2017 Prius Plug-in (incl UK prices)

[FROSTYBALLS]

18 minutes ago, myriagon said:

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?

Is that inclusive or exclusive of the grant?

[myriagon]

8 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Is that inclusive or exclusive of the grant?

My understanding is the customer pays £26802 and another £2500 comes from the government. Reading the original blog post again, I understand the £34895 was the total price so that needs to come down by £2500 for a fair comparison. It's still a £5593 reduction in 12 days.

[cuius]

On 19/02/2017 at 2:22 PM, myriagon said:

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?

Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro plug-in hybrids announced at Geneva, and Autoexpress is suggesting a starting price of £24,000!!

[johalareewi]

Our local MrT has a new prius plugin just arrived.

https://video.citnow.com/vpbgq3pD-1l

 

[MEP's Yaris GS]

2 hours ago, johalareewi said:

Our local MrT has a new prius plugin just arrived.

https://video.citnow.com/vpbgq3pD-1l

 

A few may make the free RFL bracket before it all changes at the end of the month then.

[dickfineman]

Hi to all,

Had my New Plug in Excel in Spitited Aqua Blue about 4 weeks. Just to let some people know...after Government Incentive, dealer discount and finance deposit contribution, i payed £28,900 cash. This is the same price as the Standard Prius Excel with metallic paint !

I decided to get it from my trusted local dealership but could have got another £1500 off with Drive the Deal if i was willing to travel half way round the country.

Generally the car is great; quiet, refined, comfortable and, of course, very economical. 170mpg and about 36 estimated EV miles per charge at the moment; i can actually get about 45 miles due to increased regenerative braking capabilities.

I am happy to answer any questions if anybody is thinking of upgrading or changing models in the near future.

Regards,

Peter.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

6 hours ago, dickfineman said:

i can actually get about 45 miles due to increased regenerative braking capabilities.

Can you expand on this please. I can't understand how you can make more energy while driving, than you left with in the Battery at the start of your journey. Or do you start at the top of a big hill?

[dickfineman]

Hi, whenever you take your foot off the accelerator, like when coasting towards a junction or roudabout, kinetic energy of the car is recovered and stored in the traction Battery. Much more energy is recovered when you apply the footbrake on the level and more again when braking downhill. The available EV miles can rise by 0.5 mile when decelerating gradually down an incline from only 40/50mph to rest. So, depending on your journey, you can recover as much as 4 - 5 miles for every 20 miles you drive.

This is nothing new; this is how the hybrid system works in the standard Prius and the Plugin but it is much more efficient at recovering EV miles than in the hybrid part of the Battery.

So, to conclude, it is not simply conjuring energy that never existed...it is merely recovering Kinetic energy and transfering it into usable electrical energy in the traction Battery. An ordinary gasoline powered car dissipates 100% of its kinetic energy as heat energy in its brakes and the surrounding air. Hope this helps.

Peter.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Excellent, thanks for confirming Peter. Sounds like that side of things works exactly the same as on my 2013 PiP.

So you're able to leave home with a full charge and in the real world will cover 45 miles before the Battery is depleted enough for the ICE to kick in and revert the car to standard Hybrid mode?

[dickfineman]

Hi Yaris GS,

Yes, that's correct...last journey i did was a 41 mile round trip, with some A roads at 55 - 65 mph but mainly 30 - 40 mph on B roads. I switched to HV mode for dual carriageway driving to preserve some EV miles, but even in HV mode, the engine was hardly on...only when i put my foot down to join the high speed traffic and overtaking a little.

So, i left with 35 EV miles at the start, travelled approx 41 actual miles and my estimated petrol miles range only went down by 3 miles and i had 3 EV miles left when i got home ! This means the Battery recovered approx 6 miles i.e. i did 6 miles more than the original EV range at the start. So, not quite 45 EV miles on last journey but i did get closer the week before.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Also, how long are you finding it takes to charge at home on the supplied granny charging brick?

[dickfineman]

Good morning. If you set current to Max 8A in settings, takes approx 3hr 45 min. If you allow max current, which is 10A, takes 3hr 10 min.

[johalareewi]

Is 10A the maximum for home or the absolute maximum?  For example, if you hook up to a 7.6kW or 22kW charger will the new plugin make use of this and charge at 20A (or higher)?

[dickfineman]

Hi,

Yes, 10A is the max for home charging via the 3 pin plug. With the L2 supplied cable at charging stations it would be 16A or maybe higher, even 32A with some home installations so i've been told.

 In Japan, they have a 2nd port on the car which, i believe, is an ultra fast charge capable of 40A...but i'm not absolute on that...i think i read it in an online review.

[QuantumFireball]

On 2017-6-26 at 0:29 AM, dickfineman said:

So, i left with 35 EV miles at the start, travelled approx 41 actual miles and my estimated petrol miles range only went down by 3 miles and i had 3 EV miles left when i got home ! This means the battery recovered approx 6 miles i.e. i did 6 miles more than the original EV range at the start. So, not quite 45 EV miles on last journey but i did get closer the week before.

I'm sure it's a lot more efficient at recovering energy than the previous Plug-in, but it may be more the EV range estimation adjusting to your driving rather than gaining that much energy from regeneration. It's often referred to as a "guess-o-meter" (especially with the Leaf) as it's not always that accurate at estimating your range, and is mostly based on previous journeys. The range you're getting still sounds very good though - I wasn't expecting more than 40 miles in real world driving.

I believe the on-board charger is capable of 3.3 kW (16A @ 230V) maximum, so you won't benefit from a 32A charger (but probably good idea for a new home installation for future proofing).

[dickfineman]

Hi Quantum,

Yes, i agree about the estimated miles but it is very efficient at recovering 'real' miles. Last evening, i did a short drive to Morrisons...7 mile round trip and EV miles reduced by 5.

Tomorrow i have to do an approximate 35/36 mile round trip, so i will run only on EV and see what real miles i get. I've been using HV mode quite often since i've had the car when on A roads. Will report back.

Peter.

[johalareewi]

Is your plugin able to use Tesla destination chargers?  Mechanically they should fit the prius but might not handshake with the charging unit because the plugin isn't a tesla.

Was wondering if you had tried it?

 

[MEP's Yaris GS]

16 minutes ago, johalareewi said:

Is your plugin able to use Tesla destination chargers?  Mechanically they should fit the prius but might not handshake with the charging unit because the plugin isn't a tesla.

Was wondering if you had tried it?

Having tried it myself on my gen 3 PiP at two local places with Tesla destination chargers, they won't work. I've a friend who works for Tesla and she's confirmed this is correct, none Tesla's don't talk to their chargers so they won't begin to charge, which is a shame really.

[dickfineman]

Yes, apparently, the new Plug in doesn't fit Tesla chargers.

[johalareewi]

Tesla chargers come in 2 flavours.  Destination and superchargers.  Suuperchargers only work with Teslas but the destination ones are usually 7kW chargers with a tethered type 2 plug.  On other forums there is mention of these chargers sometimes working with non-teslas.  Can't try it with my PIP because it has a type 1 socket.  With the new PIIP having a type 2 socket, I wondered if dickfineman had tried to use a tesla destination.

[dickfineman]

Hi Johalareewi, i've not been able to try a destination charger yet but may have a chance in London soon...will report back if i do. It's so quick and convenient to charge at home and only doing 20-30 mile round-trips mostly. I agree, there are mixed reports regarding connections...i've only read that Prius Prime doesn't " fit " in the US.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

12 hours ago, johalareewi said:

Tesla chargers come in 2 flavours.  Destination and superchargers.  Suuperchargers only work with Teslas but the destination ones are usually 7kW chargers with a tethered type 2 plug.  On other forums there is mention of these chargers sometimes working with non-teslas.  Can't try it with my PIP because it has a type 1 socket.  With the new PIIP having a type 2 socket, I wondered if dickfineman had tried to use a tesla destination.

You can try it with your PiP if you've a type 1 to type 2 lead needed for all other public charging (which I've got as charge mine daily at the gym).

I didn't know the mk4 PiP has a type 2 socket. Need to consider that if I decide to change.

[johalareewi]

I have seen the type 2 to type 1 leads but the ones I have looked at say they don't work with tesla wall chargers.  New PIP definitely has a type 2 socket.  It's in all the pictures and our local MrT has a new PIP and while there is a space for a second socket, it is blank (so no type 1 socket on a PIP v2).

[QuantumFireball]

The Japanese spec Prius PHV is available with a CHAdeMO port as an extra, if anyone is wondering what that blank space is for.