Prius Plug-in and Volt Pros and Cons

That perspective is called cherry-picking.

It's not the whole story when other benefits are excluded.

 

Let's see, better gas mileage than standard hatchback in HV, I can do all my errands in EV and I get to "fill up" at work for free. I would say the PiP is working out just fine for me.

 

That's ONE possibility:
An active conspiracy against the PiP.

The other possibility is that people simply have a differing opinion from you (as is their inalienable right as individuals). Not every person's brain is a clone of john1701's brain. They have views and conclusions different from yours
.

 

Not providing an example is nothing but shooting the messenger.

Tell us, what are those different views?

 

This whole thread is filled with alternate views..... just go back and read them.

 

Only if you plug in or drive down long downgrades to recover more regen energy.

 

And I can save another 30 cents by walking to the store instead of driving my car there in EV mode. The point is the bar is set wherever you decide to set it.

Personally, I'm using half the gasoline for my commute that I was using with my Toyota Corolla, which used half the gasoline that my Dodge Ram pickup was using. We all make the choices we live with, so there's no point in worrying about "would have-could have-should have."

 

Actually no,, I am talking HV only no charging the car for EV from an electrical outlet plus I am talking about trips over the same route . Plus I have experimented both ways and I leave with a full charge (no external charging along the way) the 56 MPG goes up to 57.5 MPG over 400 miles.

Actually you are wrong, I am talking 400 plus miles over the same route, interstate mostly. The PIP always beats my 2010 Prius by a approximately 10%. However I think the extra regen/battery capacity and the different programming to the senergy drive system combine for higher MPG on the PIP.

I am not the only one on this forum that has expressed their experiences at getting better mileage with the PIP vs the standard Prius. That is why many question the lower PIP MPG rating vs the Standard Prius. Anyway a number of other PIP owners indicated they too are getting better MPG with their PIP then they did with the standard Gen 3.

 

It amazes me that PiP on turnpike going 75 mph can get 50 mpg.

The only trick I used was fly like a bird. Moving as a flock of cars, I am able to save some energy.

My tire pressures are 37/35 psi.

 

Actually, I have achieved mpg's like that on occasion with my Prius 2. Anyway, the mpg readout is overly optimistic to the tune of 1-3 mpg when compared to calculations at the pump; some Prii worse than others.

I choose to believe Consumer Reports testing with two separate drivers in two trials over a standardized course with calibrated flowmeters in the fuel line that concluded that the standard Prius got 1mpg more than the PIP when the EV miles ran out due to the fact that the PIP is a heavier car. Both cars were driven on the same course by the same drivers the same way. You can choose to believe what you like, but I'll trust calibrated instrumentation over the Prius's mpg meter any day.

 

Again, heavier car will get more penalized with more aggressive driving.

If you drive like CR and regularly get 44 MPG, you'll likely get 1 MPG less with PiP. Do you?

Normal Prius owners get above CR numbers.

 

I have no idea whether the drivers were driving aggressively or the course was more demanding than what I normally drive. I fail to see the relevance in your comment because both cars were driven on the same course by the same drivers. 120 lbs is extra dead weight that has to be lifted up a hill or accelerated up to speed that has an energy cost that can't be fully recovered regardless what course you drive. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this.

 

So, why do you believe CR instead of EPA? You said you have no idea if CR test cycle is relevance to you, yet still hanging on to their finding and not open to other cycles/results.

What is your lifetime MPG?

Stop and go would hurt the heavier car but under EPA cycle, both are rated the same. I would imagine, if you do more stop and go, PiP may be worse in theory. However, PiP has EV miles to avoid just that and it is no dead weight.

In fact, I had 2 miles commute with 13 red lights and 1 stop sign. That first year, I averaged 56 MPG on gas. There is no way a regular Prius could. EV miles helped me avoid those short trips and electricity efficiency is excellent at 132 MPGe. The extra battery is no dead weight.

Highway cycle is where PiP has 1 MPG advantage. That shows that it is more efficient. Owners noticed it too. The only way for you to find out is to go rent a PiP and drive it in your commute.

 

EPA is on a dynamometer using correction formulas. I trust CR more.

My lifetime mpg according to the trip A meter that I have not reset since I bought the car is 49.9. When I calculated at the pump my mileage was 2-3 mpg less than the display reads. I also run much higher tire pressure than Toyota recommends, which CR probably followed. I also don't know what the ambient temperature was that CR tested at which could also give less mpg than I'm getting since I live in a warm climate. CRs mpg are lower than mine but not that much out of line considering.

 

USB, who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes...

 

57 MPG.

123 miles.

0 kWh.

That was the result of running around, many Father's Day destinations and no opportunity to plug in.

HV efficiency is outstanding. You can unmatched hybrid performance when the battery-pack is depleted.

 

200 miles OC to SD yesterday with some hill driving around the Stone Brewery area in Escondido: 61mpg using my puny 11 mile charge from home before I left (traffic one way 70mph home) with the AC running the entire time. My problem is my buddy refuses to drive me anymore since his Tundra would get about 12mpg for that drive.

 

I don't use the meter I calculate MPG based on how much I put in at the pump. Choose to not believe all you want, no skin off my nose, I have a PIP and know what it does and I am thrilled at the increased MPH over my standard Prius.

 

Do the changes in the MG units in the PiP vs. the regular Prius play a role here, regardless of the battery capacity?

 

I think MGs are rated the same but the software is tuned differently.

Since there is more electricity going around (from bigger battery), ICE can afford to stay at optimal BSFC. I don't have a regular Gen3 to compare but I think ICE RPM is kept lower too.

It is very easy to go into "super highway" mode. It is noticeable because it would jump from 50 MPG to ~70 MPG without a change in pedal position.