Is it worth buying a prius when I only drive 25 miles round trip each day?

i only drive 15 miles a day for commute. 3rd prius in 10 years, can't say enough about them. there are many many reasons to drive the most fuel efficient vehicle on the planet.

 

You only live once......Get what makes you happy! At 25 miles per day, there isn't going to be a lot of savings on fuel. Let's say you use 2 gallons a day giving you at least 30 miles daily on the FX. $8.50 per day for 30 days = $255 /mo for driving 30 miles every single day.

A Prius would net you 45 mpg $3.50 per day for 30 days = $105. Savings of $150 monthly vs the FX.

You will also notice the luxury features and power on the FX probably will not compare to a Prius. So it's like comparing apples and oranges.

 

all the best vernay! until we meet again.

 

Instead of miles per day, how many total miles do you typically drive in a year? And how long do you expect to keep your next car?

Small numbers here make for less than a compelling financial case, so you may need to review your other 'wants'. For many of us, political or environmental or national security interests also factor in, but everyone places different values on each. Some folks prefer made (or assembled) in America, so other hybrids such as the Camry make a better fit. And of course, many more non-hybrids are getting good MPG today.

My Prius was an upgrade from a two decade old Accord, and a lateral move from another household car, so I love it. But a portion of Prius buyers are downgrading from nicer cars, and a certain fraction of them are dissatisfied by that downgrade. Only you can predicate which camp you may fall in to.

 

The Prius is a great car but it's not very luxurious. Even their top end Prius Five isn't all that great, has a lot of plastic inside.

You have to remember the Prius is a very special car, has many features that are not in regular gas powered cars. If you plan on keeping your next car for 10 years or more, I highly suggest you buy a new car. A new prius will give you the peace of mind of 10 years/150k miles warranty on the hybrid systems. Worry free driving for 10 years with just simple maintenance.

If you buy used, you can run into all kinds of problems in 10 years time. It seems you can do without the headaches of repairs on a broken car. If you like the commodity of owning a Prius, you can add to it the commodity of having a Plug In Prius. Those cars have lots of federal and california rebates. I believe the plug in cars can be had for $10,000 off the sticker price, once all the rebates and discounts are figured in.

 

For OP's commute distance, and a plug-in car, I'd lean more towards a Leaf or Volt than a Plug-In Prius. If plugging in, may as well consider something that can do whole distance on that plugin.

 

Dude, my commute is only five miles round trip and it's been beneficial. Even if I rarely see 50MPG, the 42-45 I usually get is still far better than the 25-28 I was getting in my xB.

 

Are those 25 miles city or freeway? If all city then Prius is an excellent choice. If all freeway then you may want to consider diesel. I heard MB E250 Bluetec beat the Prius on freeway driving. The Prius gets EPA 51 city and 48 highway. In reality, Prius gets about 55 city , 52 highway without trying. E250 Bluetec on the other hand, gets EPA 28 city and 45 highway. In reality it could probably get 35 city 60 highway if you really really try. E250 is more fun to drive due to the diesel torque. Prius on the other hand, don't have the torque. Driving a Prius is like playing a video game where the objective is to raise the CONS. MPG number. If you're a poor player, the CONS MPG number is low. If you're a good player, the CONS MPG goes up.

 

Based on what you said, get at least a Prius 4, better yet a 5 and get a new one. It's a fun car to drive, a different kind of fun than racing from stoplight to stoplight, but there is fun in trying a new mode of driving trying to maximize your gas mileage, it's the green version of hot rodding.

 

Check the Toyota site for incentives in your area. In my area, the PiP is a 0% interest and $1500 cash back right now.

 

What are are you in? Here (SoCal) It is not 0% and $1500 cash back,
0% OR $1500 cash back.

 

You will pay $5k extra just to save some gas but looks like you will never take advantage of the hybrid system, I would just buy something else like Camry or Sonata

 

OP: define 'worth it.'
Along the way clarify how your previous car was 'worth it.'

My point of course is that your actions say that cheapest is not your only priority. Unless you want to live by mine, your question is not going to help you decide which car.

If you would like to list your top priorities, we can certainly give our opinions how well the Prius might meet them.

 

I very much doubt the price of gas will remain in the $3.50 range over the next 5-10 yrs, and I'm also fairly certain it won't be going down. In just the past 4 yrs we've seen it increase from an average of $2.80 to where we are today with occasional spikes that took us up to $3.90/$4.00 a gallon.

 

We're using ours maybe every second day now, likely less than 10000 kms yearly. Or less.

You only buy it once. Keep it for the long term, keep it well maintained, no problems.

 

Define "worth". If you want saving maximum amount of money (and environment), then use public transportation. Next step would be buying a cheap beater car.

 

It's hard to predict future. When gas hit the $3 mark way back in 2005/2006, I would never ever believed that almost 10 years later would be about same price or less (considering inflation).