New Prius plus

[iand12]

I took delivery of a new Prius + exactly two weeks ago today. Before that I had a C-HR, which I was very impressed with and thought that did well regarding M.P.G. On a run I once got 78.2 M.P.G.! As the Prius has the same engine but is bigger I was expecting a much lower M.P.G; but yesterday I was surprised to find that it did 80.1! I live in the Highlands of Scotland and have to travel around 36 miles return for even basic shopping, so I depend on my vehicle to get by. As there are restrictions on travel at present I haven't been able to give the car a real run, but feel confident that it will give great M.P.G.

As for the comments by Andrew English, well all I can say is that he's obviously nothing more than a merchant banker of the worst sort! For the cost of the car I think it's great value for money and now I have it I aint gonna let it go. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Please update your profile.

[altocumulus]

Let me guess, you got it from Elgin....Connor, perhaps?

 

I'm still debating whether to change my winter wheels back to summer, as we're shielding and it might just be winter by time we get released ! 😄

[Gerg]

38 minutes ago, iand12 said:

As for the comments by Andrew English

I haven't read any of his road tests for a long time now (paywall!), but curiously he was once a motor mechanic, if I remember correctly.  You would think would give him an unusual insight that other journos often lack, perhaps that was too long ago....

A few years back I was chatting to the senior technician in the local Toyota dealership, he had got a Prius+ for his wife, which she became very attached to, he said, despite her not being very interested in cars.  He also said that it was impressively quiet, more so than other Toyota hybrids (this was early 2017).  He couldn't say why this was.

Anyway, best of luck with it!

[iand12]

Hi Geoff

Yes I did get the car from Elgin and yes it was Connor, a real nice guy. In fact the whole bunch of them at that dealers a nice people.

 

In reply to Gerg

Over the years I've owned a load of different vehicles from a Range Rover, Mercedes ML, Jags (XKR etc) and was an engineer before I retired. The reason I mention this is because I think this English guy has lost the plot. If he wants luxury, then get a Bentley, and pay big money. In the real world most of us are happy with good all round cars that do the job. The Prius + I now have is a pretty good car, a van big enough to cart most of my stuff around and what's more I no longer have to spend a huge amount on fuel. I can only assume that this guy hasn't got a clue on how to drive a hybrid and has his head so far up his rear end that he can't see the good points of a 'bread and butter' vehicle.

Thanks for your feed back guys. 

[altocumulus]

He gets the plus from us too - we went there originally for a chr, but didn't like the interior. The phv is loooverly!

[PeteB]

1 hour ago, iand12 said:

...Before that I had a C-HR, which I was very impressed with and thought that did well regarding M.P.G. On a run I once got 78.2 M.P.G.! As the Prius has the same engine but is bigger I was expecting a much lower M.P.G; but yesterday I was surprised to find that it did 80.1! ...

The big difference is the aerodynamic drag, which has a dramatic effect on mpg (and emissions).  Witness the standard Prius models with a choice of 15" or 17" rims - due to the differing profiles, the actual diameter at the outer edge of the tyres is almost identical, but the 17" wheels have tyres that are an inch or two wider.  That presents a relatively small extra frontal area (I'm guessing 8-10 square inches) but it causes a (massive) 0.02 hit of the CD figure (Coefficient of Drag).  That translates into a couple of mpg and and worse CO2 figure - on the Gen 3 Prius it made the difference between exemption from the London Congestion Charge or not.

The drag factor on the C-HR is 0.33 IIRC, surprisingly even worse than my RAV4 (0.32), which I liken to a house brick towing a parachute.  The latest, Gen 4 standard Prius on 15" rims is 0.24, a phenomenal achievement given it still has to cool the engine and all the exhaust and other plumbing under the body.  The Tesla Model S equals this and of course has neither of these impediments, and when the latest Generation of Prius was launched in 2016 that made it (and the Tesla) in the top 5 most slippery production cars available at the time.

The Prius Plus is still very good (can't remember the exact CD figure but still pretty slippery) which will go a long way top explaining the mpg figures.  When I had the Gen 4 Prius I got over 84 mpg on the dash (about 5% optimistic) on a 250 mile round trip in ideal conditionals.  But ti's the tank to tank figures that are the most meaningful; for every great figure there will likely be a journey with a very bad one.

This partly explains why cars are getting lower, as this helps achieve the improved CD figures that matter so much to manufactures trying to limit the penalties various governments impose if they fail to meet emissions targets.  That's not without issues however, and the reason I had top swap the Prius I loved to much of the house brick when I started having massive joint problems.  An NHS physiotherapist told me they were getting alarmed at the number of people needing treatment because their cars were too low, and two other people I know have, for the first time in their lives, switched to SUVs because the cars they had (A Mercedes and Auris) were too low.

This seems to be lost on politicians who bemoan the fact that people switching to SUVs and other bulkier vehicles is causing vehicular emissions to get worse recently despite the general improvement in efficiency.

[FROSTYBALLS]

11 minutes ago, PeteB said:

An NHS physiotherapist told me they were getting alarmed at the number of people needing treatment because their cars were too low, and two other people I know have, for the first time in their lives, switched to SUVs because the cars they had (A Mercedes and Auris) were too low.

An example of this is the Auris. 

The second generation (Dec 2012-2019) was just a re-work of the first generation (2007-2012) and carried forward the Type Approval from 2007. The following links show the differences in seat edge to ground measurements, etc:

https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-about/choosing-car/car/toyota-auris-t2-vvt-i-14-5dr-hatch

https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-about/choosing-car/car/toyota-auris-18-5dr-hatch-2013

[PeteB]

1 hour ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

An example of this is the Auris...

Yes, his first one was a 2012 Auris, his first ever Toyota and he loved it.  In 2017, he booked a test rive on the then current model, intending to update.  When he tried to get in he realised it was going to be a problem and didn't even bother.  He just handed the keys back and decided to look for something else.

Another issue is the trend to lowering the roof from forward of the driver's head, again to aid aerodynamics.  The 2nd and 3rd Gen Prius was excellent for rear head and leg room, but the 4th Gen was too compromised for head room, to the extent I can't sit upright in the back.  The rear of the 2012 onward Yaris is so low, I struggle to even get in the back at all, while the 2000 and 2011 models I owned were supremely comfortable for four large adults if the seat could be slid back at the expense of boot space.

[TonyHSD]

Hi guys , 

I am not a mechanic by profession but been in the trade for many years. As car enthusiast I work on my cars myself and recently discovered that Prius Plus from 2012 -> is based on Auris Gen 1 from 2007- 2012chassis , only body is different and it’s slightly longer., anything under the car its same, Where  Auris gen 2 from 2013 onwards is a completely different car from auris gen 1, different platform has been used. I was looking for some parts and found that Auris gen 1 matching the parts of Prius plus, where normal Prius gen 3 even though is also based on Auris gen 1 has many different parts. 

Auris gen 1 and Prius gen 3 and Prius Plus are all based on same platform and Auris gen 1 and Prius Plus are almost identical, Prius gen 3 slightly different.

Auris gen 2 from 2013-2019 it’s a completely different car, no similarity with the above models except engine and transmission as units. I haven’t look at Lexus Ct200 h for reference but I believe that one might be the car that shares the chassis with Auris gen 2 from 2013 and if I am correct that can explain why Auris gen 2 it’s lower car with lower position of the seats and roof line. 

For Prius gen 4 from 2016 rear leg room is great and rear head room is also good, however roof line is very sloppy and doors opening very low so it’s a difficult to get in and out , once you in it is very comfortable, there is a lot of space till you reach the roof lining but there is no window, basically you can hit the roof arch and handle with your head. 
 

Regards 

[PeteB]

1 minute ago, TonyHSD said:

...Prius gen 4 from 2016 rear leg room is great and rear head room is also good...

Not for me - that was true of the first three generations of Prius, but I cannot sit upright in the back of the 4th (2016 on) model.  I'm not that tall (5' 10"), but long body / short leg config, plus I'm well padded.  My salesman is an inch taller but not padded like me, and he can just sit with his head touching the roof.

I gather the rear headroom issue is one reason the Prius has fallen out of favour with cab companies - when I order a cab, I ask them not to send the latest version of Prius (unless I know I'm going in the front), which some drivers found amusing when I had a 4th Gen Prius parked on the drive.  Apparently though, I was by no means the only person that didn't want to be picked up in one.

[TonyHSD]

16 minutes ago, PeteB said:

Not for me - that was true of the first three generations of Prius, but I cannot sit upright in the back of the 4th (2016 on) model.  I'm not that tall (5' 10"), but long body / short leg config, plus I'm well padded.  My salesman is an inch taller but not padded like me, and he can just sit with his head touching the roof.

I gather the rear headroom issue is one reason the Prius has fallen out of favour with cab companies - when I order a cab, I ask them not to send the latest version of Prius (unless I know I'm going in the front), which some drivers found amusing when I had a 4th Gen Prius parked on the drive.  Apparently though, I was by no means the only person that didn't want to be picked up in one.

I agreed, I actually know about them from some of your older posts as I never had Prius gen 4, I only been in them in showrooms and recently I was in a showroom and did try. Prius plug in 2020 and actually I was surprised that once you in the rear seat space is not dad bad but feels smaller because of the design of the side window , smaller door openings, I don’t know if I can explain it correctly, any Prius owner will probably catch what I mean. , that was my first impression, I only spent around 20 min in and out around that beauty. 
Regards 

[HSDish]

I got an Prius+ 2017 which I’ve driven (quite gently) for about 15 months now (Bought dec 2018 driven all seasons, two winters and one summer, and with whinter /summertyres) and so far I'm averaging 5.2 L/ 100 km (about 54.32mpg I think) when I checked regulary at fuelpump and according to my Fuelio app. (car computer says even a bit better).

Im living in Sweden and at my place we have about 3 months 0f +2 C and below., about 4 months with +10 c and below, about 2 months with +10-20 C and just about 3 months with 20 c and warrmer..

The sunny weather for about/average 1 hour a day for 2 months , 2 h/d for 2 months, 3 h/d for 2 month, 5 h/d for 2 months, and 8 h/d for about 4 months

Rain or snow about/average 1mm a day for 2months, 2mm/d for 5 months and for about 3mm/d for 5 moths.

I’m very pleased with our Prius+ . Good comfort and easy to enter/exit. (I’ve got som problems with my back/spine/hips but never in our Prius+)

[PeteB]

IIRC, in the UK (and possibly Sweden?) the Prius+ has a LiON HV Battery rather than the NiMH of the ordinary Prius, which I believe gives a small advantage in power flow into and out of the Battery, thus helping fuel economy slightly.

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could get a Prius+ with the e-four AWD system?

[HSDish]

16 hours ago, PeteB said:

IIRC, in the UK (and possibly Sweden?) the Prius+ has a LiON HV battery rather than the NiMH of the ordinary Prius, which I believe gives a small advantage in power flow into and out of the battery, thus helping fuel economy slightly.

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could get a Prius+ with the e-four AWD system?

Yes there is LiON HV Battery in mine too.

A Prius+ with the e-four AWD systems seems as an good idea for Highland Scottishroads but even here at my place in Sweden.

I would love a Prius+ Plug In with the same engine and (at least) the same Plug In range as Prius PHEV gen 2 (2017-2020) too

but that wont hapen since Toyota , sadly enough, decided to discontinue Prius +

[HSDish]

Realy like the Prius + for comfort, flexibility, space and quite good mpg but I think the front seat heather button is hard to see and operate from driver seat .

Managed to solve that problem quite good like this

and as said above 

"I would love a Prius+ Plug In with the same engine and (at least) the same Plug In range as Prius PHEV gen 2 (2017-2020) too

but that wont hapen since Toyota , sadly enough, decided to discontinue Prius + "