Any one else getting more than 30 per charge?

I have been taking advantage of the electric heat, firing up a MAX cycle right before packing up to leave work. Being able to pull directly from the grid like that is sweet. Of course, I use the heat on the way to work and have to open the window to flash my badge for getting into the ramp anyway. So, frost is rare in my case.

 

I clarified my statement while you were quoting my post.

 

Now @john1701a, now that I have you online, can you show me your set up so I can duplicate your set up and get the ICE firing up on video while driving?

 

That is in my plan for the upcoming holiday weekend. I'm still working to simplify the process, but expectation is taking photos and adding them as new pages into the upcoming User-Guide for Prime. The hope is finding a way to conveniently sneak in my phone with the app showing coolant-temp and engine-rpm.

 

I wrote it in another thread recently (there are a number of threads covering this topic) but for anyone interested, I decided to do a test of the EV range for all-freeway at 64mph. Did it twice (both times starting at 3:30am), EV from home, so trip included 1 mile to freeway entrance, gentle acceleration, then at 64mph with the cruise control set at 64mph. Route was the 405 Freeway (few small bumps but generally flat), no A/C or heat, but lights and radio on, one person. Besides the 1 mile of street driving to the freeway entrance and acceleration, it was a steady 64mph w/cruise control until the EV range ran out.
Try #1: 26.1 miles
Try #2: 26.7 miles

Of course I get higher numbers (over 30) when it's a mix of driving types, such as stop-and-start or street driving (and I use B mode for stop-and-start EV) but I wanted to see what the range would be for (almost) all straight freeway driving at 64mph. Both times it was pretty similar, in the 26 mile range (if one goes faster, such as 70mph, it'll be lower, of course, but these are the numbers I got for going 64mph).

 

I've been writing down the car's projected EV guess-o-meter after 100% charges and comparing that to my actual EV driven miles before the charge runs out. This project took a while due to the short trips to work (1.5 miles each way). Generally, I'll charge every 3-5 days unless I treat the car with a longer exercise, which it apparently likes, as those times I achieve the greatest EV mileage scores.

You'll notice the guesstimates were increasing when the weather was in the 70's and then decreasing again as the average temp's begin decreasing into the 40's and 30's (F). You'll also see the actual miles decrease at a much more substantial percentage compared to the car's guesstimates.

1. Est. 34.6 actual was 29.2
2. Est. 35.2 actual was 31.7 temps averaging 60's
3. Est. 35.8 actual wa 29.9
4. Est. 35.9 actual was 32.1 temps averaging 50's
5. Est. 36.0 actual was 29.1
6. Est. 35.9 actual was 22.2 temps averaging 40's
7. Est. 35.2 actual was 26.6
8. Est. 34.7 actual was 23.8 temps averaging 30's
9. Est. 34.1 actual was 20.3
10. Est. 32.5 actual was 22.5 temps still averaging 30's to 20 at night
11. Est. 32.1 actual was _____ (current charge)

There have been many "actuals" that I had to guess as I don't usually run completely out of charge in the middle of my commutes. If I have 3.3 miles left I'll divide that by 2 because that's what normally happens as I near the end (example 3.3 miles left = ~1.8 in reality). The closer it gets, the faster it runs out. I can't hardly trust the guess-o-meter, but I can't trust it all all if it falls into the <5 miles range. So I will de-rate those estimates as I've actually seen them drop, extrapolate from real experiences when I've hit 0.0, and add those re-estimated miles to the mileage I've already driven in EV to get those actual miles driven above. Just back of the envelope estimated math.​

 

This is probably a fair result, but if you want to be thorough set up an A->B->A test. Or drive out 26 miles on HV and return on EV.

 

Well folks... free charging locally was nice while it lasted:

 

This is the problem with "electrified cars", the volatility of supporting infrastructure (for charging). Many PriusChat posters have this "pioneer spirit" of, I want to try something new, something on the edge of technology. We're willing to take a chance with buying our Primes because it appears interesting and smart, fun, and ecologically responsible. Don't forget, we don't want to spend a ton of money on our gamble. There's also the matter of trust; I did not really consider a Chevy Volt, because with my experience in past ownership of GM products, dealing with their "service", as well as being in the car business for 23 years, I have come to thoroughly distrust products from them, and the other Big Three. With Honda and now Toyota, I have found a safe haven. Toyota has become my preferred place to risk, due mainly to their more advanced hybrids, although I've found Honda to be better for service in my area.
The "average American" consumer I've come to know, doesn't want to risk new technology; they want BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST, FAST, FASTER, FASTEST. They want to be high (sometimes they want to get "high" !) in their driving position to dominate the road; they sincerely believe the nonsense that the bigger it is, the safer it is, regardless of the crash tests that have frequently proven them wrong. They don't want to deal with charging and charging infrastructure; they have no pioneer spirit. They really don't believe or understand that there are actually real cars that get the mileage we get with our Primes. Many of them just DON'T CARE! So when they hear about range anxiety, lack of infrastructure, plugging in your car when you park, end of free charging, engines starting randomly, etc., you watch their eyes glaze over, as they sigh. You realize that Chevron, Exxon, Shell, etc., and the Big Three, selling those Lumber Wagons, are safe in Middle America, at least for the time being....

.

 

I thought it was "The bigger they are, the harder they fall (fail?)".

 

Har, har!! Good one!

.

 

From my experience both Honda and Toyota make superbly reliable cars; but when it comes to customer support at the corporate level Toyota is in a class all by itself. It is actually the main reason I am still a Toyota stock holder. Once an owner of a Toyota, it is hard to convince owners to buy another brand.

Which is actually an irony, since my next car purchase will be Tesla. That though is a political choice, not a car value decision.

 

Japanese engineering But I like the classic Toyota "Hybrid" more, actually the 1st gen Honda Insight (2000-2006) was an awesome little car for its time.

Since I live in an apartment and can't charge at home, or for free anywhere here, I might cough up some cash for a yearly subscription to a charging station within short walking distance. This will be well worth it if I can charge it overnight on a clear summer night.

 

Somewhat, and the Japanese auto worker is something to behold.

OTOH, off the top of my head I can think of Mitsubishi, Nissan and Suzuki as three companies that are not in the same quality tier as Honda or Toyota. And as corporate entities, Mitsu has deep ethical problems while Nissan is in GM's rejection league.

 

The party's over for me. During the summer I bumped upwards to 38. Now that winter's here, it's a rare frosty morning that my charge goes much past 30.

 

To Skylis A, I too have respect for the concept of the 1st Gen Honda Insight, which I drove for over 200K miles. It did have problems with poor quality catalytic converters, which I replaced both under warranty and for large fee later. The clutch was also a problem, replaced once: expensive! The layout, design, performance was excellent and the little guy weighed in at 1800lbs!! It's concept, albeit to be improved with modern, Toyota-style hybridization (with plug-in!), is the perfect car for my heavy-traffic environment!! I avidly seek it's evolved replacement!

.

 

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

The keiretsu has been grumbling for many years about what a drag Mitsubishi Motors is on the whole group. And they're not even one of the "major" group members.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I now have 20K on my Prime, and the answer to your question is that it depends on the external temperature. I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest, AND I drive with full headlights. That means in the worst case that I am using power for lights, AND the heat pump (for cabin heat and defrost) AND I suspect a third variable, which may be the efficiency of the lithium ion batteries. That said, my indicated battery-only range varies from 22 to 32 miles. The *actual* range achieved is typically 90% of indicated. We live in hilly but not extreme geography. Your 36ish mile goal does not look good. ;~) Hope this helps.

 

Interesting, I was always interested in that little car and the one time I came across one on a used car lot they had treated it like a piece of trash, stacked about three cars back, difficult to get to, difficult to get out, not prepared,filthy inside. After all that and a high price off the top of his head, I thought, forget this place. They have no respect for this car. possibly any used car.