2017 Prius Plug-in (incl UK prices)

[FROSTYBALLS]

See http://blog.toyota.co.uk/introducing-new-prius-plug-in

[barrycoll]

That is £12000 more than my soon to be delivered Excel.....a "difficult" decision

[aCactus]

Nice to see they have now got a solar roof to charge the Battery, not so nice to see the price. I have already decided that the new Prius is not for me as the seat is too close to the ground so I am changing to a C-HR.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Pricing seems to be midway between the pricing for the Outlander PHEV (£31,750 to £43,500).

[aCactus]

Price also seems about the same as BMW 225XE, KIA Optima and VW Golf GTE http://www.nextgreencar.com/plugin-hybrid-cars/available-models/

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Be interesting to see how much to Solar roof costs.

[FROSTYBALLS]

£1500 for the solar roof - see prices for Business Edition Plus below

[MEP's Yaris GS]

22 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

£1500 for the solar roof - see prices for Business Edition Plus below

So the £34,895 / £37,095, are these before or after the £2,500 plug-in grant? I assume the roof is a £1500 option on the Excel also?

[FROSTYBALLS]

12 minutes ago, MEP's Yaris GS said:

So the £34,895 / £37,095, are these before or after the £2,500 plug-in grant?

Presumably before the grant, as I doubt whether manufacturers will be able to advertise grant inclusive prices.

 

[johalareewi]

If the solar panel charges an intermediate Battery rather than the HV Battery directly, how come it only works when the the vehicle is parked and not plugged into a charging socket? Surely the solar panel will trickle charge the intermediate Battery all the time? 

"Customers buying a new Prius Plug-in can take advantage of the UK Government’s plug-in car grant, which provides £2,500 towards the vehicle purchase cost."  So the prices are before the grant.

Does it have the charging socket and the fuel cap in the same housing?  Or is that two different charging connectors (like on the leaf)?

 

[PeteB]

45 minutes ago, johalareewi said:

Does it have the charging socket and the fuel cap in the same housing?  Or is that two different charging connectors (like on the leaf)?

Petrol on the nearside (left), electric on the offside.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

On 8 February 2017 at 9:51 AM, johalareewi said:

Surely the solar panel will trickle charge the intermediate battery all the time?

It quite possibly does, but thats still not charging the traction Battery at the end of the day, which I think is the point they're making if its plugged in.

[QuantumFireball]

On 08/02/2017 at 10:37 AM, PeteB said:

Petrol on the nearside (left), electric on the offside.

But what's the second connection right of the Type 2 socket pictured? Hard to tell with that cap on...

[PeteB]

On 08/02/2017 at 9:51 AM, johalareewi said:

If the solar panel charges an intermediate battery rather than the HV battery directly...

 

12 hours ago, MEP's Yaris GS said:

It quite possibly does, but thats still not charging the traction battery at the end of the day, which I think is the point they're making if its plugged in.

but didn't I read somewhere the solar charging gives up to 3 extra miles a day?

[PeteB]

On 07/02/2017 at 1:26 PM, barrycoll said:

That is £12000 more than my soon to be delivered Excel.....a "difficult" decision

Not difficult for me - the only thing that stopped me buying the first PiP was the lack of a spare wheel, and with the under-boot storage gone, nowhere to store a bought one without it taking valuable boot space and being in the way.

This one adds a missing seat and no rear wiper due to the odd double curved screen design.

A shame, because even the first one would have worked very well with my usage patterns, this one even better.

I still find it hard to believe that a tiny firm could upgrade a 2007 Gen 2 Prius with a Lithium Battery that gave almost 40 miles EV and leave room for the space saver under the boot floor, yet mighty Toyota can't do either 10 years later!

[QuantumFireball]

3 hours ago, PeteB said:

I still find it hard to believe that a tiny firm could upgrade a 2007 Gen 2 Prius with a Lithium battery that gave almost 40 miles EV and leave room for the space saver under the boot floor, yet mighty Toyota can't do either 10 years later!

There's a massive divide between expectations and requirements for someone like Toyota selling a car globally, vs. some lads in a shed in California selling some Battery kit. When producing a car there are varying type approval standards around the world, safety standards, etc. - Toyota need to be sure these batteries will be safe in numerous conditions, and want to get respectable ratings in things like the Euro NCAP and NHTSA crash tests. Unfortunately all this has a penalty on Battery density, and cost.

People selling aftermarket modifications for cars have much less to worry about in order to sell their products, and they may not be so safe in the event of an accident.

[PeteB]

17 minutes ago, QuantumFireball said:

There's a massive divide between expectations and requirements for someone like Toyota selling a car globally, vs. some lads in a shed in California selling some battery kit...

all fair and true, but there's a massive divide between their respective technical and financial resources.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

On 10 February 2017 at 11:03 AM, PeteB said:

but didn't I read somewhere the solar charging gives up to 3 extra miles a day?

Indeed you did.

[aCactus]

The up to 3 extra miles is mentioned near the end of this page   http://blog.toyota.co.uk/european-unveiling-of-new-toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid but they also say this means 620 miles a year without mentioning the £1500 extra cost

[FROSTYBALLS]

33 minutes ago, aCactus said:

The up to 3 extra miles is mentioned near the end of this page   http://blog.toyota.co.uk/european-unveiling-of-new-toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid but they also say this means 620 miles a year without mentioning the £1500 extra cost

However, they do provide prices for the Business Edition Plus with and without the solar roof - by subtracting the former from the latter that comes to £1500

[johalareewi]

With my plugin, 3 miles requires about 1kW.  Assuming the new plugin to be at least as good as that, and with say average daylight of 10 hours, the panels will be about 100W (seems about right for the size).  If you keep the car for 3 years then solar generated electricity is approx 1000kW.  Initial cost £1500 so over 3 years the per kW cost could be £1.50.  Way more expensive than the 9p it costs from the mains.

[aCactus]

Not knowing exactly what Toyota fit for £1500 but it does seem expensive when you can get a complete kit producing what seems to be a similar output for £350       http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/120w-solar-panel-motorhome-kit-with-premium-roof-fixings-n79ng

[johalareewi]

Hook it up to a suitable secondary 12V Battery and when the Battery is full, you can boost the plugin's HV using the supplied 3pin charging lead and a 12V-230V inverter (in theory).

 

[johalareewi]

Got an email from MrT yesterday.

TOYOTA REDUCES LAUNCH PRICES FOR THE NEW PRIUS PLUG-IN

MODEL	OTR PRICE	OTR PRICE with Government incentive
Business Edition Plus	£31,695	£29,195
Business Edition Plus Solar Roof	£33,195	£30,695
Excel	£33,895	£31,395

[myriagon]

Business Edition Plus available for £26802 through drivethedeal.com - that's a long way from £34895 only 12 days ago.

Makes me wonder what's happened in the interim for such a large fall in price or how they could have set it so high in the first place?