moving from prius gen3 to PIP. Regrets?

You may be a good candidate for a full electric car like the Leaf, etc...
If you're only driving 2 mi/day... why drag a heavy internal combustion engine and gas tank (with gas that will go bad over 12 months if you don't use it)?

The Leaf is about $30k less $7,500 fed tax credit, so you can get it for around $23K and it's got 80+ mi range.

 

Sounds like a Prius Plug In would be a perfect fit. My one way commute is 9.8 miles and I make it all EV most days. Winter months are tougher to make all EV. The PIP will only make you wish you have more EV range. With such a short commute, you could save money with another regular Prius. The ICE will normally kick in under hard acceleration

 

my ice never kicks in except in extreme cold. it depends on how you drive. read the faq sticky '14 reasons why the ice kicks in.' and take one for a test drive. make sure they charge it up before you get there, or plan on doing some browsing while it charges. btw, you are in a gen II now. all the best!

 

It definitely shouldn't kick on at every stop sign, but it may kick on during the hill, but not necessarily. It really depends on how steep the hill is and how fast you want/need to accelerate.

 

Well, that rules out the Volt for sure.

 

There are pretty steep hills in Fort Lee, NJ. ICE does not kick in for me. I was worried about it before moving. It shouldn't be an issue for you.

 

Dragging the heavier battery pack is worse, as Leaf is heavier than PiP.

For around town city driving, PiP EV operation is more efficient than the Leaf.

The need to drive 110 miles makes PiP an ideal candidate. He'll get the most out of both fuels.

 

I traded in my 2012 Prius Three for a PiP. The PiP is ideal for you pending considerations discussed in other postings. I drive 5.6 miles round trip to the gym every morning. The return trip has 1 mile of mostly uphill, some rather steep. I generally get home with more than 50% SOC (about 40% of the total available charge). That's enough charge left to go back down the hill to the store (3 miles round trip) and return with some charge left over. Then if we are going to lunch I recharge and make the 10.5 mile round trip. All these trips are completely on EV including the several signals and stop signs. Some weeks the ICE never comes on.

 

The PiP feels exactly the same for comfort and ride as the Prius Three. By the way, you do need to give some consideration to electricity cost. If you are paying more than $0.25/kWh (unlikely in Oregon) you won't save much money but you will still use much less gas.

 

YES! I used to live in Beaverton. Now I have to have solar panels to get my cost down to $0.12/kWh A full charge is about 3 kWh I charge 1 to 3 times per day for my short trips around home. On a trip I only go with the initial charge, too much hassle in time to charge on the trip. The good news is the PiP gets better mileage if your trip involves hills/mountains because you get lots of free charging going down reasonably steep long hills.

 

What is the grade of the hill and traffic speed? If you drive non-aggressively and traffic allows, most steep hills can be done without falling out of EV mode.

Ultimately, if you live near a Toyota dealership, take one for a test drive on this segment.

 

still not sure if you mean from a gen III or '09, but i came from an '08 and felt zero difference in the ride. keep in mind, you lose your spare tyre and most of the storage space under the deck. why do your friends think you're crazy?

 

A steep hill will kick it out of EV only if you must go at a speed that requires the PWR level on the display. If you're willing to settle for 35 mph you should be able to stay in EV.

 

Maybe you can arrange a test drive w/a PIP and see what happens going up that hill?

 

I also traded in my 2012 Prius for a 2012 PIP, I didn't regret it either!
Riding around in silent EV mode is a joy!