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Featured Every future Prius a Plug-in

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by PRPrius, Sep 28, 2016.

  1. PRPrius

    PRPrius Active Member

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  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    That would be great news and put the Prius back in my potential shopping list.

    Retail 1-buyer price for charging units is less than $200. Toyota already buys lots of the same type of power electronic components they would need to build an in-house designed charger to put onboard. My guess is to the end user it will be transparent and it might even save Toyota some money buying more volume for further discounts.
     
  3. inferno

    inferno Senior Member

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    I see something circular here. Didn't Toyota say when the first pip was released that all hybrids would plugin? 4 years ago and still only 1... Yet where is that ns4 lol
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Geez I hope it doesn't become true, especially if they all sport that mesa in the hatch floor, and no spare.

    I think it's what the market wants that'll decide. Well, I hope so. We're spending $30 max per month on gas now, with our 2010; I don't want the complexity and compromises of a plug-in. Or the Darth Vader dash, but that's another story...
     
  5. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    I think this probably means all future Prius models will be designed to have plug-in ability available as an option.
     
  6. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    I sure hope not. I can't see paying extra money for a plug-in that only goes 24(?) miles on EV? If it ever gets up to 200 miles, I might be interested.
    (But I don't have any place to easily install a plug or plug in a car.)
     
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  7. Pijoto

    Pijoto Active Member

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    If more and more "Gigafactories" are built, battery prices would plummet making this a feasible idea. Maybe a standard Prius would have EV mileage in the low teens, while still have space for spare tire, and fold down flat back seats; batteries could shrink enough to make them happen in 5 years, perhaps. It would be enough to make me want to upgrade.
     
  8. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    So how does one further improve fuel efficiency in the 5th generation Prius? And how does one better deal with the space constraining issue of where to place the battery and maximize its capacity in a plug-in Prius when working it into a hybrid lift-back body?

    Hybrids had their days of glory but are now getting long-in-the-tooth: so just make all Prius models plug-ins:

    Toyota: Every future Prius might be a plug-in hybrid - Autoblog

    Starting with the fifth-generation models, Toyota might do away with standard hybrid technology altogether in the Prius line-up. Instead, Toyota is considering making every future Prius a plug-in hybrid. The logic comes down to, if you want to push the envelope, you sometimes have to redefine what the envelope is.

    Ultimately, PHEV may be the way to go. – Shoichi Kaneko

    ...Toyota needed to make many little improvements to get the fourth-gen Prius to the fuel economy levels it has – currently, the most efficient Prius is the Eco trim line, which gets 56 combined, 58 city, and 53 highway MPG – and so to push the fifth-gen to, say, 60 mpg is incredibly hard. Putting a plug on every Prius would move the brand forward, keep it relevant, and meet the company's objectives...
     
  9. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I for one look forward to a plug in Prius v in the future. Even as an option.
     
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I know they probably just mean the Liftback but we can dream that it'll include the v and c.
     
  11. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    the mitsu outlander suv plugin is the most popular plugin in much of europe. It's set to go on sale here in the U.S. in just a few more weeks. I look forward to seeing if Toyota can catch up & pass that phev suv leadership.
    .
     
  12. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    It has been delayed to "summer 2017" according to an article published last week about the upcoming Paris reveal.
     
  13. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Again? Supposedly battery quantities for our market have been the stumbling block in the past. Wonder if its more of the same. Well - that continued delay is to Toyotas advantage
    .
     
  14. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Deja Vu all over again.
    I can wait for the next gen.
    I assume they are saying more like PiP, and I Iike PiP.
    But US incentives are favoring bigger batteries....probably what Toyota is thinking smaller batttery with solar charging (eg; roof type) gets you decent amount of miles with no gaso and no elec. That's what Japan needs...no gaso and no elec charging. And our car roof strength standards may make it harder here.

    Gen4 is huge hit in Japan, so some difference what Japan needs and USA. Gen4 has so much focus on getting MPG from 50 to 55 but in USA so what? sorry to say.
     
    #14 wjtracy, Sep 29, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2016
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  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Maybe further mpg improvement is chasing crumbs; shift focus?
     
    #15 Mendel Leisk, Sep 29, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2016
  16. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    My understanding is that another part of the problem with the Outlander PHEV is trying to make it accelerate faster to meet US expectations, without destroying the battery, or having to fire up the ICE every time you want to accelerate.

    Also, the Prime's solar panel is a 180 W panel. Let's say you get that full 180 W for 12 hours a day, you're getting 2160 Wh. Let's say you get 120 MPGe (I'd expect more than that for most people on here), that's about 7.7 miles of range a day. I mean, it would offset about 3/4 of my commute, but that's assuming 100% efficiency from the panel, that's assuming 12 hours of full sunlight a day... basically, those are some mighty spherical cows.
     
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  17. GasperG

    GasperG Senior Member

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    Next gen Prius needs better battery packaging, under floor or T shaped. With the speed batteries are improving this really shouldn't be a problem, in 6 years 8 kWh battery will probably be almost half the size of current Prime battery. When size and price of the battery is not a big issue anymore, I don't see any problem to have all hybrids PHEVs.
     
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  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Toyota GB expects about 3 miles a day in the UK from the solar panels. It's slightly less than the 4ish miles that Japan states.
     
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  19. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    I'm thinking something like the Li-ion Prius v layout (I can't find pics of the NiMH layout, I think it is very different though) could be interesting, too, although at the expense of armrest storage:

    [​IMG]

    Alternately, the Voxy/Noah/Esquire layout, although it'd only work on taller vehicles:

    [​IMG]
     
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  20. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    The funny thing is the Prius could gain an easy 5 MPG by just having 'pre-conditioning' plug-in:
    • peak charge the traction battery
      • cool/heat the battery in extreme temperatures
    • cool/heat the cabin
    • preheat the engine coolant
    • peak and tickle charge the 12V (lengthens life to +10 yrs)
    We are not talking about huge amounts of power but the effect would be dramatic. The car would start out at +60 MPG.

    Bob Wilson
     
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