What will "hard miles" look like? What about PiPs that rarely see a tank of gasoline? Just wondering. Never too early to be thinking about the next great Prius… and there will be one.
Well, you're spinning the ICE regardless of whether you're combusting anything in it, so from a wear and tear perspective, I think it's pretty much a wash (yes, the valves aren't moving, the fuel injectors aren't injecting, the catalytic convertor isn't converting etc).
I don't think the traditional idea of hard miles applies to the Prius Plug-in, or the Prius Liftback even. Running the engine at low RPMs in city start/stop driving and during starting is what causes the most wear on a traditional ICE. The Prius avoids the first condition by starting from stop using the electric motor and allowing the ICE to run at a higher RPM via the PSD. The Prius avoids the second condition by using MG1 to spin the ICE up to a faster RPM than a traditional ICE starter motor would.
Prius have always held their value remarkably well, even when a newer generation is available. The PHV model offers the added bonus of being an aftermarket treasure, yearning to be augmented later with newer battery tech many years from now. .
