As I was looking for real efficiency of plug in hybrid cars, I felt that 25 mile range for 8.8kWh battery is mediocre at best even though Prime has almost highest MPGe. So I realized that it is related how much battery capacity is reserved for battery longevity. So I am curious and did some simple calculation based on EPA range and EPA MPGe of some plugin hybrids. ----------------Battery Size--Range---MPGe--Used--Reserved Prius Prime----8.8----------25-------133-------0.72-------0.28 Clarity-----------17-----------47-------110-------0.84-------0.16 Volt---------------18.4--------53-------106-------0.91-------0.09 Ioniq--------------8.9---------29-------119-------0.92-------0.08 Fusion Energy-7.6---------21--------97--------0.96-------0.04 You can tell that Prime reserves most capacity than other cars. If Toyota is more aggressive and push battery usage to 90%, then the range could be 31+ miles. But I would definitely prefer current settings for prolonged battery life and to offset the missing liquid battery cooling.
What about battery reserved for HV mode? That's where it seems the Prime may be using that extra reserve.
I could not tell for that. But if you look at Ioniq which is closest to Prime, it has only 8% reserved. I hope Toyota can put a 17kWh battery on Camry hybrid with 50mpg and 50 mile EV range. I would definitely buy it.
A 17kWh battery would be quite a charge time. That's one reason I didn't get a Volt instead of a Prime, but I have to admit a 50 mile range in EV would be nice.
Putting in an L2 costs money, especially when you don't have a 220 circuit, and even with an L2 the car is unavailable for longer than I'd care for.
agreed, generally not free. but most people would figure it into the purchase price of a 50 mile phev, and usually can live with the car charging 9-10 hours a night.
I completely agree that $1000+ cost for a L2 charging station (240v outlet plus a L2 charger) is too expensive. So I plan to DIY a 240v outlet, and would wait for a reasonable priced charger, or maybe DIY an adaptor to use Prime L1 charger as L2 charger if it is proved to be 240v charging safe as Volt charger. But that should not be the reason not to buy a 17kWh battery car. With 120v outlet, the charge time should be around 11 hours, which is perfectly fine for overnight charge. 25 mile rated range is a little tight, sometimes I found I need around 10-20 more miles after battery depleted. Also after years when capacity lose, the range would be around 20 miles. That said, I usually can squeeze out 30+ miles per charge, and Prius Prime is also very efficient even with gas. I am quite happy with it but wish it could be even better. I just hope Toyota can once more double the battery size, and move the battery under the rear bench seats.
I have weird job requirements -- I'm basically on call all the time and it takes about 45 minutes one way to work. There's such a penalty for the volt and others when going on gas... The Prime was pretty much the best I could choose with it's HV gas mileage and range, plus the EV bonus.
If Prime has 2x the EV range, it is even better, isn't it ? I assume you are 40 miles away from office, if you have access to L2 charger at your work, that would be perfect.
It all depends on what you lose by carrying that much more weight around. Hard to tell. As for work, no chargers, I live in South Carolina and it's about 30 years behind the times in infrastructure stuff.
