Looking to get my first hybrid

Perhaps. I have to admit that I find it easy to leverage the EV priority of the Volt, 1500 miles and 1 gallon of gasoline.

Even the slogan shouts it. "Electric when you want it, Gas when you need it". I like the flexability, ALOT.

 

The point of a plug in is to use it for short trips that will make a difference in fuel consumption. If he has a 150 mile round trip you will waste money for a plug in. Currently the plug in wont pay for themselves in a 5 year loan and can take up to 8 years to pay it back, not worth it. 26k and life long 50mpg + or 36k and 38mpg with maybe 30 miles electric in summer and half that in winter.

 

You might want to go back and slap your math teacher.

 

That's a reasonable assumption, but not actually the case. You still benefit from the electricity even when driving far.

Today's commute and errand running with 2 recharges ended up covering 49 miles. That's certainly not short. The benefit is obvious. The result was 110 MPG.

The point is to significantly reduce emissions & consumption.

 

Normally I would agree, but you can buy miles in advance at $0.15/mile on the Volt leases. Not sure what TFS charges. The extra miles you purchase on the Volt/Ally lease reduce the residual $ for $ as well, so if you end up buying the vehicle at the end of the lease you get credit for the money you put into the extra miles. If you buy the miles at the end of the lease they are $0.20/mile.

If you end up buying enough extra miles to reduce the residual to $0, you own the vehicle. Leasing is just another approach to financing.

 

...keep in mind Plug-In Prius (PiP) available to the orginal poster in MD for possibly as low as $25K after state/fed tax credits and possibly less than the cost of the regular non-plug-in Prius III. So some of the higher cost arguments have lessened for the moment...due in part to excess supply (slower sales than expected). Admittedly being frugal I might go for the cheaper Prius II. In some states (well one state WVa) a PiP could perhaps be had for $17K after tax credits.

 

Holy Shamoly... I would all over that deal like a fat kid on cake!!

 

WV residents don't call it West "By God" Virginia for nothing! There is $7500 state tax credit, and if you cannot use that much, you just carry it over to future years tax returns. To my knowledge we have two Prius Chat WV residents working on it. See the PiP sticky thread Federal and State Incentives for PiP's for some of the discussions with excited WV residents. I am trying to figure out if any other states have such attractive incentives. So far WV wins the cake.

 

Eric,

I recently bought a 2012 Four, my first hybrid, and it is nearly perfect for me. My commute is only 50miles/RT, 70/30 highway/city, so needs a fill up every other week! While a plug-in would have been great, it was far more costly up front to get the options that a Four has. Lastly, this is a *very* practical family car, being comfy for 4, with a huge luggage area. The hatchback was a big selling point for me, the main reason I didn't get a hybrid for my last car in '02 (no 4 door hatchbacks!). Now if it only had good looking wheels...

 

Yes, and the Two model. The power seats, and the JBL system. The adjustable lumbar works really well, and the the infinite adjustability of the rest of the seats helps too, especially on longer drives. For me, the JBL sound was a significant improvement, and I really didn't want to mess with an aftermarket upgrade. Didn't seriously consider the Three, since the NAV wasn't important to me. First Impressions of a Four | PriusChat

 

It was *tough* for me to justify a Four, given the significant price increase; Just about double what I paid for my last new car, ouch! I usually keep cars for 10 years/170K miles. Take your time to decide.

 

I know you will love the car. You should get to and from your home and use about 3 + gallons of gas. You should expect 48 -49 on a new Prius. Once it has a few k miles on it will be better.

Model 3 or 4? I have a 5. I wanted leather and the fancy wheels 17". Either will do you well. I think the 3 is fabric and 4 is leather? ( not sure )

Good Luck
j

 

Rear facing car seat for first year could be a prob for you depending on your height.

My wife and I couldn't drive together when our daughter was born. I'm 6'6.

 

You know if you can find a 2011 or 12 Fusion Hybrid, you will have more than enough room and still get 40 MPG or better in it. Going from the Subahu to a Prius you might not like it, so test drive one for a week like you keep saying, and just for kicks try out the older Fusions.

Just sayin since I had all 3, Prius, TCh and FFH, and liked the FFH best, and I have 2 kids, in fact the Prius was bought the day before my son was born, and we took both kids everywhere in that car the first year. I also drive 100 miles a day, or did until both kids started school together. Now I drive 75 miles a day, and use under 2 gallons a day in the 2010 FFH.

Stay away from the cmax and new Fusions though until Ford gets there ch1t together. I was not impressed with the quality of the Camry, and have not seen the newest ones, so cant comment on them, but they also get similar MPG as the Fusions, at least the new ones do, the 09 I had got 35.

Even though I have a 2013 FFH, I will not recommend it to anyone who wants a Hybrid. If you want a normal car though, Go for it, they drive great, handle great look great and are very comfortable and have some great options, but the Hybrid does not live up to its hype, it is not a prius contender at all.

 

Sounds like a good choice for a family car to me. We have had a rear facing car seat in our Gen2 you might have to bring the front seat forward a little, if you normally keep it all the way back. As far as cost, I am not calibrated for non-PiPs, all I can say is get a competing bid from a high volume dealer such as Darcars or Fitzmall on the DC Beltway.