Maximum EV range

The test mule/prototype had a larger battery. It was 5.2 kWh versus the 4.4 kWh in the production model, IIRC. However, the prototype was also 200 lbs heavier?

I don't think Toyota ever definitively said 15 miles. I think it was always something like "about 15 miles". When they changed the description to "11 miles", I'm sure they were just being more conservative, most likely for legal reasons.

Don't worry too much about the EV range estimate. I think the record holder for pure EV mies is iRun. He went 19.2 EV miles, if I recall correctly. My normal commute, which includes a lot of stop and go and some stretches at 50-55MPH, would last about 14.5-15.0 EV miles on a single charge.

 

No, I once got 17.3 miles on a charge (not 19.2 miles). It was a slow drive from my garage back to my garage on side streets near my house.

If you can ever get 15 miles driving 55 mph... that would be amazing!

 

Mine seems to be settling at about 12.3.

 

Paradox,

What speed were you typically driving when you achieved your high EV mile average?

 

I think if you want maximum EV range - you've bought the wrong car.

I bought a leaf because it would have annoyed me to no end to have the engine start .5miles from my home after my 14.2mile (RT) commute. (My second family car is already a prius). I think John (1701a) has the right idea for the the PiP. Just drive it. Don't worry if you use a tablespoon or two of gas on your medium length trips. The short slow trips can be EV, the long trips are 50+mpg and in between is gravy.

 

Hey! Then I'm pretty jazzed ... my all time best, I got 19.6 EV miles 50/50 city & freeway doing no more than 55mph. (ok so it was the bigger test mule battery )

 

I'd also take the extra battery power over the cubby holes. I'm looking forward to all you car geek engineer types to come up with plug-and-play battery extension packs. I'll be first in line.

 

I'd even be willing to give up the spare tire. Oh, wait, never mind... I'm sure everybody would give up the space for more battery, but battery costs more than "space." We'd give up space and pay more, and then it would be a Chevy Volt, which has double the battery, over $5,000 higher cost, no room for a fifth passenger, and I wouldn't go for that, even with Prius's 50 MPG ICE performance.

I think Volt is very cool. There are a ton of Volt owners who get over 1,000 miles on a tank of gas, and many who just don't buy gas at all. To be honest, Plug-in Prius just isn't in that league, but I still think Prius is better overall.

 

I'm curious... When you get this much range, does the Fuel Saved go up to 0.3G or higher? I've only ever seen 0G, 0.1G, and 0.2G and I'm wondering if it goes higher based on distance traveled, or if it only displays those three values based on the percentage of the battery used. I wish it displayed at least two decimal places. Maybe it makes more sense in liters.

I think that making the battery a bit larger would have been reasonable in terms of cost for the Advanced trim and made it a more compelling in terms of value.

 

um ... hardly ... because the Prius has the 'quality' umbrella of Toyota. GM is still playing catch up when it comes to their quality reputation. Then, there's the 5 seater versus 4 seater thing. and Simply adding 3 to 5 kWh of battery, still falls short of Volts way bigger battery.

.

 

Thats a good question. I havent been paying much attention to the EV ratio screen (I'm using one for "lifetime" and one for "current tank", for now). I would also like to understand how the "Fuel Saved" number is calculated. I'll keep my eye on it and report back.

 

Yeah, this has been brought up a few times. It looks like if you simply turn on the fan (with AC or without), your EV range estimate will drop by some percentage (maybe around 8%-10%?). I was actually just thinking about this in the morning. I'm going to drive home today with the AC on (in Eco mode) to see how it affects my EV range,

 

i turned the fan on today and the range went down .1 mile. when i turned it off, it went back up .1 mile.