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Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by stephensprius, Jun 5, 2019.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    We traded in our Prius Prime for a Model 3, 240 mi EV, after noticing I was only driving the BMW i3-REx:
    • Lane steering is much better than lane keep assist.
    • Trip modeling showed SuperCharger network could except at Fort Smith handle our long distance trips.
    • Not having a SuperCharger at Fort Smith could be mitigated by NEMA 14/50 or L2 chargers.
    • Much simpler car with order of magnitude moving parts to wear out.
    • Excellent acceleration to reach the speed limit first and out of the mob.
    • Lap of luxury versus just plain.
    An EV is not for everyone but things came together with our Model 3 and the SuperCharger network.

    Bob Wilson
     
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    My CMax, which predates the Prime, has a 550 mile range yet I've never missed it driving the Clarity. Pretty much everyone needs to stop for BIO breaks every couple of hours so getting a splash of gas when necessary is no big deal. BTDT for decades on motorcycle trips that only have about 125-150 mile range of interstate traveling; plus combining needs at one stop is more efficient. The key is there is pretty much a liquid "supercharger" just about anywhere when you need one (relatively speaking of course) which brings us back to the OP.
     
  3. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    And in the same vehicle - Prime, Clarity PHEV, Ioniq PHEV, etc.
     
    fotomoto likes this.
  4. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    Both BEV and PHEV are solutions to help reduce oil usage.
    However the long distance EV infrastructure is primarily improved only with increasing numbers of BEV.

    Mike
     
  5. stephensprius

    stephensprius Active Member

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    my personal 2 cents is this. If G-d forbid one of my children requires emergency care, I am neglecting all things materialistic, even if later it will require a 200 mile road trip to pick up the vehicle at another time.

    if my child requires that kind of care, 200 miles away from a major hospital center, I would seek out helicopter and or ambulance service, I would obviously want the doctor's to decide what level of emergency is needed for me.

    I could care less about travelling with the vehicle, gas, phev, hybrid or full ev. It is staying at the urgent care facility or my hotel. Pick it up another time. Mileage and range should matter zero!

    I go in the helicopter or ambulance with child and get there as fast as possible and neglect everything else.

    I have turned a corner and agree with most that this suggestion that an EV could not do the job properly is preposterous.
     
    Ashlem, Prius Maximus, bisco and 2 others like this.
  6. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Yeah, if my wife is with me, I have to stop almost every service areas along the interstate. :LOL::LOL::LOL:
    When I drive solo, I go into a zone and like to drive nonstop start to finish. PRIME works great for that. For my ~300 miles one way drive, PRIME does not need gas stop on my destination. But yes, my older cars did not have that great range, thus I was forced to stop every 300-400 miles.
     
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  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    What? And have a choice in fuels? THAT'S CRAZY TALK! :confused:

    ;)
     
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    But a hybrid or a PHEV would work for the author or author’s wife. 17 miles is enough for any of the PHEVs but they swapped a V8 Audi for a V8 GC.

    Done
     
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  9. stephensprius

    stephensprius Active Member

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    Although, I was thinking it made more sense to merge the Tesla post to the EV news post. I thought it would attract more conversation there vs in the specific tesla chat.
     
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Shoot. I thought I did do it that way.

    I’ll move it to the news section. Sorry.
     
  11. stephensprius

    stephensprius Active Member

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    oh, no worries at all. I appreciate your help!!!
     
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  12. stephensprius

    stephensprius Active Member

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    Precisely. Again, my thought is in this case you leave your vehicle where it is and you follow the Emergency Responder and or doctors. I don't want to focus on driving 200 miles to another place with the stress that he was facing anyways, no matter the vehicle choice.
     
  13. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I took a range hit moving from a VW TDI to the Prime. Over 700 on the VW, maybe 600 on the Prime. I find that I typically stop every few hundred miles anyway (clean off the bugs, get a drink, etc.), but the long range sure is nice out in the boonies.
     
  14. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    For me, finding and stopping for gas on interstate service area in the boonies is far easier than trying to find a gas station nearby in the downtown area of big city. Still if I don't have to stop for gas, I will go nonstop 300 miles easily.
     
  15. stephensprius

    stephensprius Active Member

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    so please explain how the prime works for me. After the ev range of 20 something miles, does the gas motor just kick in? is it similar in that way to the traditional prius? Can you just continue driving in a hybrid after the ev range is null? Is that how the Prime behaves, does it behave like the prius or is it legit, gas only until you get charged again?
     
  16. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    Interstates? None of them in the real boonies.
     
  17. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    The Prime is a Prius with a bigger traction battery and the ability to charge the bigger battery from a wall socket. If you drive it until the EV part of the traction battery is exhausted (typically 30-32 miles in fair weather), it turns into a Prius with slightly better mileage. The "bottom" portion of the traction battery is reserved for this use (it indicates 0% charge on the dash display, but there is still power to provide EV for short distances as in a normal Prius).

    With the Prime, you also have the ability to charge the EV part of the traction battery using the car's engine (to 80% capacity of the battery). This can be handy if you are on a road trip and your destination is a city, where you can drive around on EV and not run the engine. As long as the engine is running anyway on the road to the city, it's a good tradeoff to use a bit more fuel and then not have to run the engine at all in the city.
     
    mikey_t likes this.
  18. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    This is pretty much how all PHEV's work; there are some exceptions. On long trips, it's best to save the EV for around town or lower speeds and use gas for highway (most have a button to give you control over this). Oh shorter trips, use as much ev as possible.
     
  19. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    It takes 1 hour to get onto the interstate, but after that, the interstate takes me to the city I need to go. If I have a lot of time to kill, I can take back road. Shorter distance, but will take twice longer.;)
     
    jb in NE and bwilson4web like this.
  20. litesong

    litesong Active Member

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    Reminds me about the motorcycle joke: How can you tell if a motorcyclist is happy? ........ by the bugs on his teeth.