2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In: By The Numbers, Would It Work For You?

Right, just as you said. I just want to keep the calculation simple, so the spreadsheet subtracts 13 from the daily milage, then multiplies that difference by the price per gallon ($4) and divides that product by miles per gallon (48). Clearly, this is not that precise, but close enough for government work.

OK, guilty as charged, I work for the government.

 

If you live in the mountains could you use the batteries uphill, and down hill recharge them? and extend electrical range?

 

A year ago, I sat down with an engineering colleague and we ran the numbers on Prius vs Camry. The Camry won, until I asked, "What if gas goes up to $4/gallon?" Prius won.

My wife had a friend who was a financial wizard for an investment bank. Years ago, he created a spreadsheet to compare every aspect of cars -- total cost of ownership. He concluded that Saturn was the best choice, then he went out and bought a BMW. Why? Because that's exactly how people buy cars. Emotions make the decisions, not spreadsheets.

 

Guilty. Bought the Prius based on it tweaking my nerd gland. Probably why I'll buy the Prius PHV. And that being said it was its internal beauty that attracted me. Dual propulsion systems and advanced tech, at the time one of kind, just hooked me.

 

I get more like 3600 gallons less on the Prius.

 

Don't forget there MAY be some tax credits in the Federal and (Big maybe) California (if any left) which will help tip it in less expensive then a regular Prius AND it gets a Carpool sticker- what is your time worth in the CA traffic?

 

$4/gallon? Surely by the time you pay off the five year car loan, we will pay more than $5/gallon for gas.

 

The PHV would definitely work for me, infact it would be ideal. My daily commute is about a 8km/5mile round trip, and the vast majority of my other weekend trips and places i drive to is within about 12 miles from my house. These short trips are a burden to my economy due to the amount of warm up cycles i do, so a PHV would be great for me!

 

But do you drive enough miles/year to make it relevant paying for the higher up front cost?

Impossible. It's inconceivable that the plug in will be cheaper. People will be willing to pay more and will do so. Even if MSRP was $5k higher and tax credits were $7500 dealers would just sell at $8k over MSRP.

 

Exactly right, IF the dealers are free to set pricing. There have been occasions in the past when Toyota set the pricing for early adopters.

 

This is perfect for my situation. My work is 6.1 miles from home and just about any other locations for the usual weekly errands (Post office, Bank, Supermarket, etc..) is in between.

I will attempt to use one tank of gas(10.6 gallons) every quarter(90 days) for a total 4 tanks for the year. Otherwise, I am only looking to use gas for occasional out of town trips.

 

The average American drives 13,500 miles/year, but many drive a lot more, while others drive a lot less.

Imagine what your mileage would be if you typically drive 7,500 miles/year (as many do). Twenty miles a day! It would take you a week to use a single gallon of gas. You would fill your gas tank every two months.

 

Somebody driving so little would be hard pressed to get benefit from a regular Prius in the first place, since it does carry a hybrid premium that only pays for itself under moderate to heavy use.

 

You'll get better mileage if you buy a half tank every month instead to avoid carrying around extra gasoline weight.

 

IMHO high MPG car does not make any economic sense for people with low annual miles. You have to be driving 2x of national avg for it to start making sense. And to be in 2x group you have to be driving 50-100mi a day; not exactly target Plug-in buyer.

if Plug-in does not improve non-electric MPG by re-capturing more regenerative braking and optimized firmware, it would not economically appeal to to 2x group. Sentimental value is different matter.

 

Here we go with the making sense again. Here is a little quiz:

Person A has 30k to spend on a vehicle, regardless of person A's driving habits or preference towards automobilia, what is the most rational choice:

A) A 15mpg SUV
B) A 25mpg low end luxury sedan
C) A 45mpg hybrid
D) A 55mpg+ 13mi EV range plug in hybrid

Everyone seems to fail to realize that people generally buy at or slightly above their monetary limits (either budget or actual financial limit) when they buy a car.

Is a 15k Fiesta that gets 35mpg a more economical buy than a 25k Prius? YES...would most 15k Fiesta buyers even consider a car 10k more than what they are looking at? NO.

If you handed me 30k and said pick a car, any car within that price I would pick the most economical one...the money is spent when you buy a car, the only thing you control is how much you dump into the gas tank be it a Ferrari, Lexus, Toyota, Ford or Kia.