The normal approach is to fit a proper wallbox. Theres even a grant that pays for most of it. That way the £500 expensive bit is bolted to the wall where its unlikely to get damaged, and they come either with a tethered cable, or a detachable cable, which is generally pretty rugged, but only costs about £100 if it does fail.

IMO the 3 pin plug "granny lead" isnt really intended for daily charging, more as a solution for when a proper charger isnt available, EG visiting relatives or going on holiday etc.

I realise some people DO use them daily, but the general design of the ones i've seen and used dont appear particularly conducive to daily use.

 

That’s fair, I can’t definitely see why that’s the case.

That said, another issue I have right now is there’s no way I could get our current landlord/the grant people to approve my current house due to the layout of the drive etc. My temporary solution is here to stay for at least a year or so!

I found a site here that’s selling ‘granny leads’ for £150 or so, which I think is reasonable. However, the connector looks a bit weird compared to my OEM one, so I’m not sure if it’d fit. Link below...

10 Metre Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Portable EVSE UK Charging Cable

My car is the new PHV, not the old, but that site has photos of my car and the old car associated with it so I’m guessing that they’re cross compatible?

 

If that connector has a different layout of pins to the one you have & know works, then avoid it - something's wrong.

I can't see the point exchanging one 13A-granny-EVSE for another one. If it's a question of getting one that reaches the car without stretching the cable too much, I'd consider using a heavyweight waterproof extension cable. It helps to slide the end of the extension, where you plugged the EVSE in, under the car sill, in case it rains. Yes, should be waterproof, but every little helps I say.

You can get twisty-spiral-polythene stuff which is often used to wind round a bunch of cables to keep them together & tidy - using something like this would help reduce wear & tear on your flex. Put "polythene cable wrap" into eBay & you'll see the stuff. Choosing a bright red/orange one will make it standout if it's trailing over a driveway & anyone might walk & possibly trip on it.

But there are ways to help that - ebay "1,2 & 5 channel speed bump cable protector ramp guard cover rubber heavy duty" will find you one option.

 

There are two plugs in use on the "car" side of the connection, known as type1 and type2.

The plug in the picture you've linked is type1, which is popular in the USA, but generally is being moved away from in europe as here they've standardised on type2 instead.

Type 2 looks like this:

They are not cross compatible. If your car has a type2 inlet, you need a type2 lead.

Its also worth noting that the chargers are standardised, so you dont specifically need a "prius" lead, if your prius has a type2 connector, then any type2 granny lead will work.

 

Its also worth noting that the chargers are standardised, so you dont specifically need a "prius" lead, if your prius has a type2 connector, then any type2 granny lead will work.

This might sound dumb, but this is the part I was missing. I knew that public charging stations were standardised, but I didn't realised the 'granny' leads are standardised as well. Knowing this is the case, I don't think I need to worry about this as much as I thought.

I think the car does have a type 1 connector based on pictures I've seen, I can't remember myself from when I've plugged it in personally - I'll take a look next time I take the car out (I tried searching through the car manual but it doesn't say which type it is in there).

** edit ** - I just checked, it's definitely type 2 - Simon you were right

 

I think that Toyota changed the European car spec from type 1 to type 2 fairly recently (I think in 2016 when they gave the car a different look). I've certainly seen UK-registered plug-in Prius cars with type 1 socket, which may explain why the website you found suggested a type 1 lead.

 

Try EBay

 

I can vouch for these EV OneStop | EV charging Cables & Charging Stations and also seemed about the best prices