I'm interested in buying a used PIP. I currently own a 2014 prius but I'm not sure exactly what what differences are between the two. I know the PIP you can plug-in and get about 12-miles pure electric, and you can do that by going EV and pressing the EV button. But what about on ECO mode or PWR mode, or just regular mode? Would the 12-mile EV work with the hybrid system with regular mode or eco mode? or it can only be used on EV mode? I've heard some people getting 60-70 mpg combining with EV. Do they have to manually use EV-mode first until the PIP switches to regular prius? I've also heard that the ICE kicks in later in PIPs since it has a stronger battery. Is that in eco mode or regular mode? If I just use the PIP on regular or eco, it will only have 50mpg and the 12-mile EV wouldn't work at all? No help whatsoever?
eco/normal/power modes don't affect anything but the gas pedal and a little hvac suppression. ev mode iswhen the engine is off and there is wall charge powering the vehicle. hv mode is when it is acting like a regular prius, not using wall charge. 12 miles depends on the health of the battery, weather, acceleration, speed and topography. i am getting 13.4 putting around back roads currently. that would probably translate to only 5 or 6 miles on the highway at 55mph. there is no such thing as mpg when using wall charge. cost/mile is the only effective measure based on gas and electron costs. the ice kicks in about the same time as regular prius, 10-15 seconds after powering up, depending on temperature. one thing to investigate is whether you have the updated pistons and rings. if so, i would not go backward with an older pip. get a 15, or 14 with updates.
First off, there are a lot of ifs and gotchas that can change the details but the basics would be something like you charge it and if you just drive it without changing anything you will be in EV mode. Which mostly means if you keep the power request low enough in the bar on the screen and don't go over 62 mph and don't use B mode and don't ask for any heat/defrost or possibly put too much charge too fast in the battery(downhill) then you'll likely stay on battery only for 10-12 ish miles. When it runs out of battery you're back in basically normal Prius mode till you either plug it in or go down enough hill up charge up the battery beyond normal Prius mode. If you press the EV/HV button you'll be in normal Prius mode and the battery will mostly stay at the level it was. (It resets back to EV mode at every start and if you ran out of EV mode battery and got enough charge back in it) If you leave it in EV mode and just drive it normal and not extremely gently, highway speeds, heat, etc then it will start the ICE and you'll be in a combination of favoring battery usage but still hybrid mode as needed, etc. As far as eco, normal, power modes they work as you're used to whether in EV or HV mode though EV mode is more or less a bit more reserved with power. Yes you might see 60mpg but that's ignoring whatever the electricity cost that you put into it with the charger .
I love my 2012 PIP which still gets about 8 miles on a charge. I live close enough to the stores that I use to go EV only for days (I'm retired). However, if I had to drive further consistently and run the engine most of the time, the PIP part wouldn't be that useful. So what if you get 60 to 70 mpg, it's not that big a deal compared to the normal 52 mpg. And if the PIP battery fails, it's upwards of $10,000 to replace it compared to $2 000 for a regular Prius battery. There's even a full industry in rebuilding regular Prius batteries for much less, even a subscription service where you can get free replacement batteries when necessary for about $20 per month. Not so for PIP batteries, you have to go to the dealer. So it's how you use the Prius that should decide if you need PIP.
That's unlikely. A "back of the envelope" Very Rough cost for electricity. The PIP often gets ~~5miles/kWh. 5miles for every KilloWatt of electricity. A "typical electric rate is ~$0.25/kWH (can vary from ~$0.10/kWh to ~$0.35/kWh). So, for for ~$1.00, the car will go ~20miles in pure EV mode. $0.25/kWh x 4kWh = $1.00 5miles/kWh x 4kWh = 20miles Or, ~$5.00 for ~100 miles in pure EV mode. $0.25/kWh x 20kWh = $5.00 5miles/kWh x 20kWh = 100miles For $10/month, you'd be driving ~200 EV miles. That's ~6.5 miles every day (including weekends). For the PIP, the EV range is ~15-20 miles. So, the max you'd see is ~$20-$30/month. Again, it depends on local electric rates. Driving habits. Driving area. Amount driven. Bla, bla, bla. And, you could drive 15 miles in EV mode. Charge, drive 15 miles in EV mode. Charge, drive 15 miles in EV mode. ... Imho, it's more likely you'd drive to a location with a ChargePoint charger (grocery store, etc), and pay what the rate is. Then, drive home. That's what I do when I drive to work. Charge at home. Charge at work (~~$0.30/kWh). Drive home, charge. Repeat. Good Luck!
To be fair, electric costs in Boston, and in a lot of Eastern Mass are outrageous (for National Grid customers). A total cost of ~$0.35/kWh isn't unheard of - total bill/divided by the KilloWatt hours used. There are fees, more fees, and fees on top of the fees. Huh? Ouch! The cost in many areas in Conn is similar. However, at least in Conn, EverSource clears trees, to reduce the chance of power outages. And, wow, does EverSource clear trees! Imho, EverSource clearly has a personal vendetta against the Lorax.
Are there still tax incentives for buying a used PIP? Maybe when I register to the DMV there’s some discounts? I live in Michigan.
Yes, I'm on a balanced billing plan. It adjust every 6 months based on past usage patterns. My bill spiked $15-$20 a month; but I charge everyday during non-peak hours. This has saved me 1.5 tanks of gas a month from my old Prius C; so about $70 a month. This is an equivalent savings of $50/month in energy cost alone. To some people, this is nothing. If you project those numbers forward, and move from a less efficient car - the math would expand exponentially. My old 2012 Prius C was the cheapest total cost of ownership car on the market according to Edmunds.com... Crunch your own numbers....
the thing is, many electric bills vary month to month depending on usage and kwh cost changes. with a pip, if you're only charging a few times a day, at 10 miles, it's not going to jump out at you. unless you're mrs. b, who thoroughly analyzes every bill that comes through, and often pulls up last years to compare.
Mine went up $30 a month as charging put us in Tier 3 which was upwards of ~$0.35/kWh, so about ~$1 a day for ~3 kWh. Once we switched to Time-of-Use EV rate plans, went to just $10 extra a month. When you're combined gas and electricity bill is $100. Going up a third is a lot. But DW really hated being told when she could run the washer and dryer. Called me a power Nazi and said I had to do those chores if I'm going to wait to run the dishwasher at 10pm. I just set the timer. Some utilities may offer rebates. PG&E gave us $250 and it included used models, but not ones where the VIN was used before to get the rebate.
