Non plug in vs plug in

[dan12345]

Hi

I’ve just registered as I’m looking at my next company car.

I’m looking at a Prius Excel and a Prius Excel plug in. Both are below my grade so I get money back, £862 per year for the non plug in and £803 per year for the plug in (net). So when I take into account benefit in kind the total cost to me is £1619 per annum for the non plug in and £1362 per annum for the plug in.

I would have a home charger fitted but I can’t claim back electricity cost.....I get back the HMRC advisory rate which is currently 15p per mile for both cars.

My question is; When the plug in depletes its charge does it give the same economy as the regular Prius? I usually drive between 60 and 150 miles per day and won’t charge again once I leave home.

Any thoughts/ideas/pointers are most welcome!

Thanks, Dan

[TheProfessor]

Yes - the plug in gives the same, if not better, economy as the normal Prius once it's Battery starts to run down. The main difference is that the plugin has a much bigger Battery, and the engine management is slightly modified to better take advantage of that bigger Battery. During longer downhill stretches (longer would be more than a minute), the normal Prius battery would be full, but the plug in can keep charging, and thus become more economical. On the flip side, the plug in does have a bigger, and hence heavier, battery, which it has to carry around. This makes slight impact on economy, but no much. You also lose some storage space to the bigger battery.

You will find many places that do have free chargers. I don't live close to you, but in my neck of the woods I could plug in at my place of work for free, or at the local swimming pool, or anywhere on an entire floor of a big multi-story car park in town. So while the electricity might not be free it home, you can find free charges elsewhere.

But actually plugging in aside, you will generally still get much better economy with the plugin.

[dan12345]

Thanks for your reply, that real helps me understand my choice.

[PeteB]

A former Mk1 Plug-in Prius owner who used to be on this group also believed the PiP did better than the regular Prius partly because it's LiON Battery technology was more efficient that the HiMH of the Prius ordinaire.

That aside, it also depends on one's individual preferences as to whether a plug-in or non-plug-in is acceptable:

 Ability to charge being the most obvious, but on the PiP based on the 3rd generation Prius, there were pluses and minuses for both:

• PiP had heated front seats, headlight wash and better headlights than the standard model
• However, PiP had no spare wheel and lost the under boot floor storage space

Even with it's low EV range, the original PiP would have been brilliant for my current driving patterns (now I'm retired), but lack of a spare wheel is an absolute show stopper for me.

The latest Plug-in is more appealing for range, and the heat pump a major improvement, but loses a rear seat and for me adds lack of rear wiper to the absolute no-nos.

[My 2002 Gen 1 Prius was the only car I'd had since 1980 and half a million miles that didn't have a rear wiper, being a saloon, and that proved to me how much I hate not having one]

But of course, each will have their own take on which, if any, differences are important to them.

[QuantumFireball]

The biggest drawbacks with the current Prius PHV are the lack of fifth seat and the rather terrible boot space.

[dan12345]

Thanks for the replies, I hadn't realised the plug in lacked a 5th seat, that's a deal breaker for me. 

[altocumulus]

The central console storage is a great idea if you don't want your front seat passenger pinching your sweets easily.

Heated front seat switches are in a stupid place (there has to be some switches in difficult places - it's a Toyota).

I keep opening my petrol flap instead of hitting the charge schedule button.

Trip information doesn't display when the car is in EV drive - not even if in HV and gliding (no more full bar displays possible!).

The car objects if the passengers want to be warm!

 

Plus others, but it's still a winner.....