This is a great forum with lots of info. I have not received my Prius PIP yet and still not convinced whether this is the right car for me. I would love to know why the PRIUS PIP? Is it due to: - quality of toyota - green thing - technology - cost - gas saver - carpool lane - tax advantage - just because - looks -etc and/or all of the above. Would appreciate your thoughts, especially the ladies. Thanks
IMHO, if you aren't sure and you have to ask, it perhaps isn't the right car for you. For the price of the PiP, you could get a more well equipped regular Prius aka liftback. I'm not ordering a PiP. My 2nd gen still works fine. I'm not in the market for a new car and probably won't look to replace my Prius until either it gets totalled or the 4th gen comes out. I can post some reasons why someone might want it, but I need to go right now...
If you would be happy with a 2012 Prius Two: - Do you think the EV and HOV lane sticker* is worth the extra $8,000 - $2,500 Fed - any state tax credits? If you would be happy with a 2012 Prius Three: - Do you think the EV and HOV lane sticker* is worth the extra $6,500 - $2,500 Fed - any state tax credits? (HOV lane sticker states only) If you don't really want a Prius: - Do you think the HOV lane sticker is worth the extra money you're paying or any other things you'd be giving up by driving a Prius? * If applicable.
I'd want a PIP for the techno-fun side of it. I find myself making a game out of trying to get better mpg on my Gen II. It's entertaining in addition to saves money. My wife does not find it as entertaining so I have to hush my enthusiasm around her...
I suspect it's: I drive a pure electric car for daily driving, and a 2004 Prius for road trips, so the PiP would serve no purpose for me. But all the things you suggested are reasons why many people (ladies and men both) like the PiP. I would not call it "infatuation," though. I'd call it fascination.
Daniel is right. Fascination is more appropriate, but only by a very small group of people, most of them are here. Other mainstream Prius buyers just want better mileage. If you want to talk about fascination, just wait till the announcement of the next ipad and iphone 5.
I agree with you so completely that I just about had to look and see that I hadn't written your post earlier and forgotten about it... I, however, do not hide my enthusiasm from my wife. She doesn't 'get into it' like I do. She just rolls her eyes when I get excited about maximizing my gas mileage. (She will certainly like the heated seats, though!)
For me, it goes something like this: I have always hated the thought that we import a lot of oil. For that matter, I have always hated the thought that we, as humans, pump and burn a lot of oil. I don't care where it comes from or how cheaply it can be produced, we're downright addicted to the stuff. This is quite possibly the only thing GWBush and I agreed on. In 2004, I needed a new car and was still stinging from 9/11. We were already at war and I wanted to put my money where my heart was so I bought the second-most fuel efficient mass-produced car at the time <nods to the Gen1 Honda Insight>. So I bought a Prius. I'm no fashion statement so I didn't care. I'm not a creature for features so I didn't care. All I cared about was that I was getting twice the mileage as before and consuming less gasoline, either domestic or foreign. So perhaps I'm saying that it's the gas saver. But it also goes much further than that. If a bunch of people hadn't bought the Gen1 Prius, Toyota might have killed it and I might not have had the opportunity to buy my Gen2. And if a large group of us hadn't bought the Gen2, there might not have been a Gen3 or a PiP. There might not have also been the Volt, Leaf, Fusion Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, and all the other hybrids and EVs that are on the market now or planned. Where we are today is the result of people forsaking what's the cheapest and easiest path of least resistance today and deciding that it's time to force a large-scale change for the future. If you can afford a PiP, you can afford a lot of other cars, if that's what you want for today and the future. The infatuation for many of us is that we're seeing the global change that we are driving locally.
Great replies, this covers all my reasons too, and the PIP will be my first hybrid, first electric and, first foreign car.
Gas is so much more expensive than electricity here in North Texas. There are many public Level-2 (240v) charging stations around Dallas. At many of the public charge stations there is currently no cost for charging - free fuel. That will change. But at $0.095 / kWh, I can charge my car at home for less than 30 cents to go 11+ miles. It is less than 3 miles to the grocery stores, bank, and post office. So, to run those errands, I will use minimal (if any) gas. I like knowing that I am not totally at the mercy of Big Oil and what they charge for their gasoline.
Thank you all for your responses. I totally agree with most of what you had to say especially the gas savings and non promotional gas buying. These are the reasons for my considering this car. I live in an area where I am 15 miles away from everything I need and don't have freeways so I am hoping this car will give me the miles per gallon it has indicated. I know this will also have a lot to do with my driving style as well. This has helped me a lot truly appreciate your responses. Yes, I probably should have called it 'fascination' cwderna. the purpose of this chat group is to share ideas, info and educate others and so that was the reason for my question. regards, 4msprius
One more thing, HOV/carpool lanes do not affect me at this point and time but I do understand the use of them and its advantages. I lived in silicon valley for 25 years and traffic was horrendous so I totally understand if you want the stickers/car for that purpose and willing to pay for it as well. This is for 'itsnotaboutthemoney'.
There is another issue about the PiP. (and Leaf and Volt to a lesser degree) I have a 2009 Prius, it serves me very well as I rarely get in it going less than 55 miles each way. It excels at that. But when I advise folks not to buy a Prius it is often because their daily commute will not save them any gas. It is not fantastic at commutes under 10 miles/10 minutes. The PiP, Leaf and Volt are all great at 'short' commutes, and 'short' is twice as large if you can recharge at work. The PiP and to some extent the Volt do so with the additional 'win' of being a normal car with good gas mileage for when the trip is longer than usual. "I have a short commute each weekday but want to get away on weekends" describes a lot of demand a 'normal' Prius does not meet well.
Yeah..I don't want to sound snarky..but I wish I had the financial resources to order a $30,000+ vehicle I wasn't even sure was the right vehicle for me. I think if I had that many questions as to "Why" I wanted the vehicle to start with..I might not allow myself to get to that point. I guess it's just the OP's sentence...."I'm still not convinced whether this is the right Car for me"? I've never had the luxury of purchasing a newer vehicle that at least of the time of purchase I wasn't pretty well convinced the vehicle was the vehicle for me. 3 months later? Maybe I'd change my mind...but at the time of purchase? I was pretty convinced and at peace with why I was buying it. Simply? I'm going with all of the above. The reasons people become infatuated with vehicles are as diverse as people themselves. Here's hoping you become totally infatuated with your purchase before it ends up in your driveway.
I will be driving 4 miles to drop my daughter off at school, 4 to work, plug in at my office, fully charged drive to get my daughter 4 miles, back home 4 miles. I chose the Prius Plug in over the Leaf simply because I needed a car to actually go out of town. 98% of my driving is in the city and less than 20 miles a day. Perfect Car for my needs and much better than my 20 MPG I get on my Hyundai Tucson.:rapture:
Its it 15miles each way to anything.. or 15miles r/t? If its 15 R/T the prius PHV should do well. If its each-way (and no remote charging), its only a little more (after tax credits) to get a car that can do 35mi in ev mode..
Gasoline may well be going away, Electricity is not (at least without taking everything 20th century with it). Prudence would recommend getting something which can handle that transition.
LenP, we live in the same area, so if you ever want to see how a regular non PIP Prius operates under average driving conditions, just shoot me a personal email for a free tour. Thanks.