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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Living with a plug-in vehicle

Date: 21 May 2013

 

Toyota Prius Plug-in

The Prius is a different kind of plug-in to the Ampera, in that rather than running on electric power then switching to petrol when the battery is drained, it will try and use the rechargeable battery as an extension of the existing hybrid system, and optimise between petrol engine and electric motor. That led to frustrating journeys, especially short hops, where despite being set in electric mode and having plenty of battery charge, the car wouldn't run just on the battery. For example, a four-mile round trip to our nearest railway station should have comfortably been completed on battery alone, but the engine kicked in a few times when it wasn't needed.

My 35-mile trips ranged from 67-81mpg, the top figure - two miles per gallon better than the next - being achieved without using the air-conditioning. On that journey I managed 9.4 miles on the smaller electric motor, compared with Toyota's claimed 15.5-mile capacity. It's not supposed to be as efficient as the Ampera - the technologies are different - but exceeding a real-world 70mpg on most trips was impressive. For comparison, a BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics would have been around 10mpg off that figure from our experience.

But the frustration continued with the batteries for all drivers. James managed a 48-mile journey with 2.3 miles of electric range still intact, and another 26-mile round trip where it still had 0.3 miles, while I also had a 35.7-mile run into work where there was 0.3 miles of charge left when I arrived. Jack's longer commutes averaged 58mpg, showing the kind of numbers that can be expected, putting it in the same ball park as the Ampera on big trips when you're quickly exceeding the electric range.

The overriding feeling with the Prius, though, was that it's not quite as complete a range-extender as the Ampera, which is maybe half a stage more technically advanced. The Toyota is cheaper, costing £33,245 compared with the Ampera's £34,995-£38,995 before the £5000 Government grant towards the purchase price. The Prius just feels like an adaption of a current model, which is what it is, whereas the Ampera is a bespoke range-extender. Little details such as the Ampera's readout showing exactly where the energy is coming from, with a pie chart to make the point, aren't replicated with the Prius.

Both proved to be more efficient than a traditional diesel model over short and medium-length journeys, and can match diesels on runs of up to around 150 miles, so the key, as is increasingly the case, is usage.

Spend all day ploughing M- and A-roads, then a diesel is perfect and plug-in cars aren't suitable. But especially for drivers that commute a small or reasonable distance and can charge at home and work, these models start to make a lot of sense, especially with the continued, if reduced, BIK advantage. If you can foot the purchase price, and they fit your lifestyle, then they are the beginnings of the future.



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