Anyone use a Prius Prime? What do u guys think? Do you take time to charge the 2nd battery?
The info is mostly what I gathered from a dealer visit.
The car has 2 battery for Prime on top of the 12v batt - the 2nd batt is giving the 24m EV drive by charging it…
It also takes significant space in the trunk - this seems like a deal breaker!
What do u guys think? Did I miss anything?
Update: This was about 5th gen or older Prime. Current model is 6th.
The Prius Prime is a plug-in-hybrid vehicle. The extra batteries more than the regular Prius are there primarily to allow the owner to plug it in at night so the first 44 miles of the day can be ALL electric travel. The downside is a smaller trunk.
If you have a place to plug it in overnight it could save money on gasoline, especially if your daily commute is 20-35 miles. You might not have to buy gas for a month! If you can’t or won’t recharge overnight or have a long commute, it might not be the best choice. A regular Prius might be.
There is at least one poster here that currently owns a plug-in-hybrid (not a Prime, but a Lexus) and is very pleased with it ( @VDCdriver ) I’m sure he will weigh in.
Where did you hear that? I only find that it has one larger battery.
+1, but just to clarify the matter, because the driver can switch from EV mode to HV mode at the push of a button, one can choose when to run the vehicle solely on battery. For instance, if I’m going to be taking a moderately long expressway drive, I stay in the default EV mode for the first 5 miles or so. Then, a couple of miles before I get to the expressway, I switch to HV, in order to give the gas engine a bit of warm-up time before having to accelerate onto the expressway.
Also, the nominal EV range will slowly increase, over the space of several months. When delivered, my PHEV had the specified 37 mile battery range, but after steady increases over the space of those months, I wound-up with my “regular” 53 mile battery range, and this allows me to fill the gas tank once every 2-2.5 months. (In the winter, the range decreases to 48 miles)
Last weekend, I had a trip of ~180 miles roundtrip. By using HV mode on the expressways, and using EV mode for the slower roads, I was able to return home with 13 miles of battery range left before its overnight recharge.
Another ‘how do you know that’? From what I can see they have the same trunk space. The Prius has AWD, the Prime does not, with that room taken up by the (single) larger battery.
edit: the Toyota web site lists identical cargo space for both, 20.3 ft3.
I’m in the market for something like that, but I’d go with the Corolla Cross hybrid, great room, visibility, utility, and mpgs.
My sister in law bought a Prius Prime. Her main motivation over the standard Prius was the $7500 federal tax credit in addition to the expected reliability. She uses it for commuting and the 44 mile range means that she hardly uses gasoline on her commute. Besides that, she really likes it.
Previous generation Prius Prime has a higher floor in the cargo area compared to the standard prius, at least a 2in lip compared to the flat floor of the non-prime. Owner’s I know aren’t that bothered by the difference
Dealer told me - believable.
Because Prius i& CRV are parallel hybrids - if hybrid battery fails, then car will run on gas (though weak). IRS is cracking down on incentives if yours is parallel hybrid.
I believe Prius hybrid technology is sold - so they just incremented with another in parallel to do the EV portion.
This is your driving habit - no hard acceleration or braking.
Same happened to my Volt. When I got it, it was in the 30s. Rated 38. It moved up to 50 in the summer.
@VDCdriver - does it have a 2nd battery for EV mode? And a separate one for hybrid?
You can read it on Edmonds too - 24% less for used cars - I have pictures in my phone - seats 4 vs 5 on the regular priuses.
Newer model is identical
This is what I have been doing on my Volt since several yrs ago.
After a yr, car complaints and wants to burn the year old fuel! Yeah no gas for a year!
It might be hard to put a large suitcase!
Cargo Space
24.6 cu. ft.
Cargo Space
19.8 cu. ft.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-comparisons/?veh1=401658857&veh2=401649191
Dealer was wrong, not the first time. And no, they have a completely integrated system for the combined hybrid/EV system, not an ‘increment’.
Here are two videos describing in detail the prior Prius Prime battery. There’s just one:
Regarding cargo space, I was comparing the current models. Prior model did differ in storage size.
For warming up, you can just plug it in at home for 20mins - even have temp adjusted for passengers. If you do this, car is warmed up and you can just drive without thinking about EV or HV - and getter better miles/kWh. I try to do this.
Negative is battery also act like a consumable - lasts 10-15yrs. Then Prius battery is closer $5k
I kept my Integras for ever. One was 30+ age other was 25+ (when it was totaled) and still looked young and agile.
Maybe they should produce synthetic gasoline and make parallel hybrids - so you get about 50mpg.
Prius batteries have typically been ’life of the vehicle’ items, with some exceptions.
Several bags you might notice the difference, look at a Prime and decide. New prius prime has the battety packaged better
Newer hybrids recognize that the gas is old and run the ICE to use it up. I guess that the Prius Prime does that and I’m not going to look it up.
My Gen 1 Volt does it - Gen 1 started in 2011