2012 Prius Plug In Road Test

A somewhat negative review based upon the cold temps in Boston this time of year, as well as the author's somewhat jury rigged outlet source!!!

http://www.boston.com/cars/newsandreviews/overdrive/2011/01/2012_toyota_prius_plug-in_review.html?p1=Well_Cars_Article

Yeah, he sure was down on the car.

56 mpg in the dead cold of winter is a healthy improvement over what he'd get in a regular Prius - likely low 40s at best and probably mid 30s.

A bit more EV range would be useful - I'd like to see about 20 miles in the production version in optimal conditions, but it's always a cost trade off - look at how much the Volt costs!

$10,000 for 10 miles a day of electric driving is a pretty steep price.

If I drove it 10 miles on e-power every day, that would be 3650 miles a year or 36500 in 10 years. Since the Prius ges good gas mileage, figure 45, that would save me 811 gallons of gasoline (over the 10 years), at $5 a gallon I'd save about $4,000.

I'm not anti-Prius or someone who thinks the Leaf is the answer for everyone, but I would think thjey would have to have a bit more range and a premium of no more than $5,000 to make this work. I'd love to see dozens of electric and plug-ins on the market in the next few years.

And, if they are running three 3kWh battery packs, that shouldn't cost Toyota more than $4000 (based on rumored cost that Nissan has been able to source the batteries at under $500 per kWh). And that would be reduced by whatever the NiMH battery pack costs that won't be installed-- so they could make this work if they can lower the price. And maybe they will!

SteveInSeattle said:

$10,000 for 10 miles a day of electric driving is a pretty steep price.

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I highly doubt the PHEV Prius will cost $10k more than the regular one.

Your 2nd estimate is closer, though I'd hope that they could get it down to the $2500-$3000 range depending on actual capacity with the production version.

drees said:

Your 2nd estimate is closer, though I'd hope that they could get it down to the $2500-$3000 range depending on actual capacity with the production version.

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I think this will be the case too - but will it be available with all trims of Prius or just the higher ones ...

I'm getting terrible mileage in my 2010 Prius this winter, we have cold, slush and over 3' of snow on the ground right now, about 38-40 mpg, the 10 gallon tank can't even get to 400 miles of range, in the summer, there's no problem getting to nearly 500 or more.

If the plug in prius doesn't get 20-25 miles of EV range, it's not worth buying, IMHO

mitch672 said:

I'm getting terrible mileage in my 2010 Prius this winter, we have cold, slush and over 3' of snow on the ground right now, about 38-40 mpg

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Sounds pretty good for those conditions, actually! Some people only get 40 mpg in normal driving thanks to their lead foot!

mitch672 said:

If the plug in prius doesn't get 20-25 miles of EV range, it's not worth buying, IMHO

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Depends completely on your driving habits. For me, even 12 mi EV range would cut my fuel usage in half. Sure, eliminating it all together would be better, but until 300 mi EVs are affordable and quick charge stations are plentiful, it's not going to happen. Maybe in 6-8 years from now...

I think the sweet point for a PHEV's EV range is whatever is the commute distance.

For us about 20 miles is ok. But for some with large commutes (as in SoCal), PHEVs will only reduce daily gas consumption rather than eliminate it.

Ideally Toyota should sell PHV far a premium of $2.5K. That premium the owner can get back in tax credit. That would really help the plug-in movement.

mitch672 said:

I'm getting terrible mileage in my 2010 Prius this winter, we have cold, slush and over 3' of snow on the ground right now, about 38-40 mpg...

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Man - I agree! My mileage is down from where it should be as well - there have been a number of days that I've had to use the air conditioning instead of the heater.


(I really miss snow... )

AndyH said:

mitch672 said:

I'm getting terrible mileage in my 2010 Prius this winter, we have cold, slush and over 3' of snow on the ground right now, about 38-40 mpg...

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Man - I agree! My mileage is down from where it should be as well - there have been a number of days that I've had to use the air conditioning instead of the heater.


(I really miss snow... )

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Hey Andy, I have a yard full of surplus snow....want me to send you some?? :lol:

For us, anything less than 35 miles is a deal killer and not worth any additional cost over a straight Hybrid. I think that the Volt got it right on this.

evnow said:

I think the sweet point for a PHEV's EV range is whatever is the commute distance.

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mogur said:

For us, anything less than 35 miles is a deal killer and not worth any additional cost over a straight Hybrid. I think that the Volt got it right on this.

evnow said:

I think the sweet point for a PHEV's EV range is whatever is the commute distance.

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My round trip commute is 34 miles, that's why the Volt almost makes sense.
The amount I'd lose on selling/trading in my 2010 Prius, doesn't though.

Chevy dealer is telling me could be up to a year.
No thanks, at that point might as well just wait for the Leaf or Ford Focus EV

mitch672 said:

Chevy dealer is telling me could be up to a year.
No thanks, at that point might as well just wait for the Leaf or Ford Focus EV

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Check with other CT dealers - some may have it on the lot.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=56361#p56361