2022 Consumer Reports Prius Prime mentions

"The gas engine tends to start up when quick acceleration is needed"? I have never had that happen. Never. This was an early criticism of some plug in hybrids like the Volt. I think this could only happen with the Prius Prime if you are not in EV mode. Maybe they didn't spend the time to really understand how the car works.

 

Yes, that situation simply will not happen unless you are in EV-AUTO or HV mode. You can smash the throttle to the floor, and the ICE won't come on in EV mode. Don't they even verify the claims they make?

 

What's 'body hardware' and why do they have these huge differences in the reliability model year matrix? I don't think Toyota changed anything between those model years?

 

CR's test drivers have a very heavy foot. Just look at their MPG results for earlier Prius models.

There was the rusting handle piece to the hatch early on.

These are results from a survey that include minor complaints. Ford got dinged with the first Sync because it wasn't user intuitive, but worked worked fine. The Prime complaints could be reflecting the lack of CarPlay and Android Auto, or even Toyota's poor use of the large screen.

 

That’s funny. I want the big screen so bad. And they say my little one is better?? Wow.

 

A common complaint here is that Toyota makes poor use of that screen's size. They don't take advantage of it with space wasting graphics. It may not show much more useful info than the small screen.

 

I am often puzzled by CR's report of comparison on the reliability of new models of cars to older models. The 2021 model has been out for only one year. How valid is the reliability comparison between a 5-years-old 2017 PP vs a 1-year-old 2021 PP?

 

For the last number of years I have started to put more faith in the real world complaint reports logged on carcomolaints.com.


iPhone ?

 

The reliability rating is just things people complained about in the survey. It's possible they aren't actually things really wrong. I haven't looked at CR's reviews in years, but this is the first time I've seen them give a break down of the reliability rating by subsection of the car. The previous method left you wondering if the issues were engine problems or just loose trim pieces.

 

Well, if that's the case it's almost as good as Amazon Reviews. Certainly, a comparison of different year models can't be trustworthy. You can't compare the reliability of 5 years old car to 1 year old based on complaints, IMHO.

 

The things people don't understand is always a surprise. It comes from taking comment at face value, a loss of critical thinking in our culture.

In this case, the "AUTO" part of EV-AUTO commonly gets misinterpreted as meaning that is what you want to ensure maximum EV driving. The fact that there is also an EV mode doesn't get recognized. There is no effort to figure out the difference. So, they mistakenly select that, then get surprised when the engine starts.

Another very common misconception is with Charge-Mode. People see the word "HOLD" in for button and assume the feature's name is "Charge Hold". That is an instruction to hold the button down for engaging the mode. You would think since the buttons for A/C and the horn also have that same word "HOLD" on them, the person will see the shared terminology.

So no, there is no verification. It's really sad how reviewers are especially short-sighted and don't bother to research. Many of us have to deal with the misinformation they spread, enabling others to pass it along. Ugh.

 

Speaking of Prime and misinformation, I find it quite vindicating just how forward thinking Toyota really is. There is so much of the "behind" narrative being spread without any context. The best antagonists can deliver is belittle range & speed. When you bring up a topic like the heat-pump, they go silent. That's a dead-giveaway outlook is changing.

Prius Prime lead the industry by offering a heat-pump standard. That simply wasn't focus back then. Even Tesla was completely ignoring the topic of cabin-warming efficiency. Heck, VW chose not to even offer a heat-pump for ID.4 in our market. And to get one from Hyundai for Ioniq 5, you must purchase the AWD model. Winter efficiency is a big deal, something Toyota addressed years ago.

Toyota also made the battery-heater standard back with Prius Prime. If you select the option and stay plugged in, winter performance is clearly improved. EV mode works to the very lowest tolerance of heat-pump operation and efficiency is better.

What I get the biggest kick out of though is the discovery of automakers offering a "new" feature that directs heat only to the seats that are occupied. Again, that is something Toyota delivered standard way back when Prius Prime was first rolled out.

Staying ahead of those trying to undermine market position, we have evidence of "behind" rhetoric really struggling with Toyota's latest innovation. bZ4X will introduce a rather clever solution to cabin warming. Why not just target part of your body most exposed to cold temperatures... your feet & legs? The BEV about to begin production on Toyota's new e-TNGA platform will deliver a warmer for exactly that. Directing energy to where it is needed most is a means of reducing overall consumption.

It's amazing how some don't see what should be obvious. There is far more to delivering a competitive BEV than just squeezing in as much battery as possible. Prius Prime helped to reveal such an inconvenient truth.