Last December, my 2000 Honda Insight was in a collision. As with any old car, it was repairable, but totaled, so I got a good deal for a 2007 base Prius. Enjoy the Prius, but definitely miss the Insight....it gets 50+ mpg on cold short trips - not 30, better highway mpg (80-100 vs 60-70), The Honda ECU is not as intrusive.
I'm planning to mode this Prius, then get a 2nd car. That second car might be an EV, plugin hybrid, another Gen I Insight. I also might refurbish old Prius' and make a little money after I balance the traction pack.
My plans for the 2007 Prius
Phase I
- ProLong Grid Charger (should improve the battery health - can use on other hybrids)
- Block heater (common on Prius, get the ICE warm enough to get the EV mode quickly
- EV switch - Don't expect too much from this, most drivers initally pretend their car is a plugin. This is like Honda Insight driver that get the MIMA kit installed to overide the Assist/Charge function
This will be the low-hanging fruit to improve mpg
Phase II
- Steering wheel cover - wheel is damaged from oily palms
- Replace rear-view mirror with racing mirror. Use instead of a cam - remove side mirrors
- Add a 2nd ScanGage under the speedometer so frequently looking at MFD in center will not be necessary.
- Replace weathered OEM antenna with shark fin
Phase III
- Sane option: Do minor body and paint work keeping the original dark grey color and avoid a total redo. Insane option: Repaint it white to keep it 15 F cooler during Texas summers. Repaint except inside the engine. Prius owners know the eco-friendly paint often chips a lot - I might chose a harder one at least for the engine hood. I don't plan to resell this car.
- Use bondo on wheel rashes and paint OEM silver
- Use very low air dam on front bumper. Will have to be flexable for ramps, etc.
- Insight-type fender covers
- Replace the OEM cover underneath with a more complete, aerodynamic one, use a heat shield where the catylatic converter is.
- the chassis will cover 2/3 of the wheel to deflect air that gets past air dam
- Deploy side panels like on 18-wheelers that flex
Estimated cost is $1500-2000 USD.
Thought about a plugin conversion, but it makes more economic sense to make this a "lifeboat" car and road car and safe for a used EV or plugin later on. Most 3rd party plugin manufactures are out of business because any Prius that was not explicitly manufactured to be plugin won't do very well in this mode...the electric motors are not desiged to do EV over 42 mph in Gen II, 46 mph in Gen III (think Gen IV is 64 mph
) In other words, Toyota designed the Prius to need both the electric and ICE motors under heavy load to get the great fuel economy.
I am uncomfortable driving pickups daily because the long bed poses parking and other maneuvering issues. For that reason, I'm not considering a boattail unless a shortened one makes aerodynamic sense.