Plug-in Prius in about 2 years
Still basically on trackToyota will sell a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius in about 2 years. According to Toyota, the plug-in version will be affordable, and the automaker hopes to sell several tens of thousands of these plug-in hybrids.
The new plug-in Prius will offer about 12 - 14 miles of EV range, dependent upon road conditions before needing to utilize its gasoline engine. In contrast, GM's Chevy Volt will offer about 40 miles of EV range, dependent upon driving conditions.
However, the Prius will come with a cheaper price tag than the Volt. Still, initially, the Volt will qualify for a larger federal tax credit - at least the first 200,000 Volts - so pricing might be closer than real world costs thanks to the credits.
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, plug-in hybrid vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:07 AM
7 Comments:
Well, Dahc.
As usually, technical progress is not as fast as we all want. The first electric and hybrid cars were built one hundred years ago, but they lacked proper batteries. Only now, we start seeing them on the roads.
Sad, but true.
The Plug-in Prius option:
I know that there are some on this site considering the Plug-in Prius option, and there are many ways to do it. I have tried to maximize both the creature comforts and the EV range in my approach.
Base Car
2009 Toyota Prius (package 6), 6800mi: Price before tax/reg - $23488.
Leather seats, Navigation System, 6 disk changer, JBL Premium audio (9 speakers), integrated bluetooth phone, HID headlights...on and on. The car has a very tech feel to it.
The people at www.3prongpower.com will be doing an install of a 10KWh LiPO4 battery pack (40AH Thundersky) that will be installed under the back cargo floor. Battery management by this outfit: http://liionbms.com/php/index.php Price of the installed 10KHh system, including suspension upgrade, bumper plug is $11500, afer taxes it came to around $12475.
In terms of performance I can expect 40 miles of all electric EV range for city driving (that would be at a max speed of 52mph) and around 75mpg fuel economy on the highway, in mixed mode, 100+ mile range.
Driving the car home from the dealer on the highway (prob about 72mph ave), the performance screen was showing an average of about 55mpg, and that is stock, without the battery pack. I do believe it has regenerative braking.
For me, this will work for now, and allow several years for a more optimized EV to find its way to market. The install does not void the Toyota warranty in any way. In fact I purchased an additional 4 years of factory warranty for $1000. For a bit under 40K after all is done, I wind up with a plug-in solution.
Some sources of concern might be, no rebate, temperature stability of the pack unknown, current lack of a fast charger. Install scheduled in a few weeks, pics/review to follow.
__________________
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room...
Thanks for the post, anon. Would love to hear more about your experiences.
I found your post very interesting. I recently began working on a marketing plan for the EcoCAR team at Mississippi State University where they are trying to reproduce and improve the technologies similar to the Chevy Volt. This was my first introduction to the Hybrid, specifically the plug-in option, and I am enjoying learning more and more.
Your post touches on several key issues we are looking into, and I was wondering if you had any specific preferences or comments about hybrid vehicles I can take back to my team?
Thank you!
EcoCar-
what if you downsized the battery of the Volt so that it provided about only 10 miles of EV range rather than 40?.
at just 10 miles of EV range, what advantages and disadvantages are there between a parallel plug-in hybrid drive and a series plug-in hybrid drive?
for instance, is a parallel hybrid plug-in drive better suited to smaller battery packs compared to a series hybrid? conversely, does one drive offer better efficiencies as the battery pack becomes larger?
Thank you Dahcredyns for your suggestions! While I am not yet that familiar with all of the technology inside the various hybrids, I will definitely present your idea to our engineers!
Feel free to check out our website at www.msuecocar.com and see what we're working on! I look forward to reading more of your posts.
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