Testing the Plug-In Prius

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Story Published: Jan 28, 2009 at 5:50 PM PST

By Heather Reese

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As part of his energy plan, Barack Obama wants to see 1,000,000 plug-in vehicles on the road in the next seven years. They will boost mileage dramatically.

Conversion kits are already available to turn a Toyota Prius into a plug-in. You can have a lithium-ion battery installed in your Prius, plug it in at night, and get even better gas mileage.

The batteries are like a really big laptop battery. They're put in the wheel well where your spare tire normally goes. A small hole has to be made for the plug. The Prius can then go longer distances and at higher speeds solely on battery power.

Consumer Reports found the plug-in Prius did not routinely get 100 miles per gallon as claimed, but the plug-in kits did boost mileage.

The car got 67 miles per gallon overall during the first 35 miles, compared with 42 miles per gallon overall the Prius normally gets. The plug-in Prius that Consumer Reports tested ran about 35 miles before the battery ran out. When you consider that the majority of Americans drive less than 40 miles a day, a plug-in car could dramatically cut fuel consumption.

But you can't do this installation yourself and there are only a handful of locations that are authorized to do it. Consumer Reports had to wait five months to get the kit installed.

And then there's the matter of the money. Converting the Prius to a plug-in cost more than $10,000.

Consumer Reports says from a dollars-and-cents perspective, doing this conversion makes no sense because it would take decades to recoup the cost. But the plug-in technology is a viable option if it becomes mass-produced and costs come down. Several plug-in cars are in the works, including a Prius and the Chevrolet Volt.

In the meantime, Consumer Reports' tests show that a regular Prius is one of the best money-saving, fuel-saving deals on the road.

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