Toyota Prius Plug-in Level 2 charging Uptown Station Parking Deck Normal IL

I had completely forgotten about this recording. It was done during one of my many recent visits to Normal Illinois – mostly for electric car events – I did attend Illinois Renewable Energy Conference on July 16, 2014.

Honestly I’m not sure why anyone would purchase a “real” Toyota Prius Plug-in. For years Toyota refused to build a plug-in version of the very popular Prius. There was a large customer demand – but they wouldn’t manufacture it.

So electric car enthusiast built their own Toyota Prius Plug-in conversion – one was called A123 Hymotion Toyota Prius.

Now if I’ve read things correctly – once Toyota decided to build a plug-in of their own – it actually gets less ALL electric miles than conversion. The company manufactured a car that actually had less Pure EV miles than “homemade” version that had been out for several years.

Not only that – but by time Toyota got around to building a plug-in – they had already been beat to the punch by competition. Notably – Chevrolet VOLT – which offers almost double ALL electric usage. Prius around 14 pure EV miles versus A123 Hymotion – claims its kit will deliver between 30 and 40 miles of electric-only range. Chevrolet Volt 35 to 50 ALL electric miles – many VOLT owners use EV miles only – rarely does gas generator kick in.

Keep in mind that just like a gasoline powered car – how you drive, weather and other factors will determine your real world performance numbers.

VOLT also has a lower price point than Toyota Prius Plug-in last time I looked. So for around same size car you get more for your money with VOLT. Which leads to my confusion as to why consumers would buy a Toyota Prius Plug-in.

If I remember correctly Chevrolet VOLT has outsold Toyota Prius Plug-in most months. Although both have sold a good amount of units.

This is my first and only “real” Toyota Prius Plug-in I have come across. I’ve previously recorded two A123 Hymotion Toyota Pri – one in Normal – second in Springfield Illinios during State Fair.

Everything above taken into account – at least owner purchased a plug-in hybrid – this will reduce their gasoline usage and dependency on fossil fuels – especially if they power up using solar, hydro-electric or wind.

If you pay attention you can see one City of Normal Illinois parking enforcement Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Normal has a good number of these cars that normally charge at another location.

White i-MiEV to left I think is one of the other city cars.

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