Is it better to wait a few years before getting the PHV?

if gm can do it without any major glitches, i'm not worried about toyota.

 

I don't think you need to worry about kinks, but there are a great many design compromises. Given the time of release, waiting a few years, or leasing for only a few years makes much sense. We are virtually guaranteed that a gen iv phv will be released within a few years of the model in 2012. You pays your money and you take your chances, but given competition, the gen iv based prius will likely have a better phv compared to the one scheduled in 2012. If you are happy with the pack size and packaging there is not much reason to wait, but you would be better off leasing than buying given the likely improvements.

 

There is probably not going to be a Gen IV until 2015 model year. Austingreen is right that Gen IV will be a better plug-in designed from the start rather than a retrofit. I don't know if you can wait 3 years, but in my case, my current lease will be up, so I signed up for a PHV which I intend to lease for 3 years until Gen IV PHV.

 

The PHV will be my 4th Prius immediate purchase, where I received delivery even before dealers got their first sales allocation. Each proved a remarkable decision, nothing at all to worry about or disappointment about the performance. Prius has been a gem.

For me, the PHV will be an exciting road trip... flying out to CA to purchase then driving home back to the midwest. After all, having driven one last August, there's only so long I can wait
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Huh? The current model was intended to offer a plug all along. We've been waiting for the battery tech/price to catch up. What would even make it seem like a retrofit?

Naturally, the next-gen will be better. But that's true with any technology.
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It seems unusual for a vehicle to be released in the Spring and not call it a model for the following year. In the Spring of 2012, car manufacturers will start selling their new 2013 models at the same time that this vehicle will roll out as a 2012 model. How can Toyota not call this a 2013 model?.

 

Automakers do unexpected things sometimes. Look up the debut of the hybrid Highlander. It was only produced for a few weeks prior to switching to a new model year. That instantly made it a collector's item.
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Q. How long is your drive back home?,
Q. Are you worry about putting a new car on such a long trip on day 1?
Q. Do you have to be present for the dealer's transaction?
Q. Could you just do the transaction over the phone and Fax and pay the dealer to truck transport the vehicle to your house? Money saved from the trip!

The reason for my questions is that I am in Florida and am planning to select Virginia to buy, some 750 miles away.

 

where will you get service if necessary? i would love to fly to cali for one of those leaves!

 

Dang! Too bad I'm not along the way. I'd allow you to "plug-in" at my house. Since I have 220V in the garage, would only take an hour and a half. That way I'd get a sneak peak at what I might end up with.

 

IMHO PHV would be much more attractive in a few years, with prices on batteries going down and prices on gas going up.

As is would not make much difference for us, with 2,500mi a month it takes less then 200$ to fill up Prius. YMMV

 

no doubt, but we all have our reasons for buying when we do.

 

Does PHV give you improved HOV access in CA?
That would be one argument to help with your wife.
If not, you could declare your own garage PHV only.

 

by the time you get one, you will have 'waited a few years'.

 

I think it was green car congress that ran an article a few years back basically showing how the numbers do not justify dumping a perfectly good used car (they had something like a honda accord with 80K miles) that's already paid for, if it gets about 28mpg-30mpg. The logic is that with a decent - reliable - high mpg car, you may easily be able to get another 1/2 dozen years of driving before maint enance costs start to eat you alive. My thinking goes to alternative issue. Example: Yes, I COULD keep that 42" plasma TV for another 5 years ... I COULD keep that smart phone ... that ugly blue bathroom tile ... that small block in the 'T' Roadster ... that computer .... etc for another 5 years. But the argument always seems to come up most frequently with cars. That said ... I AM looking forward to a shiny Prius PHEV.

 

Is that new leaf and old prius not satisfying you?

 

about 1,900 miles

nope

nope

yup

I did a 1,200-mile hybrid rally 4 days, which included 4 showings on each. That's was fun... see. I really enjoyed that and a road-trip vacation is long overdue. So, I look forward to it, though hope the timing is spring not winter.

I have a friend who bought a Classic Prius out there and had it delivered via truck here. True, it did save money. But what's the fun in that? And getting so much no-plug real-world data so early in the rollout will be quite informative.
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Electric water pump, Exhaust Heat Recovery and 60kW (650V) high speed traction motor are signs that Gen3 was designed with plugin in mind.