Just Test Drove A VOLT!!!!!!

Perhaps you misunderstood. My post was about charging time, not about range. Just to be clear, the rate of electricity going in, is the same. Smaller battery pack will finish faster than the bigger pack.

The rate of electricity going out is also different. Volt is heavier with more powerful electric motors that goes higher speed with battery power. Therefore, you won't get the same range (from the same amount of electricity) from Volt vs. Prius PHV if driven for how they were designed to operate.

Another thing to point out is that Prius PHV can also blend the gas engine power so the battery usage (rate of discharge) can be half of the Volt's.

 

Ok..... So if I say Volt is better than Prius PHV because it has 35 vs 15 EV miles, then that's also intellectually dishonest?

That's because you left out the charging time, cost, weight and cordless MPG penalty.

 

One does not have to park the Volt for 10 hours to charge the car. If you drain it to 0 yes if you wanted a full charge it would take 10 hours or so (in my experience a little more, but my outlet might be low on amperage).. As long as you plug the car in whenever you are home I find the EV range is more than acceptable for my needs. Maybe I am in the minority on this. The Prius PHEV would barely get me to work, with about 3-4 miles to spare (I am by no means knocking the car). I personally think any number of plug ins we can get on the road is better than none at this point. Especially with the Prius PHEV's lower cost, similar to the cost of a higher end regular Prius it will get more people on board. Not to mention the Prius PHEV will most likely get better highway mileage since it retains the original drivetrain, and it only weighs 100 or so pounds more than the regular Prii. I would really like the higher capacity pack in my 11' Prius just so I didn't have to worry as much about the AC depleting the battery, or if I get stuck in low speed traffic for long periods. With the rest of the automakers putting forth PHEV/EV/hybrids on the market everyone will be able to decide which ones are best suited for them. Just like the Prius has met the needs of many for the last decade I think the new lineup will also meet the needs of far more people. As the Volt gets cheaper/gains range in the future it will also find its place among the masses. We are at the beginning of a long journey with all this tech. Things will only (hopefully) get better from here.

As a side note about gas blend/battery power between the Prii/Volt. If I am not mistaken when thumbing through the Volt's book it has some kind of mountain mode that blends generator operation with batt power making it kind of like a hybrid in order to preserve battery charge and keep current draw down.

My biggest qualm with power management on the Volt is possibly that it seems to me the regen braking is next to nothing. Granted the Prius battery is smaller so you notice more, but do not seem to gain a single mile or anything by regen braking in the Volt just by looking at the displays. Similarly the gas generator does not replentish the batteries, but keeps running until you plug the car in again to recharge the batteries. Granted I only drove the demo for 5 miles, but I tried using regen braking to my best effort. Figure in that time you would at least see 1 mile or something pop up on the battery indicator. I do not think the Prius will be recharging the lithium batteries either though. Cause they say once the charge is gone it then just acts like a regular Prius.

 

If you would like more regen braking move the mode selector to "L" instead of "D". Personally I only use it when approaching a stop and then switch back to D when accelerating again, but there is a whole school of thought that the best driving conditions exist in using Sports mode and L simultaneously for max regen.

 

You left out the information that the 35 miles is the pure EPA number, while the distance you quoted for the PHV (rounding UP from 14.3) is from a test of unknown provenance. A comparable number does not exist for the PHV. So, yes.

Or were you trying to make a different point?

 

Braking up to about 0.3G (which pencils out to about 8mph/second IIRC) is using regen. Carefully touch your front brakes after a drive. Mine are usually at ambient temperature. Guessing it's the same with a Prius.

The Volt is using the battery exclusively to move you too. Only traveling down a long hill will add net charge/miles. Otherwise, regen is just reducing your loss.

It's pretty stingy about adding miles to the display, BTW. More often, I've noticed, it holds for a while, then starts counting down. The following day, it adds to the estimated range, and the "hold" is shorter. Eventually it balances out.