1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Saw My 1st A132 Prius PHEV Today

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by hill, Jul 28, 2010.

  1. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,659
    8,063
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Saw My 1st A132 Prius PHEV Today In the Wild

    Shiny black 2008 - sitting at the plumbing shop. A123 sticker on the back. I caught up with the owner as she was leaving. I asked her how she liked it. She's dissatisfied with it because she's only averaging 70mpg in stead of 100. She couldn't believe it when I told her that with pulse & glide techniques mentioned on PC, I've gotten over 700 miles on a tank at 75.2mpg in my old non PHEV. Not wanting to, or willing to modify her driving style, she is apparently satisfied with remaining in her dissatisfaction.
     
    #1 hill, Jul 28, 2010
  2. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

    Joined:
    May 30, 2005
    3,461
    537
    0
    Location:
    Wheelersburg, Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm disappointed too. I don't get the advertised 100mpg with my Hymotion battery.

    I'm willing to bet she thought she was going to save money by turning the car into a plug in.

    I just don't get why people want to spend all this money on these kits and not willing to drive just slightly different to get the best out of their investment. I'm not talking about full blown hypermiling mode but just small changes. Basically just driving the way you was taught in driving school is enough.
     
    #2 TheForce, Jul 28, 2010
  3. JeffreyDV

    JeffreyDV New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2009
    81
    10
    0
    Location:
    New Milford, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I am amazed how much I have changed my own driving style in an effort to get the most MPG possible. I learn more about this car and also the Enginer system everyday. Today I made my first 100% EV trip to drop kids off at day care and then to work.
     
    #3 JeffreyDV, Jul 28, 2010
  4. linuxpenguin

    linuxpenguin Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2007
    352
    182
    4
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I think people are disappointed because the whole reason they paid $10,000+ was so that they didn't have to modify their driving patterns to get good mileage. On the flip side, some people really are just looking to get 20 or 30 MPG extra over the EPA. Everyone has different expectations for a PHEV it seems.

    I think I would categorize myself in the "I-just-wanna-drive-normally" group (I'm not much of a hypermiler at all actually--my hat is off to those of you who are) though since the conversion system in my car uses electricity much more aggressively than most other aftermarket systems I guess I never really needed to modify my driving to begin with...

    Maybe this makes me a bad hybrid owner, but I do like being able to get in my car and drive it like a traditional gasoline car (including wasting a few obnoxious trucks off the line from time to time just for fun) and still get 100+ MPG without having to do things like neutral shift, pulse & glide or use EV mode (though I do like using EV mode--don't get me wrong, I just like being able to drive the car normally most of the time without sacrificing lots of mileage).

    Are there others that like to drive normally like me? :)

    Andrew
     
    #4 linuxpenguin, Jul 28, 2010
  5. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2005
    3,686
    699
    2
    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Re: Saw My 1st A132 Prius PHEV Today In the Wild


    Did she mention the conversion provider with the A123 batt's?
     
    #5 mrbigh, Jul 29, 2010
  6. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
    14,487
    2,994
    0
    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Probably Hymotion. A123 bought them.
     
    #6 usbseawolf2000, Jul 29, 2010
  7. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    19,659
    8,063
    54
    Location:
    Montana & Nashville, TN
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Re: Saw My 1st A132 Prius PHEV Today In the Wild

    She didn't volunteer it, and I didn't think to ask. At 6'-5" ... I think it creaped her out that I came up to talk to her ... or maybe it was my 'nissan leaf' shirt.

    :p

    .
     
    #7 hill, Jul 30, 2010
  8. drees

    drees Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2007
    1,782
    247
    0
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Re: Saw My 1st A132 Prius PHEV Today In the Wild

    70mpg sounds about right for the typical PHEV Prius conversion without any special driving techniques...

    I suspect that her expectations weren't managed properly.
     
    #8 drees, Aug 5, 2010
  9. snookums

    snookums Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2008
    85
    16
    0
    Location:
    The 'Sauga, Ontario
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I was getting 72-75mpg when I first got my Hymotion, and hell I was impressed! Since then I tend to average between 94-107mpg, and I haven't relly changed my driving behaviour; just learned how to drive the car better.

    I guess everyone expects something different.
     
    #9 snookums, Aug 5, 2010
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)