"That would be fantastic. I would love it. Anything to get better gas mileage these days," said Mercando.
Now you can have a lithium-ion battery installed in your Prius, plug it in at night, and get even better gas mileage. Consumer Reports wanted to check it out. The batteries are like a really big laptop battery. They're put in the wheel well where your spare tire normally goes. And a small hole has to be made for the plug.
The Prius then can go longer distances and at higher speeds solely on battery power. Tests found the plug-in Prius did not routinely get 100 miles-per-gallon as claimed, but, still, the plug-in kits really boosted mileage.
Consumer Reports John Linkov said, "The plug-in Prius got 67 miles per gallon overall during the first 35 miles, compared with 42 miles per gallon overall the Prius normally gets."
But don't reach for your tool kit just yet.
"You can't do this installation yourself and there are only a handful of locations that are authorized to do the conversion. We had to wait five months to get our kit installed," said Linkov.
And then there's the matter of the money. Converting the Prius to a plug-in cost more than $10-thousand dollars.
"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 massed produced and costs come down," said Linkov.
In the meantime, Consumer Reports' tests show a Prius like Lee-Ann's is one of the best money-saving, fuel-saving deals on the road.
The plug-in Prius Consumer Reports tested ran 35 miles before the battery ran down. When you consider most Americans drive less than 40 miles a day, a plug-in car could dramatically cut fuel consumption. Several other plug-ins are also planned, including the Chevrolet Volt.
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