Mark gets a shot at driving the PHV Prius in and around NYC

That is just awesome, Mark. PHV Prius is showing the benefits of both EV and HV. You were able to do short trips in EV and 350 miles trip with over 52 MPG.

Don't feel bad about the gas engine coming on. You needed more power so it delivered, nothing wrong with that. Instances like that prevent gas stale and gas engine lube desiccation. It also maintain consistent EV range.

When the gas engine come on, how long does it take until it shuts off? It should be about 15 seconds. I am just wondering how it is compared to a standard Gen3 Prius.

That's probably the transition stage from EV to HV. It appears the EV propulsion threshold was lowered to warm-up the gas engine in advance.

 

You'll get a 12.5 miles of carefree EV driving, where the system doesn't even worry about emissions. Then while you're traveling that last 1.5 miles, the system will be warming up in preparation for relying on the HV pack instead.

That last 1.5 miles is like after taking a no-plug down a mountain. There's lots of motor contribution, but the sensitivity pales in comparison to EV.

This is a contributing reason why the PHV will achieve a PZEV emission-rating... unlike a certain other competing plug-in with an engine.
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Yup, me! Read the whole thread looking for the reference, only went back and spotted my error when I read your post

 

It great to see Toyota did not drop the ball on emission and affordability. It appears they designed the PHV Prius with everything in mind.

 

Sorry didn't know, my appologies.

Back to your test drives:
Do you think you will have a chance to check captured energy on a long down-hill stretch while still in CD mode? (as suggested in posts #5 and #18 of this thread).

Giora.

 

TPS = those cover sheets required for faxes in "Office Space"

No wonder it confuses some of us

 

I am only monitoring the PHEV story as it is not yet relevant to us in
the Middle Atlantic States. Perhaps I've missed something.

Why would 52 MPG be a bench mark?
Many Gen IIs see it quite often without a whole lot of work.
I would expect that or better on a 200 mile trip, even in the winter.
It should be a snap for the Gen III.

I understand the PHEV offers about 14 miles of pure electric drive and
this is a good thing.

Does hauling around the two EV pack batteries at about 300 lbs. when
they are discharged reduce the expected regular HSD FE/MPG by a
significant amount...
And therefore only 52 MPGs is seen as a good thing? :noidea:

Need a little help here... :yo:

 

With what part?

Overall averages are what Toyota is in the process of collecting now. I saw 84 MPG with my PHV time behind the wheel.

75 MPG is the generic expectation. That's a big boost over the what the no-plug averages.
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Awesome! Can't wait to see it. The entire 13 mins is part of the experience. It should show how long you can go in EV mode from point A to B. Traffic jams are fact of life too. That will only add the practicality of it and put a dent in the presumption of "13 miles is too short to be bothered" ideology.

 

Because the competition is struggling with 32 MPG in HV mode. PHV Prius' 600 miles 50+ MPG range extender simply outclass the competition.

On the flip side, 13 miles EV is useful to virtually eliminate those short and frequent trips.

The competition would only have advantage in the trip lengths between 13 to 35 miles. Trips in that range are less than half of all the trips. That would raise the question if the extra ~$12k premium is worth it, assuming one can afford it.

 

John1701a and usbseawolf2000,

Thanks for your responses to my earlier question,

(I take it that the unnamed PHEV competitor is the Chevy product due
out, when, in Dec ''10?)

Like so may others, I am trying to gain understanding of the new
technologies, PHEV and EV, as they will apply to my specific needs so
that I can make informed plans about future purchases.

We are at the leading edge of a transportation sea-state change, just
like when the horseless carriage, aka auto-mobile, became a
practicable alternative to the horse and buggy. In this initial period of
uncertainty, it sure is difficult to know what of all the hype, and
rumors, and partial reports is meaningful for each individual user and
their specific conditions.

So, now I understand that overall, we might expect a combined EV/HSD
mileage of ~75 MPG. That I could live with. But I know that YMMV,
based on how my daily driving, ~28 mi round trip commute, "fits" with
the PHEV range and control algorithms.

It trying to figure this out, I can understand the cry for a new efficiency
metric to replace MPGs. I like the idea of cost of energy/100 miles, or
$$/100 mi.

But even here, buyers/users would have to have foreknowledge to
really understand the numbers, and the testing method would have to
be devised to level the lying field for all vehicles.
You would get a false result to test a vehicle for say 30 miles and then
extrapolate to 100 miles, the EV contribution would be 3X too large.

Not being in a geographic area where the PHEV and EVs will be
introduced in the immediate future is frustrating. I suppose that there
is a positive side in that I have more time to read, research, and learn
from the early adopter's experiences with the new technologies in real
world situations.

Which means a huge THANK YOU goes out to Paradox and the
other members who have reported their short experiences with the
beta-test Prius PHEVs over the last months.

 

I got the distinct impression Toyota is testing minimums, finding out how small of a configuration is practical/realistic/affordable.

In fact, I could envision a later model's pack shrinking enough to allow the floorboard to become flush again... making almost all aspects of the EV augmentation invisible... allowing the HV model to easily sell side-by-side with the PHV.
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I envision a "smaller" pack being a physical improvement, not a capacity reduction. After all, Li-Ion production & chemistry is progressing forward at a decent rate and what we'll finally get to buy will be 2 years newer than what the testing models were built with.
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