GBA's 2017 PriusPrime (and trip report)

[GreatBigAbyss]

Fuel economy update:  The last time I filled was March 18th, at $35.87L for $57.  Calculated fuel economy on that fill was 4.1L/100km, mostly due to the cold weather we had in early march, forcing the ICE to turn on to heat the cabin and defrost the windshield on the morning commute.  That tank lasted me 28 days from the previous fill, and 1021kms. 

Things have been different since then.  That fill was 3 weeks ago, and I've since done 642.6km.  The weather has been warmer, resulting in much less ICE usage (almost none, I think it's turned on once during the morning commute).  I've done a couple of slightly longer trips where the ICE has turned on.  I think this picture says a lot (trip B gets reset each time I fill):
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Look how much gas is left in the tank, lol!!!

Bike season is almost upon us, so I can see myself doing some longer day trips out to provincial parks, which will force ICE usage.  My daughter and I will also do some camping trips, which will, again, use up more gas in the tank, so I doubt I'll get to the 4000km best tank that Ron managed to get with this car.  I do about 1000km/month, so it would take me 4 months to best his record, and I just can't see myself NOT using this car to do longer out of town trips. 

[RRocket]

Really good result!!

I think at some point you'll better my best....

[Firm]

That is pretty impressive, especially with where gas is at these days. If you think you'll have a tank longer than 6 months I'd consider putting some stabilizer in it. Ethanol gasoline these days doesn't last long, by 6 months it's already starting to turn.

[GreatBigAbyss]

Okay, I gotta do an update on energy usage.

I just got my hydro bill for the month.  Every second month is estimated, and March wouldn't have been captured, as the past data they use to estimate wouldn't have captured the Prius.  When I compare March and April of this year to last year, I used 350 kW.h more electricity this year over those two months.  At 0.09970c/kW.h, that's $34.80 extra in electricity. 

Now, I have no idea of knowing how much of that increase is attributable to the Prius, and how much is from just day to day living, but let's assume an average and say the entire increase is from the Prius.

That works out to $17.40/month to charge the Prius over March/April.  I'm seeming to use about $20 worth of gas a month (based on the $40 fill a month and a half ago, and I'm still on 5/8 tank), so my overall 'fuel' costs for the Prius is working out to $37.40/month, to drive about 1200-1400kms a month. 

[GreatBigAbyss]

Also, even after electric range has been fully depleted, it's shockingly easy to beat the city fuel economy ratings.  The official rating for pure hybrid mode is 4.1 L/100km, but I'm finding that on most trips, especially longer ones across the city where the engine has a chance to warm up, the car is doing closer to 3.1 - 3.5L/100kms, depending on traffic patterns, stoplights, etc.  The more traffic/stoplights, the better it does. 

Oh, and Blueprint:  I drive it exclusively on Eco mode, and I'm not dead yet, so

[Tortoise]

Sweet! That's cheap motoring.

How are you liking it? Does it drive like a car with so many kms?

[GreatBigAbyss]

I've fallen in love with it.  The car actually fades to the background and becomes invisible, is how I can best describe it.  In a world full of appliances, it's the ultimate appliance - it just does its thing without bragging about it.

Drives like a car with a third the kms, honestly.  Friends who I've driven around have said the same thing. 

[Blueprint]

Also, even after electric range has been fully depleted, it's shockingly easy to beat the city fuel economy ratings.  The official rating for pure hybrid mode is 4.1 L/100km, but I'm finding that on most trips, especially longer ones across the city where the engine has a chance to warm up, the car is doing closer to 3.1 - 3.5L/100kms, depending on traffic patterns, stoplights, etc.  The more traffic/stoplights, the better it does. 

Oh, and Blueprint:  I drive it exclusively on Eco mode, and I'm not dead yet, so

   Maybe mine had a SuperEco mode, or all the other drivers were on Red Bull 

In the new Prius PHEV in June, last time I had the lowest trim, this time it's a higher-up all-black edition. "Crosstrek" that thing for my back and I'd be lovin' it.

[Seafoam]

I've fallen in love with it.  The car actually fades to the background and becomes invisible, is how I can best describe it.  In a world full of appliances, it's the ultimate appliance - it just does its thing without bragging about it.

Drives like a car with a third the kms, honestly.  Friends who I've driven around have said the same thing. 

How many kms have you been averaging in electric mode ?

[GreatBigAbyss]

Like, daily?  Or per charge? 

If it's per charge, then it's 35-45km depending on HVAC use and how aggressively I drive it.

Daily?  Varies per day, I guess. 

On a week day, I'll typically only get the single charge out of it.  I can't charge at work, but I have enough to drive to work and home, and run a couple of short errands at lunch or after work.  If I do more than that, then I'm dipping into ICE usage.

On the weekend, outings get split up.  I might go out earlier in the morning, and keep it within a full charge.  Get home, plug it back in to top the battery up, then go out again.  So on weekends, I may be getting 80-90 kms out of the battery per day, if I"m driving that much.

[RRocket]

I've fallen in love with it.  The car actually fades to the background and becomes invisible, is how I can best describe it.

I used to describe the Prius ownership as "easy". It's just the easiest car to live with.

I think we're on the same page.

If you truly care about finding your monthly consumption, just get one of those smart Kill-O-Watt (or similar) plug adapters. They track monthly usage of electricity.

[Seafoam]

Like, daily?  Or per charge? 

If it's per charge, then it's 35-45km depending on HVAC use and how aggressively I drive it.

Daily?  Varies per day, I guess. 

On a week day, I'll typically only get the single charge out of it.  I can't charge at work, but I have enough to drive to work and home, and run a couple of short errands at lunch or after work.  If I do more than that, then I'm dipping into ICE usage.

On the weekend, outings get split up.  I might go out earlier in the morning, and keep it within a full charge.  Get home, plug it back in to top the battery up, then go out again.  So on weekends, I may be getting 80-90 kms out of the battery per day, if I"m driving that much.

Until the gas and hybrid battery takes over ? Just comparing it to the newer one that is supposed to average 70 kms I believe.

[RRocket]

Like, daily?  Or per charge? 

If it's per charge, then it's 35-45km depending on HVAC use and how aggressively I drive it.

Daily?  Varies per day, I guess. 

On a week day, I'll typically only get the single charge out of it.  I can't charge at work, but I have enough to drive to work and home, and run a couple of short errands at lunch or after work.  If I do more than that, then I'm dipping into ICE usage.

On the weekend, outings get split up.  I might go out earlier in the morning, and keep it within a full charge.  Get home, plug it back in to top the battery up, then go out again.  So on weekends, I may be getting 80-90 kms out of the battery per day, if I"m driving that much.

Until the gas and hybrid battery takes over ? Just comparing it to the newer one that is supposed to average 70 kms I believe.

It's 40km per plug in. And 5 hours to charge.

So you can realistically charge 2X per day.

I used to charge once at home and once at work.

[GreatBigAbyss]

Like, daily?  Or per charge? 

If it's per charge, then it's 35-45km depending on HVAC use and how aggressively I drive it.

Daily?  Varies per day, I guess. 

On a week day, I'll typically only get the single charge out of it.  I can't charge at work, but I have enough to drive to work and home, and run a couple of short errands at lunch or after work.  If I do more than that, then I'm dipping into ICE usage.

On the weekend, outings get split up.  I might go out earlier in the morning, and keep it within a full charge.  Get home, plug it back in to top the battery up, then go out again.  So on weekends, I may be getting 80-90 kms out of the battery per day, if I"m driving that much.

Until the gas and hybrid battery takes over ? Just comparing it to the newer one that is supposed to average 70 kms I believe.

Correct.  I'm averaging 35-45km before the gas engine kicks in, depending on HVAC usage and driving habits. 

When it's cold, it's quite a bit less.  At -10, I'm maybe getting 25kms.  Below -12, pure EV mode doesn't work at all, so all these numbers I'm spouting off will get worse for a few months during the winter. 

[Seafoam]

 Thanks. You are still saving though ,especially now.
I have a friend with a 25 and another who has new one on order.
My sister almost bought one to replace her 2015 Mazda 3 but chickened out at the last minute.