2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: 15 mile EV range, 87 MPGe, $32,000

Pastels are apparently in vogue, and I, quite clearly, am not.

 

Yes, I am very fortunate to have such a short commute. Being in a rural community helps. If it were flat around here I'd just ride the bicycle. Heck, I should just get a golf cart!!

 

Thank you, I thought I was alone. Pastels look great on dental equipment and houses in Bermuda but the car---Not so much

 

Not sure if these videos are posted yet!
Engadget Video demos Exterior & Interior with Toyota Rep.!

Hands-on with Toyota's Prius plug-in hybrid (video) -- Engadget

 

Is it me or does it look a little bit like Jar Jar Binks?


[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jar_Jar_Binks]Jar Jar Binks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

Here's a big issue for plug-in hybrids: how much does the electricity cost?

Some basic numbers for the Prius plug-in: you might save $400/year on gas by driving 5000 miles (15 miles/day) on electricity.
Those electric miles use around 2000 kWh (at 87 MPGe) of electricity.

If I keep my ordinary PG&E E-1 schedule, the electricity for the car comes on top of my regular electricity usage.
It will end up in tier 3 and get charged at $0.30/kWh. That amounts to $600/year in electricity cost for 2000 kWh.
That's more than I save on gas!

So I need to switch to PG&E schedule E-9A and charge the car only between midnight and 7AM.
That's inconvenient, by the way, because I'd prefer to be able to top the battery up during the day to get extra electric miles out of it.
Anyway, with night charging and schedule E-9A the charging costs only around $0.06/kWh, which comes out to $120/year.
However, my regular summer peak baseline electricity usage now gets billed at $0.30/kWh instead of $0.12.
That is clearly an expensive penalty. How much it is precisely depends on the electricity usage pattern of each household.
If my household uses up my 7.5 kWh/day baseline ration during summer peak hours, it would cost me $243/year in extra baseline charges.
Thus, total electricity cost for the Prius comes to $363, or about the same as the fuel cost savings!
With this calculation the plug-in Prius makes no financial sense whatsoever.

PG&E has a rate calculator on-line that comes up with slightly different numbers, although they don't explain their calculation.
They give a cost of $17/month or $204/year with schedule E-9A (their calculator doesn't list the Prius yet, so as vehicle I used a Chevy Volt doing 15 miles per day).
Using the PG&E number, net fuel cost saving for the Prius is only around $200/year. That's not much.

What about charging stations? To be commercially viable they would probably need to charge around $0.20/kWh (more during summer peak hours), or also just about the same as the cost of gas, giving me no financial advantage.

 

Nah.

More in the range of 1000 - 1250 kwh.

 

lol. Definitely not in the sex/animal/aggression genres.

Thankfully

Come to think of it, I'd say Jar jar's eyes, and Dath's jaw.

 

So, what's the verdict on the 8-way power seat? Comfy? Well padded? Good lumbar?

 

Well, the 87 MPGe is the electricity usage according to the EPA standard. That's is equivalent to 38.5 kWh/100 miles, or 1924 kWh for 5000 miles.
Where do you get your number from? It would imply that the EPA number is extremely pessimistic compared to real life performance.

 

EPA uses 33.7 kwh/gallon.

So, 87 MPGe = 2.58 m/kwh. Leaf, BTW, is about 2.94 m/kwh. For 5K miles, you will spend about 1,936 kwh - close to your 2K figure.

If you drive better it will be lesser - my usage is 30% better than EPA estimate for Leaf, for eg.

Oh - yes - the economics depends on your electricity rates. You need to charge at night and get TOU rates.

 

Thanks for the great pic. Just to repeat your message "THIS IS NOT THE 2012 PRIUS PHV"
This is a Smokin' shot! The car looks like it's out for blood, an agressive stance in a bold paint job and sporty rims. Unfortunatly the new colors suggests that we're going out for a spot of tea. The new rims suggest Lincoln Continental with cheap wheel covers, have fun cleaning them. No insult intended - It's just my own view

 

those charging rates are rediculous any estimated performance is just as ridiculous. I am just under 4 miles per kilowatt in a hillier in puper area like san francisco your numbers would not be as good but I bet you could easily do 3.5

out even if you only charge during the best rates you can still do over 5000 miles at less than 2 cents a mile. a 50 mile per gallon this is get you nearly 8 cents mile so you would realize a gas savings of 300 dollars a year over a very high mileage car.

 

Or ... if you possibly can ... going solar gives you free juice after the initial payback/cash outlay. That payback for PV can take place anywhere from 4 to 10 years. But that also means you got juice for your house AND your car. Lets see you manufacture your own fuel for typical ICE car