Will it make any difference how easily varmints can hitch a ride in your engine compartment? I love that photo!
I'm totally interested in the Rav4 Option, and I am not even a fan of Toyota! What I was *hoping* for in the recent past was that Volvo would have come out with a 5-seater PHEV that had 50 miles on the battery, but they released the XC90 Beast (which we have a 2007 ICE version in Ohio, driven by our son) instead, with about 20 miles on the battery. Don't need that! THen I thought: Subaru! They're AWD anyway and should have a decent one...NOPE! Their XTREK only has like 17 miles on the battery, so we NOPE'd out of that thought. Wish that Nissan would bring a ROGUE out with PHEV. We have an AWD Hybrid Rogue right now and it is great. On city streets/stop-go we get 30% of our miles straight off the battery, which is pretty good for a car that size! It kicks in with the ICE at about 40 mph on flat ground. WOrks in our area as most roads are not much over 40mph anyway. That means that 30% of my miles I didn't have to pay gas for, and in Calif, that is a S#it-Ton of money with the miles we drive. One of our other cars is Nissan Leaf, and as a family we take that on all our <100 mile drives to maximize the electric "no gas cost" feature, as long as we don't need to haul furniture go use AWD.
All of the energy in your battery is obtained from the gas engine, so you are paying for gas to drive those miles. Hybrids are able to achieve better efficiency by recapturing some of the energy that would be lost (braking, etc), but the source of that energy is still the ICE, and therefor gasoline.
Very, very interested. Currently the front runner for next vehicle along with Model Y; similar vehicles yet vastly different executions.
As long as the threads stay related to the Clarity, describing similarities, differences and comparative desirability, I don't mind reading about the RAV4. I would like to know how other PHEVs offer more or less control over the operation of their hybrid systems compared with the Clarity PHEV. Maybe we need a Polestar 1 thread, too (comparing it to the Clarity, of course). The Chinese Volvo Polestar 1 PHEV blows the Clarity away in both looks and performance. However, the Polestar 1 costs $155K and its first year production is already sold out--only 150/year will come to the US. The Polestar 1's 34 kWh battery provides 93 miles of EV range through two 111-hp electric motors driving the rear wheels. Its turbo- and super-charged 2-liter engine combines with the motors for 591 total horsepower and a staggering 738 lb-ft of torque. However, don't park it on your just-poured driveway because it weighs 5,170 lbs (even with an all carbon-fiber body).
As of just now, we have a new sub-Forum for the Toyota RAV4 Prime. It's a little empty yet and we need to get some paint on the walls, so to speak. I encourage all who are curious or considering buying one to use that space. It would be wonderful to have another plug-in hybrid community to complement our Clarity crowd.
My pleasure! Just wish there was more content I could add to it already. I expect first-drive videos should be coming before long, at least.
I would be very interested in a PHEV with 50+ miles of range. The RAV4 Prime doesn't cut it. In fact I don't see another PHEV available with more range than the Clarity.
It looks like the i3 isn't as capable as the Clarity. Once the battery runs out it would need to be refueled every 60 miles on long trips.
That's going to depend a lot on the individual and their requirements. Many would say the RAV4 Prime with all wheel drive, CUV/SUV form factor and towing capability was much more "capable" than the Clarity.
I think Honda hybrid system makes more sense for a long range PHEV application. Toyota has better NVH when working under hybrid condition, so maybe they don't have to offer more range. But Honda currently doesn't have a comparable PHEV SUV. There is also price consideration. For example Mercedes was able to fit 31 kWh to GLC350de and the boot is still OK, but it will be at least 50% more expensive than Toyota.
I agree. In our case we need the high EV range to stay full electric around town. The RAV4 Prime falls short here. All wheel drive would be valuable in our area and a spare tire would be much appreciated. However we need 5,000lbs towing so the RAV4 towing doesn't suit our family that way either. I guess the auto manufacturers have their work cut out for them trying to find the feature set and price that fits the largest potential customer base. For us the Clarity is still the right fit.