plugless PHV driving stories

We just traded in our 2005 Prius with 184,000 miles...the car was perfect and with no problems. We now have purchased a Plug in. On the 2005 we averaged 42-44 MPG. To get to our house, you drive up a five mile road where you gain about 1500 ft in elevation. That said, we are milking the downhill road in EV and going back up in ECO...on the first tank of gas, we averaged 55 MPG...second tank we are averaging 65 MPG with about 200 Miles so far on the tank. We are finding that we leave the house with a 13 Mile EV range and get to the bottom of the hill with close to the same (coming down the hill in "B)". On several trips, we have driven around town on EV, driven back to the hill, switched back to ECO, and had enough EV charge left to repeat the process...something like 25 miles of EV

Interesting thing we are finding is that we are getting, the uphill does not seem to be having as much effect in drawing down the MPG as the old Prius. On the old one, we would see a 4-5 mpg drain with about the same miles on the tank...on the PIP we are seeing about 2.

We love it!

Thanks! I had actually forgotten about that online version, especially being so busy collecting data still and scrambling to document observations shortly after they occur. Fortunately, the User-Guide already has it.

As for the abbreviation itself, that's how Toyota refers to the plug-in model online here. In Japan, they actually get that emblem on the car itself. So, having PHV in the thread title will hopefully attract some who discover it from searches outside the forum and entice them to join in the discussion... new owners especially!

Not to belabor the point but what does PHV stand for? Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle?

Yup, so we'll see the same show up later on Camry... Prius c & v are likely candidates as well. It's easy to see Ford supporters endorsing the same, since they'll have a Fusion plug-in hybrid at some point.

My interest is making it clear that the traits Prius without a plug delivers were not sacrificed for the sake of a plug. You still get outstanding MPG even without plugging in. You still get an ample amount of storage area for cargo. And the emission-rating is still top notch.

HV - Hybrid Vehicle
PHV- Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle
PHEV- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Also:

EV - Electric Vehicle
HEV- Hybrid Electric Vehicle
PHEV - Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

There are so many equivalent terms, that it's hard to keep track. Definitions - in a quickly changing hybrid/electric landscape - are difficult to pin down.

For example: California Air Resources Board calls the Prius Plug-in a OVCC (off-vehicle charge capable).

That's one I hadn't heard before. There has been a thread or two here discussing the various names for the plug-in Prius.

Thanks.. interesting. Sounds like a run you would have likely made in the regular Prius many times. Do you have data from a similar temp/speed run to the airport in the regular prius?

Well, it's actually a periodic consumption screen that you can switch between 5 and 1 minutes by holding down trip or display (can't remember which one).

Is switching between 5 and 1 minute options available on the PIP? Been looking for that ever since I got this vehicle.

aren't they 2 separate screens on the scroll thru?

I forgot about that, since it's so different. The scale is smaller and you can't see that at the same time as anything else. Having 3 seperate displays (HUD, HSI, MFD) in the Advanced model sure makes information gathering and system observation easy...

How many electrons are we talking about, all errant electrons must be forced to go stand in the corner.

Another remarkable trait I've found driving the PiP in HV mode is how little impact plugless driving has on my tank MPG average. I can have a tank average of say 88 MPG, and wind up having to drive, uncharged in HV for significant distances, and the tank average is impacted very little if any.

my point is, this thread is about hv driving with an 'empty' battery. down to the point where it is like a standard prius. if you have any juice above that (from plugging in) you get some benefit from it in mpg's. it doesn't save all the electrons for ev, just most of them.

So what was the EV mode battery capacity when you were done with the 37 mile drive? Did 37 miles of regular driving leave you with a bonus of some EV miles?

I'm considering a plugless PHV existence. I can't plug in at home. I will be able to charge up at work and get 20(?) EV miles which would be 25% of my daily commute. I figure if I get 56-58 mpg in my regular Prius for that commute, the EV, plugged in a work, would get me to the 70 mpg range.

that sounds a bit optimistic, unless you're including the plug in juice in the 70mpg's. can you rent one?

When you are on the MID consumption screen, hold and press the Display button on the steering wheel. It will toggle between the two on the MID. Alternately, hit the Car button on the MFD and select the Consumption screen and it will show you the 1 minute average for the last 30 minutes, including data from the previous driving session. It mostly mirrors the MID 1 minute screen, but I've noticed some discrepancies between the two.

No. It's a toggle between the 5 min / 1 min consumption. Press and hold the Display button on the steering wheel to toggle between them.

Sorry to consume bandwidth on this but what is MID? Also, "hit the Car button"? What is the "Car" button?