Priority Registration Site for All-New Prius PHEV Announced

Toyota Announces Priority Registration Web Site for All-New Prius Plug-In Hybrid

They'll start taking reservations April 22, 2011. You can register interest today on the Prius plug-in site:

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (Prius PHV)

Signed up today. Will work out nicely with the LEAF.

drees said:

Toyota Announces Priority Registration Web Site for All-New Prius Plug-In Hybrid

They'll start taking reservations April 22, 2011. You can register interest today on the Prius plug-in site:

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (Prius PHV)

Signed up today. Will work out nicely with the LEAF.

Click to expand...

You're referring to the "Sign Up for Updates" button? Is that the highest level of commitment at the moment?

Just did the "Sign Up for Updates". The likely 13 mile Plug In Prius EV range before kicking in gas is not very impressive, but it would reduce the Prius gas consumption a bit more than a non-plug in. You'd be pluggin in everywhere you go to minimize the gas usage - much more so that a pure EV, unless you don't mind burning the gas! As my 10 year old original Prius is getting older, I'll have to consider Volt, Plug In Prius, etc. to replace it. As the kids start to drive and the RAV4 EV gets older, now 10 years, maybe replace at 15 years, I'll have to consider the Tesla Model S, Ford Focus EV, second generation LEAF, Toyota second generation RAV4 EV (Tesla powered) and hopefully some other choices for the second pure electric in the stable.

Exactly. With such a short battery, expect the PIPrius to be hogging all the J1772 plugs.
They'll want to charge after going around the block.

drees said:

Signed up today. Will work out nicely with the LEAF.

Click to expand...

And they might arrive about the same time.
<insert obligatory smiley>

GroundLoop said:

Exactly. With such a short battery, expect the PIPrius to be hogging all the J1772 plugs.
They'll want to charge after going around the block.

Click to expand...

I always figured that the 13 mile battery pack was just for the 2010 evaluation cars. I can't believe that they will ship the production model with such short a battery range.. 20 miles is such a nice, round number and would make the car so much more useful. And the way it's designed it would just involve adding another battery pack unit.

Still, they will probably sell like hotcakes.

13... and real world is more like 7 with heater on...

HIOJim said:

GroundLoop said:

Exactly. With such a short battery, expect the PIPrius to be hogging all the J1772 plugs.
They'll want to charge after going around the block.

Click to expand...

I always figured that the 13 mile battery pack was just for the 2010 evaluation cars. I can't believe that they will ship the production model with such short a battery range.. 20 miles is such a nice, round number and would make the car so much more useful. And the way it's designed it would just involve adding another battery pack unit.

Still, they will probably sell like hotcakes.

Click to expand...

I talked to one of the Toyota engineers at Plug In 2010. She couldn't understand why people want to plug in their cars. The 13 miles is actually increased from numbers as low as 7 miles that they were considering earlier. I would be pleasantly surprised if the production Prius Plug-in Hybrid has a range of 20 or more miles. I think it's pretty unlikely that the production version will have an electric only range of more than 15 miles, and that will probbly be only under very careful driving, even modest driving will likely cause the gas engine to come on, and the electric only range will be much less with all but the most careful, lower speed driving.

The one Toyota vehicle you will see significant electric only range in for the near future is in the Tesla powered second generation Toyota RAV4 EV. It should have 100 mile real world range meaning the EPA range for Toyota RAV4 EV will probably be at least 100 miles, if not 110 or 120 miles. With any luck, success of the Tesla powered second generation Toyota RAV4 EV may encourage Toyota to increase the electric only range of it's other vehicles.

Prius Plug-in Hybrid owners should make sure to fill out any feedback to Toyota requesting longer Electric Only range if that's what they want. Toyota will be watching the consumer response to the Electric Only Range vs. cost tradeoff. Maybe we can encourage them to add extra Electric Only range as a factory option at additional cost.

Even with the small pack you will still get a very high mpg, around 75 or so I think.. the question is how much it will cost.

Herm said:

Even with the small pack you will still get a very high mpg, around 75 or so I think.. the question is how much it will cost.

Click to expand...

Depends on your usage. Someone with a 20 mile round trip commute charging at home and work will do quite well, over 100 mpg, maybe 200. Someone who only charges at night with a 100 mile round trip commute may only get 60 mpg. On the other hand either of those figures is much better than a Ford Excursion will ever do, of course those aren't comparable vehicles.

Two years ago I'd have jumped on this car. Two years ago I'd even have bought a Volt, in spite of my hatred for GM. But now my thinking is different. A pure EV (be it my Zap Xebra or a Leaf if it ever arrives) uses no gas at all and does all or almost all my in-town driving. (Xebra: almost all; Leaf would do all.) My 2004 Prius still works fine for road trips, generally getting 51 mpg when I go to Canada for summer hiking.

A PHEV or range-extended EV is hauling around the useless dead weight of an ICE when running electric, and on a long road trip is hauling around the dead weight of all those batteries after the first 12 to 20 miles of a road trip. Considering that I already own the Prius, and that I want a pure EV for in and near town, a PHEV no longer makes sense to me.

A Volt is even worse since my Prius will burn less gas on those trips to Canada, and the Prius has more cargo space.

I can see it working for someone who needs a new car (thus they're not buying an extraneous car or trading one in prematurely) and who would drive within its EV range most of the time, but not always within the range of a pure EV. But with the Leaf having 70 to 80 miles range, and the PHEV Prius only having 15 to 20 mile EV range, I just don't see this being a good solution for very many people.

The one thing to be said for a PHEV Prius is Toyota quality.

The site is LIVE in case anyone is interested.