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Any long distance commuters with a Prime?

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Prime_Time, May 24, 2018.

  1. Prime8

    Prime8 Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2017
    90
    107
    0
    Location:
    Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    My commute is 350 miles on Monday, and 350 miles on Friday. 77mpg over 31k miles so far.
    EV for surface streets, HV for the freeway. EV auto for down the mountains. Target 0 miles of electricity on the GOM at the end of each trip to maximize electric usage.
    As the gas price per gallon goes up, your ROI shortens. The more miles you drive, the more fuel you save vs any other options. I ignore depreciation since I keep cars forever(98 LS400-250,000 miles). I plan my fuel stops at the Costco within range with the lowest fuel prices, since there are 8 of them along my normal route.
    BEV's do not yet have the range to do what the Prime can.
     
    eustachio, benagi and bwilson4web like this.
  2. Prime_Time

    Prime_Time Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2017
    110
    74
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    I can charge at work too. I’ll look into this. Thanks!
     
  3. SteveMucc

    SteveMucc Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2017
    391
    268
    0
    Location:
    Kentucky
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    too long. I usually left around 4:30 in the morning to get there by 5:30. I would then leave for home by around 2:30 and get home at 4. If I left any later, travel time would quickly eat up. Leaving at 6 would mean a 2 1/2 hour commute both ways. There was a train station about 2 miles from my house, but with 18 stops and a layover and then needing to take the subway (which often broke) it was another 2 1/2 trip each way.

    Finally decided that loosing that much time of my life on commuting was ridiculous. Now I work from home
     
    benagi likes this.
  4. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I am with you on this. I use to live in suburb of Boston. I did not have 100 miles drive like you did, only 18 miles to the city for my work, but morning commute usually took me 2 hours. Commuter rail was available, but I still had to drive to the train station, and take another public transit in the city, so it took 2 hours anyway. That was over 10 years ago. I moved to my current rural location primarily to avoid city congestion. I still commute same distance (18 miles) everyday to my current work, but now it takes only 30 min and got to enjoy beautiful scenery every day. Only thing is that 18 miles is just bit longer than the PRIM's EV range. I just wish I can complete round trip all on EV.
     
    jmarkd7 likes this.
  5. bresna

    bresna Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2004
    193
    144
    0
    Location:
    Southern Maine
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    ----USA----
    I drive 63 miles each way to work, only charging at home. My Prime currently has over 36,000 after a little over a year. I am averaging about 69 mpg overall by sticking to EV on the side streets and HV on the highway. My average was higher (~72 mpg) until this past winter, which was very cold and really killed my average.

    Some days in the summer when I bleed my charge to 0 on the ride home, I average over 90 mpg over those 63 miles.

    This car has saved me a ton of money on gas.

    For example, I estimate that my commute is costing me about $8/day for gas & tolls. I used my nephew's Chevy V8 pickup one day, which gets about 21 mpg, and I calculated that it cost me about $18. Over a year, that is a difference of about $2,300.
     
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  6. Witness

    Witness Active Member

    Joined:
    May 6, 2013
    115
    117
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I'm not yet a Prime owner (will be in 11hrs), but I bought a new PiP in 2013 knowing I was going to drive the hell out if it. The PiP only has 10-15mi range on the EV and with it, I average around 68mpg with one charge overnight and one charge at work. My commute is 110mi round trip, but sometimes 130mi a day.

    After exactly 5yrs, with multiple trips from SF Bay Area to SoCal, I racked up 189k and the car is still going strong. It did but me out that I burned through the factory warranty in less than 2yrs, but I've gained a lot in mpg and to a lesser degree HOV access. No regrets and could never justify flying the family to SoCal for $600+ to save a couple hours when it only cost $80 to drive.

    Now, I've upgraded to a Prime Advance and I'm giddy at figuring out how much mpg I can squeeze out of it. With a 110mi commute, I can possibly make it a 55mi gas commute. It'd be like a gallon of gas a day! Anyways, I say go for it. A car is meant to be driven, so get one and drive the hell out of it.


    iPhone ?
     
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  7. RJ Primw

    RJ Primw Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2016
    65
    87
    0
    Location:
    South Jersey
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Like many others who have chimed in, I have a 70 mile roundtrip commute, with some other longer distance business travel and at least one 120 mile trip each weekend to family. I've had the car since December, 2016, with 38,000 miles on it thus far. My lifetime mpg is 78 mpg, but much higher in the summer here. Since you're in southern California, you can probably expect closer to 95-100. Weather makes a huge difference.
     
    jmarkd7 and Witness like this.
  8. AnneLW

    AnneLW Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    118
    95
    0
    Location:
    California desert
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I was driving locally only and getting an average of 199.9+ mpg combined until my wife (the real AnneL) discovered XM radio. Now we take the Prime everywhere on weekends-- usually 60-100 miles a day. So it's down to 135mpg combined.

    I offered to install an XM radio in her V but she doesn't want to pay the extra subscription.
     
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  9. jmarkd7

    jmarkd7 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2016
    90
    82
    0
    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Good info here - another thing to consider with a long commute is comfort. I don't find my Prime Premium to be very comfortable at 6'1". Not only is it cramped, the seat gets hot and stays hot in the evenings starting in spring. Currently trying to sell mine and get a used Avalon hybrid. 39MPG on the highway but much bigger and more comfortable.

    I go 81 miles each way. Use EV off the highway, can't charge at work. Bought Nov 2016, 36,500 miles. 66.4 overall MPG.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  10. bresna

    bresna Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2004
    193
    144
    0
    Location:
    Southern Maine
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    ----USA----
    I have to agree about the comfort of the seats. My Prime Advanced seats do get uncomfortably hot very easily. I am also considering looking at a hybrid or maybe a Tesla Model 3.
     
    jmarkd7 likes this.