Featured Tested: 2022 Toyota Prius Prime's Time Has Come and Gone

That C&D article made it to the Google News feed. I noticed that it's not a car review. It's an op-ed piece. Just one man's opinion.

 

One persons opinion, that car and drivers magazine editors thought worthy enough to publish. There must have been something in the article write up that they (the editors) thought was fair enough, even that persons fear of finishing the track course.

 

What's great about YouTubers is most of them have built an audience from scratch... Like Jehu Garcia who converted his VW bus into an electric car by recycling pallets of old laptop batteries. He went from being broke and unknown to being shipped a brand new 850hp Rivian truck for review because he has such a large following:

 

I still say the editor DM'ed the writer and said "Use this line about the car's time has 'come and gone' because our boomer readership will recognize it. I shouldn't have to remind you, but that veneer of comfortable familiarity is the only thing keeping the subs up to where the publisher doesn't lay us all off again. No, you can use it on whatever car or auto topic you like, just make sure you use that headline."

 

My point was that the editors still thought the article was worth publishing even after the author was to scared to finish the track test. gezz was that supposed to be a give away to car and drivers subscribers? Or did that part of the article just blow by the editorial staff?, and it seems many others that read the article as well....

 

here's another youtuber with a 40 minute video of his first Rivian long haul road trip. This guy shows some of the how tos and what's what in the new Truck for those interested in the status while tooling around town and also the long haul trucking the Rivian is capable of. For those interested and like the Out of Spec Motoring channels style, enjoy ... youtu.be/_1gCBRo0Qow

@PriusCamper this video was next in the youtube queue after the one you posted above.

 

On further digging, the Google news feed tagged it as an opinion piece. The C&D web site has it in the /reviews/' hierarchy of their website.

I wish that they would reject pieces like this as being useless and misleading. For instance, the bit about being scared about the .8g roadholding on the skid pad. And yet in another part of the site ** the review of the Mercedes G glass traction was a low (bad) .61 G and it had a max speed of 140+ MPH, yet they did not call it out as too dangerous to drive. Instead they suggested that you upgrade the tires to massive high performance tires in order to bring the skidpad tests up to an astonishing .75 G, which is still worse than the Prius.

I stopped reading C&D decades ago when they lost touch with reality.

** Car and Driver's Comprehensive Car Testing Explained

 

Gets less than 2 miles/kWh.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=44462
& then while towing?
maybe just 1mi./kWh?
LOL
might wana wait for a Ford Lightning 150 EV or the Cybertruck & see what's more efficient .... never mind the fact that if you want warranty work or post-warranty work you may end up having to drive 2000 Mi or more - or throw it on a flatbed. No thanks
.

 

My understanding is Rivian has more serious production and remaining engineering issues. However, I am NOT in that market.

Bob Wilson

 

Is this the same car and driver article as the similarly named video in the OP?
Car and Driver's Comprehensive Car Testing Explained
this one is titled:Tested: 2022 Toyota Prius Prime's Time Is Over
looks the same to me after clicking on the link. Over ---
Charley Tango Foxtrot ... the other cars mentioned in the article describing the Prius Prime in all it lost glory, are in no particular order or class ?
Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan
Ferrari SF90 Stradale supercar
the regular Prius
Hyundai Ioniq PHEV
Hyundai Tucson
Ford Escape
RAV4 Prime

at least in a side by side the two are usually in at least a similar class. Hello? trying to kinda subtly suggest overtly a car buyer wait for the next gen Prius Prime before getting in the car buying market? I can relate ! since I already had to do that after driving my 2014 PiP.

 

The thing that's so stupid is the headline reads like an opinion piece but the article reads like a standard car review. A total disconnect between the article writer and imbecile production editor who thinks they're a writer because they get to pick the headlines after barely skimming the article.

 

Our Prius was one of the best vehicles we ever owned

It opened our eyes to how an economical car can serve our transportation needs and most importantly save us money as we used it. I think that is timeless.

Maybe the Prius cars time has come and gone ( I don't think so) but its concept as an economical, reliable means of transportation will remain with me for the rest of my life and be a driving force in the purchase of any future vehicle.

Regardless of what the article states our old 2008 Prius was one of the best cars we ever owned.

 

We had Prius 2005 to 2019 and they were fine cars. But our 2014 BMW i3 REx stayed as we traded in our 2017 Prius Prime for a Tesla Model 3. No regrets.

Bob Wilson

 

Late in joining the discussion. I just read the entire article. As a review of a car based on MSRP, it is mostly true and honest. The following paragraph basically summarizes it.

What the article misses is the value the PP offered to many who purchased the car over a regular Prius or any other newer PHEV. For most people who purchased PP in the last 5 years, it was cheaper than buying a new similar trim regular Prius. In my case in New England with a large cashback offer and full tax credit, the PP was ~$10K cheaper than a regular Prius. Now, if it weren't for the large cashback and tax credit, would I have bought three PPs in the last 5 years? Hell NO! But for the price I paid for them, the PP was a hell of an economy car that did not disappoint me in any way. With large cashback incentives mostly gone and soon to phase out tax credit, yes, I agree wholeheartedly with the article that PP's time has come and gone.

However, even though the PP is a compromise in every aspect of car trends except for the fuel efficiency, that compromise allowed me to complete a total 556.2 miles trip yesterday at 75.5mpg. For less than 8 gals of gas or ~$32, two parsons traveled this long distance in less than 10 hours. I can't think of any other means of transportation that could have accomplished this feat.

 

Source and destination cities ... in less than 10 hours?

That way I can use PlugShare to see what a Tesla would have done.

Bob Wilson

 

Try this round trip on your M3. You really have only two SuperCharger options en route, one in Medway, ME (113.5miles from Limestone) and another in Brewer, ME (61.3miles from Medway). Once in Augusta (another 76.5miles from Brewer), you have a single choice of supercharger there, if you can't charge at the destination. I do this trip often enough throughout the year. I can normally finish the trip in 4 hours total oneway or 8 hours round trip driving at the speed limit. It took me almost 2 extra hours yesterday because I was driving between 55-65mph to save gas. I normally drive at 70mph on most of the section on I-95, but that would result in ~60mpg on my PP.

 

Thank you!

My 2019 Tesla Model 3 has 65,728 miles and the battery management system gives it a 220 mile EV range, down from 240 miles new:

• Assuming first leg is with 100% SOC from overnight.
• SuperCharger times, 30 minutes, are accurate for the distances
• The Cam's distribution EVSE is a backup if things go BOINK

If planned, overnight charging to 100% works great. But my daily default SOC ~70% provides ~160 miles which is enough for an ad hoc trip. The Cam's distribution EVSE provides a backup to add 'margin range' if reaching the nearest SuperCharger looks at risk. I prefer to have 20 miles of reserve starting a segment and then adjust speed to maintain it.

On a nice day with a tail-wind, 100% SOC, our 3 year old, 65,000 mile Tesla Model 3 could go the whole distance but it would be exciting. Today's Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus with a newer battery and improved efficiency would have plenty of reserve range for a one hop segment. Or one could drive faster and get a quick charge (and coffee break) on the way.

This is a Tesla friendly route due to the SuperChargers and Cam's distribution EVSE. In contrast, CCS-1 EVs would have technical challenges.

Bob Wilson

 

If you have to add a stop at Houlton (Cam's distribution EVSE) to make it doable, you may also have to stop at Brewer in between Augusta to Medway (~135 miles). Yeah, this trip is impossible with a non-Tesla BEV as of now. Any gasser can finish the trip with a single gas stop. While it is doable with your M3, things can get a bit challenging in winter with a shorter range and unpredictable road conditions. And I often do this round trip in a single day without any stop except at the destination site, as I drove 259 miles non-stop Sunday on my way back. For that type of trip, I would increase my speed to a speed limit or a bit above to make the entire trip finish in less than 8 hours. PP can easily do this without stopping for gas in a very economical way (both fuel and time saved). It even has plenty (~3 gals) of gas still left in the tank that will last another month or two if I don't take a long trip again. No other car that I know of can accomplish this.

 

hybrid owners having fun too
https://www.hotcars.com/why-hybrid-owners-are-having-fun-too/

plus a DeLorean pre announcement / a summer 2022 official announcement date.

 

In the UK the Plug-in or Prime was massively UNDERSOLD. One of the turn offs for me from multiple dealers was “ oh no the plug-in battery is completely separate and can only be charged by plugging in “ is totally wrong. if I had known you could run the plug-in as simply as a hybrid perhaps my choice of 2022 would have been different.
Dealer Ignorance crushes innovation.