15 miles on eletric for plug-in Prius

[vi edit]

If there's anything Hybrid wise I'm interested in from Toyota it's the "Prius-C" concept. Smaller, more nimble, less expensive and even more efficient than the normal Prius. I'm very interested to see just where this thing winds up price wise and econmy wise.

If it's a couple grand more than a Fit, a similar size, and gets 50% better in-town milage and 10 or more better highway miles then it's going to be a big time slam dunk I think.

 

[ElFenix]

http://www.ford.com/electric/focuselectric/2012/

Supposed to have 100 mile range, but who knows the cost? Looks very nice though.

i wonder if they'll give me a package deal on an electric and an ST :hmm:

 

[Arkaign]

Part of the problems with hybrids moving forward is that batteries will likely get more expensive than gasoline on the same timescale. China has 95% of accessible 'rare earth metals' which are crucial to many things, particularly the advanced batteries, and they've recently decided to start constricting the exports fairly heavily. 🙁

 

[JTsyo]

I think you guys are expecting too much from a plug in hybrid. The point isn't to do a whole trip in electric but to do more of it. I'm surprised it'll get to 60+ mph on electric.

The thing though is the cost of the car doesn't make up for the gas savings. I guess it might take a year or 2 to bring the cost down. I'm guessing that this model needs a much more expensive battery than the regular Prius.

 

[ViviTheMage]

.....so.........ugly...............

 

[Doppel]

Part of the problems with hybrids moving forward is that batteries will likely get more expensive than gasoline on the same timescale. China has 95% of accessible 'rare earth metals' which are crucial to many things, particularly the advanced batteries, and they've recently decided to start constricting the exports fairly heavily. 🙁

They'll get cheaper, not including any temporary hiccups. Battery technology if you look at price and capacity over, say, 10-20 years is exponentially getting better.

 

[Howard]

They'll get cheaper, not including any temporary hiccups. Battery technology if you look at price and capacity over, say, 10-20 years is exponentially getting better.

A "temporary hiccup" could be 10-20 years of unavailability (while new mines open and supply chain is established) if China closes its doors.

 

[Doppel]

A "temporary hiccup" could be 10-20 years of unavailability (while new mines open and supply chain is established) if China closes its doors.

That won't happen. There are other battery technologies that work without Chinese products anyway.

 

[Eli]

If there's anything Hybrid wise I'm interested in from Toyota it's the "Prius-C" concept. Smaller, more nimble, less expensive and even more efficient than the normal Prius. I'm very interested to see just where this thing winds up price wise and econmy wise.

If it's a couple grand more than a Fit, a similar size, and gets 50% better in-town milage and 10 or more better highway miles then it's going to be a big time slam dunk I think.

A lot of people are looking to the Prius-C concept to finally dethrone the Insight for best production car MPG.

I'm not holding my breath, but I welcome it overall.

 

[Bignate603]

I think you guys are expecting too much from a plug in hybrid. The point isn't to do a whole trip in electric but to do more of it.

If it was a $1k option, getting a few extra miles without gas would be reasonable. However, for the cost they're asking the benefit is ridiculously tiny.

 

[Doppel]

A lot of people are looking to the Prius-C concept to finally dethrone the Insight for best production car MPG.

I'm not holding my breath, but I welcome it overall.

I can tell you now it won't beat the Insight. It's a larger vehicle, more powerful, etc. My best guess is it pulls about 55 mpg combined--5 better than regular Prius. Even as low as 53-54 wouldn't surprise me and I cannot see higher than mid 50's best case. I am sure it will have the same power train, so basically it's just a lighter Prius and maybe a little less wind resistance.

 

[Eli]

I can tell you now it won't beat the Insight. It's a larger vehicle, more powerful, etc. My best guess is it pulls about 55 mpg combined--5 better than regular Prius. Even as low as 53-54 wouldn't surprise me and I cannot see higher than mid 50's best case. I am sure it will have the same power train, so basically it's just a lighter Prius and maybe a little less wind resistance.

Yeah, I don't think it will either. If you want to see what the Insight does with a "normal" drivetrain, just look at the CVT version. It tops out at around 80MPG under absolutely ideal conditions, but averages more like 55MPG.

While the manual transmission Insight with lean burn tops out at around 120MPG and averages more like 65MPG.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

It sucks. Buy a normal Prius instead. The second-gen Prius can be had relatively cheap, too, and fortunately replacing the hybrid battery seems like a thing that only needs to be done every 10 years or so (it's warrantied for 8 years, too).

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Part of the problems with hybrids moving forward is that batteries will likely get more expensive than gasoline on the same timescale. China has 95% of accessible 'rare earth metals' which are crucial to many things, particularly the advanced batteries, and they've recently decided to start constricting the exports fairly heavily. 🙁

No.

 

[lopgok]

The plug in prius and chevy volt (with the low emission package) qualify for the california carpool lane sticker. The stickers are good through jan 2015.

I bought a plug in prius because of the carpool lane sticker.
So far, I have been getting 55mpg, and I have a pretty heavy foot.
I am sure I could get better mileage if I worked at it.
Being in california, I also get $1.5k california tax credit in addition to the $2.5k federal tax credit. Without the carpool sticker, I would have bought the prius 2.

 

[HarryLui]

You're getting 55mpg because you're not stuck on the freeway doing 0-5mph all the way from home to work and back.

 

[waggy]

its not amazing but it is a step in the right direction.


The next 20 years should be exciting. I am really looking foreword to what cars will be like. they seem to be making good jumps every few years.

 

[Insomniator]

I feel like a 40 mile electric range + 35 mpg is way better than 15 miles + 50mpg.

With the volt the average person may never use gas. With a 15 mile range almost everyone will have to use gas.

 

[Doppel]

I feel like a 40 mile electric range + 35 mpg is way better than 15 miles + 50mpg.

With the volt the average person may never use gas. With a 15 mile range almost everyone will have to use gas.

Just varies from person to person. For me, I'd agree, but people doing a lot of driving in a given day with only one charge available would prefer the Prius. The Volt is more expensive.

Unfortunately, the plug in Prius has come at a very steep price tag, again because of that old kick in the junk battery cost. A regular Prius' ni-cd pack OEM costs something like $2800. These lithium packs are way more expensive.

Agree with above, next 20 years will be quite interesting. Hydrogen I don't even hear jack sh*t about anymore, it's irrelevant for any time soon. Electric cars and ever-more efficient hybrids will continue to grab market share. Better batteries would make even a normal Prius more effective. As it is, their charge and discharge rates are kept at a certain wattage. So, for example, when you are braking you get only moderate braking power put back into the battery; if you step on the brake harder the friction brakes kick in. With a better performing pack you could keep moving this friction-brake entry point further down the pedal press,and that alone would increase mpg in the city.