Happy to join the Prius Plug-in family

I'd really recommend a L2 Charger. It makes the 11 mile range a bit more bearable

 

This only makes sense if you think you'll frequently charge after returning home and departing again in 90 min and can wait another hour. In almost 2 years this has happened to me only about 10 or 20 times. So I've lost 50-100 potential EV miles out of 10,000 EV miles. Not worth it for me. I do charge with L2 at work everyday.

Mike

 

Congratulations. I agree with 3PriusMike on the Level 2 charger. Best to just drive your Prius and enjoy excellent fuel mileage and reliability.

 

Ditto on the L2 charger. Standard outlets have to be in good shape to provide 15 amps for 3 hours; many are not, and can cause damage to plugs and wiring from overheating.

 

I suppose a lot of us in here would have chosen a Tesla if we had the financial wherewithal, but the Prius is about the best choice I could have made, after spending months researching and test-driving nearly everything on the market.

 

A $80,000 - $100,000 depreciating asset doesn't make sense to me. No disrespect to Telsa or anyone that chooses. Within five years, 200 mile range EV and Hybrid/EV "should" be available and reasonable. Early technology is always expensive and short lived. The Prius PIP was a good choice for me and I experience EV driving everyday.

 

Congrats on the car!

I don't think a L2 will ever pay back financially with this car. Even on 120 I can get 80% charge in about 90 minutes.

Why the limited range? Well, you'll find plenty of discussion of that topic here...Basically Toyota needed to add batteries to the existing platform - which greatly limited the available space for battery storage (they used up all the extra room from the regular Prius to do it - displacing the spare tire and hidden storage cubby.) Their goal was also not a pure-EV but rather a boosted hybrid so to speak, using the two energy sources together choosing at each moment which is most efficient. The PiP does this better than any other car out there.

 

A regular hybrid really isn't much of a big deal for some automakers. The Hyundai Sonata version looks like a minimal effort; with a belt-driven alternator/starter, a drive motor coupled to a regular transmission and a hybrid battery. This setup accomplishes little more than regenerating some of the energy lost due to braking.

What sets the Prius apart is the suite of technologies that combine to provide the best fuel economy, while preserving nearly all the other convenience features that we expect in a regular car.

 

Thank you for the comparison discussion. I do covet the longer EV range of the Volt but agree with your reasons for going with the Prius. I often go several days without running the ICE but a few extra EV miles would be nice.

 

Yeah, I wish Toyota had just stuffed another kWh or 2 of battery capacity into the two small and 1 large cubby spaces in the trunk. The one on the right is perfectly useless. The goo and pump on the left could've been moved underneath the passenger seat like the tire jack underneath the drivers seat. The big slot is useful but I'd rather have 5 more EV miles.


iPhone ?

 

PIP only draws around 9.5 amps when charging (at 120v and at 240v).

 

Cargo space. Notice how small the C-Max Energi cargo space was or the missing rear middle seat in Volt? That's why.

Enjoy your full flat cargo space and the 50 MPG gas engine. Use both the battery and the gas engine to their full extend. 50% EV ratio would be ideal because you get to use both propulsion systems you paid for, equally. The key is to use them and exploit their advantages.

I use gas engine for high speed or long trips because I can refuel very quickly and saves the wear on the battery. In the city driving or short trips, I use the plugin battery. That avoids the gas engine cold start penalty.

 

congrats on your new baby, great color! all the best.

 

As was already stated, they didn't want to sacrifice the appeal of the large cargo area and comfortable rear seating. But more importantly, they wanted to deliver a cost-effective choice. Greater capacity would have put it out of reach for everyday consumers.

Enjoy the MPG boost from the plug. But don't overlook how efficient the system is even without that extra electricity.

 

The Prius only draws 12 amps, not 15.

My home wiring is setup with 15 amps outlets (NEMA 5-15), but wired on 20 amp breakers. There fore the wiring is good for 20 amps...only the socket is rated at only 15 amps. Most homes built in the last 30 years are probably wired this way, but some may be wired on 15 amp circuits...still well above the 12 amps draw.

Mike

 

Unfortunately sockets get damaged from frequent use, and the connection isn't always optimal. Fine for plugging in a drill or a trouble lamp, but over several hours, things can get very hot, or even catch fire.

 

If a tesla had more of a range around 300-400 miles on a single charge, or a backup engine with its current ev range, or a quicker charge time than 8-14 hours.I am aware of the Quick charge and battery swap but I can't make trips to the stations 3 times a week. My family would've purchased it already, I wouldn't be able to deal with the range anxiety.
Update:
Mileage 34,549 as of 4/15/2014--- Date of purchase 9/06/2014

 

I'm not sure what your date of purchase actually is, but it's clear you probably put on quite a bit more than the average mileage. Still, it's not hard to recharge a Tesla fully overnight at home, giving you a full tank of 250 miles every day which is pretty hard to use day after day!

 

Unfortunately I drive almost 400 miles daily about 200miles on the prius and about 200 on a ES Hybrid