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The last time I drove Toyota’s Plug-in Prius the idea came to me that, rather than stow the 20-ft. plug-in cord in the cargo area, Toyota should make it retractable. This year’s Plug-in model does not go that far, but does offer a cubby below deck in the rear, which is a big improvement. You do not want a cord that lies on your garage floor to go in next to your groceries. Gross.
With this test-drive I had the opportunity to go from the Habanero Orange Prius c (the smallest one) directly to the icy blue Plug-in Prius; like moving from a studio to a three-bedroom. The Prius is practical and businesslike like always, and keeps that bland, sturdy interior style. If the Prius were a type of carpeting, the hardy but not-so-plush Burberry variety would be its type.
Having mentioned the smaller Prius c, I need to give Toyota its due for solving a problem I discovered in the c. I appreciated that the c calculated my fuel costs for me with each trip, but I discovered that it was up to me to enter the local, current per-gallon price in order for the dash readout to tell me what my last run to Circle K cost in U.S. dollars and cents.
In this larger Plug-in Prius I tapped a screen button indicating fuel-economy data, and was surprised to find a list of local fuel stations, sorted by distance from my location! Even better, it listed the price per gallon for each, like so:
• TA Eloy Travel Center $3.50 3.3 miles
• Circle K Truck Stop $3.51 3.6 miles
• Express Stop 514 $3.60 3.6 miles
• Love’s Travel Stops $3.46 4.6 miles
• Circle K #2935 $3.51 5.6 miles
Something tells me we are a model year or two away from having this geo-mapping software that captures fuel prices to the point where it will send the data right to the little black box and it will always calculate my gas costs per trip without me having to input any numbers. I love it when I think on the same plane as a multinational corporation with many giant brains working for it.
Finally, the Plug-in is the same size as the original Prius. It has an expanded electric-only range, however, so the Plug-In will get overall fuel economy in the neighborhood of what they call 95 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent). Keep in mind that is counting the first 11 miles of driving on a full charge and using not a drop of gas. I averaged over 50 mpg on gasoline only. With a starting price of $32,000, this Plug-in is the most expensive of all the Priuses, including the larger Prius V that starts at $26,000 and gets 42 mpg.
I look forward to seeing these cars continue to change over the years. What do you want to bet a retractable charge cord shows up sooner than later?
Mary Fewel and her husband Clifford write the AutoCouple column appearing quarterly in Pinal Ways Magazine, Pinal County’s only countywide magazine. Each week they alternate their solo driving impressions with “He Says/She Says” columns. This article is reprinted with permission.
2012 Toyota Plug-In Prius (Clifford Fewel photo)
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