- In This Article
- Overview
- In the conversion shop
- On the road
- Your results will vary
- Converting a Prius to a plug-in
- Upcoming plug-in hybrids
- View all product plug-in prius
Your results will vary
Because the converted Prius gets its best mileage while using the lithium-ion battery, drivers who can recharge frequently—at work, for example—will be able to extend their travel distance beyond the 35-mile sweet spot while getting optimum fuel economy. But finding outlets while on the go could be a challenge.
People who use fuel-efficient driving techniques will probably get better gas mileage than the average in our tests.
Toyota's forthcoming plug-in hybrid, initially available to fleets only, will operate similarly to our converted Prius. But the designs of other plug-ins will vary. The Chevrolet Volt is expected to run solely on electric power while the batteries are charged, which could mean that drivers who make shorter trips might not use any gasoline. The Volt's gas engine will kick in only to recharge the battery pack when needed; it doesn't power the car directly.
Cars that run longer on electric power can dramatically cut tailpipe pollutants. But producing power still generates emissions somewhere. In New England, where our test track is located, about 42 percent of power comes from natural gas, which has cleaner emissions than those from gasoline-powered car engines.
Other areas depend heavily on coal to produce electricity. Still, according to a 2007 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Electric Power Research Institute, deploying plug-in hybrids on a national scale would reduce CO2 emissions by about 45 percent compared with conventional vehicles and would result in a net reduction in air pollution, especially in urban areas.
Bottom line
Our Prius' conversion to plug-in power cost more than you could ever expect to recoup in gas savings. And despite claims of 100 mpg, our best real-time reading was 87 mpg on a stretch that involved rural back roads and cruising on a highway with a slight downgrade. But our plug-in Prius showed us that this type of technology can produce significant fuel-economy gains. And as a sign of things to come, we found it encouraging.
