring...my 2010's battery is 1.35 kWhr. Tony saw about 3x that amount go into the PHV for a charge; about right. Everything I'd heard about the PHV said 13 mile range, until Tony got into one. But Tony's got a reputation for, er, going that extra mile...

    Probably time for me to visit the tech forums.:)
  7. DaveinOlyWA
    WOW!! better not be the same price. the Volt pricing announced today starts at $41,000 before incentives
  8. cycledrum
    Tony,

    Oh wow, so there's a plug-in battery pack and hybrid pack. I did not know that.

    Do you know how much both batteries weigh combined?
  9. Rae Vynn
    Tony, I just want to give you marks (cred? points? rewards?) for the PUNNY title!

    That one made me laugh :) :thumb:
    2 people like this.
  10. cycledrum
    I really like the glide in the Gen2 Prius where the drivetrain drag releases from the driveline (I guess that's the right lingo :). This also makes it easier to brake and come to a stop. Less pedal pressure required than, I'll bet, most cars.
  11. evnow
    Here is a chart that shows the trip mileage distribution. As you can see 40% of daily miles are below 15.

    [IMG]
  12. evnow
  13. TonyPSchaefer
    You mean these things come with A/C?!

    I only used the A/C on the one drive from Green Drive Expo and that was slightly more than 100 miles and I started with a nearly depleted EV pack on a drive that started with about ten miles of high-speed highway. Any drop in EV performance was not noticed. As far as I know, the Heat and A/C of the PHV is identical to the Gen3 Prius.
  14. HTMLSpinnr
    Hey Tony - remember that eye-crossing presentation Toyota gave us in Torrance?

    The PHV uses a heat-pump system that can heat the vehicle from engine heat (if the coolant is warm and ICE is in use), or from the A/C compressor if in EV only mode. There were several "modes" and valve positions designed to provide heat, cooling, or a combination of both for dehumidification (or to prevent icing of either coil).

    Needless to say, this system was very well thought out to ensure the engine doesn't need to run while in EV mode should you require heat, defrosting (dehumidification), or A/C in a variety of environmental conditions.
    1 people like this.
  15. SageBrush
    Kudos Tony, your article was the best I have read. You have a journalist lurking within you.
    1 people like this.
  16. TonyPSchaefer
    Remember that eye-crossing non-disclosure agreement Toyota gave us in Torrance?
  17. bisco
    uh-oh:eek:
  18. UGC
    I wish this vehicle was available to purchase today. I would buy it over ANYTHING that is presently on the market.

    <hint> <hint>....<wink> <wink>....@ Toyota
  19. Tideland Prius
    lol. IIRC, we're allowed to talk about bits of the ppt but not allowed to give the entire ppt away.

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