Living With a Prius Plug-In Hybrid

By Bryan Welch
Published on April 4, 2012
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Though a consummate city car, the Prius Plug-in can easily transport happy dogs, up to five adults or even a couple of large coolers.
Though a consummate city car, the Prius Plug-in can easily transport happy dogs, up to five adults or even a couple of large coolers.
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The Prius Plug-in features advanced batteries and the option to recharge at home.
The Prius Plug-in features advanced batteries and the option to recharge at home.
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No animals were harmed or seriously annoyed in these photos. In fact, they got treats.
No animals were harmed or seriously annoyed in these photos. In fact, they got treats.
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Yes, the added battery capacity has trimmed the size of the trunk, but there’s still a lot of room. On meat delivery days for his eastern Kansas ranch, Publisher and Editorial Director of MOTHER EARTH NEWS Bryan Welch easily hauled two 120-quart coolers.
Yes, the added battery capacity has trimmed the size of the trunk, but there’s still a lot of room. On meat delivery days for his eastern Kansas ranch, Publisher and Editorial Director of MOTHER EARTH NEWS Bryan Welch easily hauled two 120-quart coolers.
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The nimble, quiet Prius Plug-in is good at herding spooky sheep, as long as you steer clear of mud holes and other slick spots.
The nimble, quiet Prius Plug-in is good at herding spooky sheep, as long as you steer clear of mud holes and other slick spots.
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We find the Toyota Prius Plug-in stylish, thrifty and so quiet we can sneak up on sheep.
We find the Toyota Prius Plug-in stylish, thrifty and so quiet we can sneak up on sheep.

I have a hip new friend. My friend is young, good-looking and fashionably frugal. He’s most comfortable in the big city but works tirelessly to protect nature and the environment. He travels on a tight budget and a tiny carbon footprint. Savvy about the latest technology, he’s totally plugged in.

At least right now he’s plugged in. In a couple of hours I’m going to unplug him and drive him home.

Throughout the fall of 2011 and winter of 2012, the MOTHER EARTH NEWS staff has been testing a prototype of the 2013 Toyota Prius Plug-in. Most of that time the new plug-in hybrid has been my main car. He’s been driven halfway across the country from Pennsylvania to Kansas, and then on expeditions across the Midwest and through the Ozarks. We’ve run countless errands together, delivered grass-fed meat from my farm to my customers, and gone back and forth to the airport about 50 times.

The nimble, quiet car is good at herding spooky sheep, as long as you steer clear of mud holes and other slick spots. For a demonstration, check out Herding Sheep in the Toyota Prius Plug-In.

But the bottom line on the Prius Plug-in is that he’s a quintessential city boy. On days when I’m running around town, I use no gasoline at all. I take a jaunt of 5 to 10 miles, then plug the car into my garage outlet. A few hours later, I run another errand. Unless I go well over a dozen miles or exceed 50 mph or so, the car remains a purely electric vehicle. Cool.

When you drain the batteries to about 20 percent of a total charge, the car automatically switches to regular hybrid mode and performs pretty much like a conventional Prius, which doesn’t use grid electricity.

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