noobie here, I'm considering moving from a prius to a used t8 2017- 2018 range? I have a dumb question around whether i need to use the charge port to fully leverage the battery or not? I street park in the city and have a charge port at work. Since I'm no longer going to work as of now, I will not likely be using the charger. Was wondering what I'm missing out on if I only use that feature once in a while?
additional question on folks with battery life experiences. the prius hybrid system is fairly solid. was wondering if folks experience similar reliability with t8s? I'm def considering cars with CPO or will buy a warranty based on my readings here. However curious if folks have have reached the 100k-200k club with the t8?
tx
If you're unable to charge you'll be fine - it'll just behave like you're accustomed to with your Prius. It won't give you the additional benefit of extended Pure (electric drive). The upside of a plug-in hybrid is that it gives you electric range unlike a regular Prius which only uses it's batteries for short distances at low speeds, to accelerate, or will regenerate while coasting or breaking. In the T8's case you'll get all of that same behavior and benefits PLUS the added distance that an 9-11kWhr battery gives (depending on which model year you pick which translates into 17-20+ miles on electric only and at up to speeds of 75mph. For example, when I was commuting to work I was averaging >120mpg by charging at home and at work. In actuality I was driving during the week 100% electric and on weekends would use some gas for longer distances (like going to bike races, skiing, etc which often resulted in gas use and gave me an MPG). I could often go 1300mi without refueling. Now my drive is far more rural, longer distances, mountain driving and I'm in the 30-60mpg (closer to 30 when I'm unable to recharge and 50+ when I use am able to recharge between each leg of a drive and use hold to preserve the battery for when it's optimal to use it).
In your case without plugging in, it'll just be a big Prius. In city driving you'll get far more benefit even without recharging it than on highway. It was the case for us during our vacation with our T8 across Europe during our European Delivery. In EU we couldn't recharge due to US plugs being the older Type 1 vs. Type 2 Mennekes used across Europe. While in Europe we drove 3000mi and as a regular hybrid (Prius style) it was great - better than without. We averaged ~29mpg over those miles and the only plug in time it had during the whole trip was the initial charge the Factory Delivery Centre provided before we left the factory. Others mention using the "recharge" function which uses the ISG to recharge the battery. It does consume more fuel to do so (additional drag from ISG - think dynamo) and there are times where it's beneficial to use it and times when it's not worth it due to the mpg penalty of using it to charge the battery. You'd have to gauge it yourself to decide whether there's a benefit or not depending on your driving cycle/pattern.
As for reliability... it's a solid system. Volvo's had plug-in hybrids for nearly 10yrs now with the first diesel hybrids (V60). It was especially popular in The Netherlands and other EU countries. The driving experience of a T8 is fantastic with a great blend of what a full electric, hybrid, and gas powered car can offer.
