Prius BEV Wish List

DC quick charging. More importantly - buying into the supercharger network. No network - no deal. That ends all the whiny "but i'm in an apartment - so it can't work" folk.
and ......
Heated steering wheel & Heated/cooled ventilated seats.
and .....
6way auto adjust seats /auto adjust folding sdeview mirrors - memorized to drivers individual fob.

 

utilitarian design, roomy cargo space, 100 a d 300 mile range models, liquid cooled.

comfortable seats, lots of nooks and crannies, no packages, a la carte options

large buttons and knobs, no touchscreen except for car play and android auto

$30,000. and $40,000.

 

Honestly I would be happy with a Prius v Prime with the 5 seats

Could replace a “cargo” vehicle with one.

Bev, well...
I’m more of a streamlined 2 seater, bare bones, fender skirts, long range BEV guy, not that we would ever see that again.

 

hybrids have their place, and phevs likewise. but i don't need an engine anymore, just a bev with more cargo space than anything currently on the market outside cali.

prius beV? i'd take a close look.

 

• $18-25k spread
• 100" wheelbase
  
• At least the short range version can charge from 5%-100% in 12 hours on an L1 charger
• Suitcase battery with easy/safe in-cabin connector for optional/temporary battery expansion... maybe even spare tire shaped for more configurability (this is in addition to a chassis mounted base battery)
  
• Double-DIN infotainment for easy upgrade when something replaces the carplay/AA systems in favor today
• Resistance heater for the cabin, taps grid power after charging for significant pre-heat on scheduled departures (avoids heat pump temp floor and service costs)
• (edit: added late) in fact I want to see a heat bank in a bottle, like the phase-change salt heater in the old VW ECOdiesel concept circa 1990. Get it hot on grid power at home, get useful heat with zero battery impact for the first ~45 minutes of driving.
  
• no monostable shifter!
• no $50 solutions to 50¢ problems

Fun to daydream anyway...

 

To be clear, I think you mean BEV? Maybe call it the Prius Phase? Toyota already builds a phEV, it is called the Prime.

What I would like to see is a design that is not inspired by Asian Anime cartoon style so popular today. The Toyota Concept-i shows potential. Love the nose on that vehicle.

Dedicated, proprietary Supercharger system for long distance travel.

Inductive charging (sort of like wireless charging for your smartphone)

Graphic user interface rather than more knobs and dials (you don't know what it is like until you have lived with one - sort of like the difference between a rotary phone and a smartphone)

Starting price point of $20K for a bare bones model with 150 mile range.

Direct sales, no dealer interface.

 

• 
  Guess my wish list dream was too close to being absolutely unrealistic .
  But a highest Price still costing $1,000"s less than a Prime ... that makes unrealistic become quite reasonable.
  Heck, we might as well make that a dual cab pickup with a minimum 5, 000 lb towing capacity - drag coefficient of .01 while we're hallucinating.
  
  .

 

Owner of a BMW i3-REx, lessons learned:

1. At each dealer, Toyota branded, +80 kW, fast DC chargers in 24x7 parking, minimum two chargers, four parking spots. Significant discounts for Toyota EVs.
2. EVSE (i.e. charger) dual voltage, 120-240 VAC, selectable amps: 8, 12, 16, 24, 30, 40. Owner instruction written in non-technical terms for when to use each.
3. Read out actual voltage, current, and SOC when charging. There are too many L2 chargers that are derated to 16 A, impossibly low!
4. Dealer installable, optional 120 VAC, 20 A, inverter for remote and emergency power. To deal with climate change disasters.
5. Adaptive, automated, tire pressure system. High-speed highway hard tires and pot-holed urban, soft.
6. Reclining seat(s) with 'camper mode' when charging. Nap time is callin' my name.
7. Built-in dash cam with 'sentry' mode. Alternative, USB power outlet near visors or rear view mirror.
8. Toyota branded EV stores in regions that do not comply with #1.

Bob Wilson

 

You and I have previously disagreed on many points of what we'd like to see in future cars, not much point in re-hashing it; we just have different needs and tastes. I'll take comfort knowing that the world has enough market diversity to produce cars at a few points across the continuum of features and prices.

 

Shorter range, up to 200 miles, should cost the same or less than a PHEV in the future as the supply base for the components grows.

PHEVs have the benefits of both ICE and BEV, but they also have the costs of both. Even if an ICE drive train is cheaper to make in labor and materials than an EV one, it will have that regulatory cost for meeting emission regulations, which a BEV won't.

 

To expand on prior post-

@hill Please don’t take my wish list as an attack on yours. I think you’ve got interesting ideas, and I think they would likely appeal to some drivers- but not me.

Regarding the details of my wish list- I described the Prius c I bought in May of 2018 but with a full BEV drivetrain and an unusual heater switched in.

Is it really so far-fetched to think that such a car can be made? I certainly understand that it can’t be done profitably within those constraints today, but I have no doubt that something close to it will be available later, and I’m not in a rush.

 

oh no! No wrong perceptions taken - & likewise my cost critique had no covert snark intended.
It's a wish list .... pie in the sky or anything less is fair game.

CHAdeMO is ok - but at its best - it will only output 60kW ... ~ ½ the rate (or less) of the wishlist supercharger infrastructure. And the last time I stopped at a Honda chargepoint location (using our CHAdeMO to tesla adapter), I was barely able to get 40 KW - and that - for only about ⅓ of the time .... which is pretty common. That's because the dealerships find the lowest priced units that they can buy, which too often have difficulty maintaining the peak output w/out overheat concerns. Even purchasing a high quality unit - owners NEVER (mitsu corporate has the only one in SoCal) set them as high as 50 KW, because (at least in California) the utility charges extremely huge "demand fees". That's where they tack on a massive monthly charge (even if you seldom use high instantaneous demandl). But if owners ever need to draw serious power - your location needs to be set up for it. That could require the utility to have to bring in a massive transformer to accommodate your use, albeit seldom.
That's why QC are typically found at strip malls, Auto service malls, multi-story commercial buildings and the like, because those locations are already paying for & utiluzing demand use rates.
.

 

How much peak power can a Tesla wall unit provide?

How easy would it be to parallel them?

Bob Wilson

 

very easy - w/ basic electric/safety knowledge. They're designed (if you buy 2) to run in paralell - & like the supercharger pairs - they'll drop amps when both pair are being used to deliver power.
Individually - if ordered with model S dual chargers - you could get 19.2kW's. Biggest single on board charger (model X) is 17.2kW's. If you don't want to install massive wiring + 80 or 100amp dedicated breaker - the HPWC is easily programmed to run lower - using its (sorta) dip switches.

single? or (front/rear) dual channel. Many of the high end dash cams now auro record on beinf bumped. No manufacturer has collision/bump technology dialed in yet, unfortunately - nor their motion detection recording auto either. Tons of false alarms. If the camera can deliver automatically the video to your cloud account, it doesn't take long to fill it up - what with hi-def cameras nowadays.
.

 

I really hope Toyota goes with CCS. Chademo just isn't going to have the charge rate or number of charging stations needed. Chademo is a dead man walking IMO. I think within 10-15 years most Chademo stations will be switched over to CCS. And this is coming from a Leaf owner.

 

CHAdeMO is widespread in Japan, and maybe some other Asian countries, but it shot itself in the foot in the US with the licensing fees.