Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid with Background Plug
hybrid cars. Are they as cool, interesting and rational as our marketers suggest? Do vehicles that combine internal combustion with electric drive make sense and are they the future of the automotive industry? I decided to look for answers to these and a number of other questions while driving a Toyota Prius in the Plug-in version.
For many years of presence in the market Toyota Prius has become synonymous with the hybrid car. While more and more manufacturers have representatives in the ICE-EV category, the Prius is one of the most recognizable and most valuable hybrids. What this car has to offer in an even greener version Plug-in?
The first feature that catches the eye on closer acquaintance with this Japanese hybrid is its appearance. An appearance that might have shocked you when the first copies appeared. The current, third generation, after a recent facelift, also attracts attention, but the mere sight of a Prius moving through the Polish arteries no longer causes an attack of index fingers pointing at the car.
A characteristic angular silhouette, full of right angles and sharp cuts, double rear glass and cartoonishly small rims on which balloon tires were stretched. In the case of the body of this car, the stylistic appeal is clearly lower than the functionality. All of the above functions should perform a specific function and, as a result, minimize air resistance and fuel consumption. Not a single centimeter of the body of this car should be glamorous. It must be efficient first.
Along with the extraordinary exterior design comes an unconventional interior design. True, details such as turn signals or wipers and the steering wheel itself are the same as in the case of other Toyota models, but the overall “look” is not like the interiors of any other cars of this Japanese manufacturer.
The central place in the pit is occupied by a wide screen, which displays a lot of more or less useful information. Current speed, current fuel consumption, average fuel consumption, range or effective drive animation are just some of the parameters that can be displayed to the driver on an ongoing basis. I will add that in such an environmentally friendly car there could not be other environmental references in the form of collection points, which are expressed in “planting trees” on the display.
Be sure to find another screen at the bottom, which is designed to display a multimedia system or navigation options. Around this screen, a large number of buttons are collected. A quantity that at first glance may seem overwhelming, especially since the mentioned screen is touch-sensitive. In practice, these buttons are so well described and logically located that both their number and the logic of the entire system do not cause unexpected problems.
A separate issue is the quality of workmanship and fit of elements. It's true that the seats are upholstered in leather and the vast majority of the cabin is well-furnished, but the hard plastics and various unwanted noises wafting from the interior can leave you unsatisfied. The functionality and practicality of the car should not cause even the slightest dissatisfaction. Both in the front seats and in the back seat there is enough free space even for slightly taller people. Trunk capacity? 443 liters, which is a very good result in the case of hybrid cars, due to the need to hide the batteries somewhere in the bowels of the car (usually to the detriment of the trunk capacity). And with that, I will move on to the most important feature of the presented car, i.e. drive system.
Many people who have only dealt with hybrid cars while watching commercials on TV often ask the question, how do you actually drive a hybrid car? The answer is banal. On the driver's side, driving a car that combines an internal combustion engine with an electric drive is practically no different from driving any other car with a conventional drive system and an automatic transmission. The drive system and its management do all the "dirty" work for the driver.
In the case of Toyota Prius The drive system consists of a 1,8-liter internal combustion engine with 99 hp. and an 80 hp electric motor. The total power of both units, however, is not 179, but 136 hp. A distinctive feature of the Plug-in version, in addition to a hatch that hides a socket that allows you to connect the car to the electrical network, is an additional battery with a capacity of 4,4 kWh. According to the manufacturer, its power should be enough for 25 km of travel, and the full charge time should not exceed 1,5 hours. How does this look in practice?
With the extra battery fully charged, I set out on a short journey through the crowded streets of Warsaw. Using the EV City mode (the mode that features the Plug-in version), I was able to cover a distance of about 20 km. It is worth mentioning here that in order to be able to use the aforementioned mode, the engine must be warmed up properly, and in a car we cannot use ... heating. Aside from the theoretical "free" driving, the advantage of this driving mode is the blissful silence and the fact that in active EV-City mode you don't have to handle the gas pedal like an egg to keep the combustion engine from stalling. come into action. Even if the accelerator pedal is used more abruptly, the car quickly accelerates on the electric motor alone until it reaches about 90 km/h.
Another of the drive modes is designated as EV-HV and is used in practice to optimize the operation of the electric drive with a hybrid. Known from the traditional Prius, the ECO Mode can be combined with the two previously mentioned driving modes and is intended to include, among other things. reducing the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal and optimizing the operation of the air conditioner. Of course, all this is aimed at achieving the lowest possible fuel appetite and the greatest possible concern for the environment.
Speaking of average fuel appetite, how much gas did the tested Prius Plug-in satisfy? With fully charged batteries from the outlet and maximum use of EV-City mode in conjunction with ECO Mode, the on-board computer showed a value of 100 l / 3,6 km after driving 100 km. Importantly, more than half of the route ran through the very busy and busy streets of Warsaw, and the driving style itself can be safely called lazy.
On the occasion of almost every test of a Prius or any other hybrid from Toyota, the E-CVT continuously variable transmission comes up. A gearbox that keeps the combustion engine at high speeds when you press the gas pedal hard and strive for maximum acceleration (11,4 seconds from 0 to 100 km / h). A side effect of such a tandem is a constant and even noise that is felt and encourages ... a softer handling of the right pedal. Except for this inconvenience, the E-CVT transmission runs very smoothly or even velvet, and the moment the engine is turned on or off is almost imperceptible.
Also, the car itself and its driving performance are at a good level. True, the car has a soft spring and does not show excessive readiness to dynamically take turns, but the Toyota Prius is one of the few cars behind the wheel that turns off the male desire to compete at the start from a traffic light.
One of the most important questions about the Prius Plug-in has to do with purchase and running costs. The price list for the hybrid-electric Toyota starts at PLN 144, which, despite the relatively extensive standard equipment, is not an extremely advantageous amount. Moreover, the standard Prius, also in the Premium version, is PLN 900 cheaper than the Plug-in version (Prius Premium from PLN 36). Of course, you can’t pay for such a difference in price, but in order for it to translate into some kind of rational mileage, one of the most important conditions should be the ability to frequently charge the car from the outlet. Otherwise, a better buy would be the standard Prius, which uses a bit more fuel but is decidedly cheaper.
An additional factor in favor of buying a hybrid Toyota is the often overlooked cost of maintenance. Toyota's hybrid systems have a good reputation for reliability, and replacement or consumable costs are cheaper than diesel vehicles, often cited on occasion.
