Anyone waiting for PIP getting the "itch" to consider a Chevy Volt instead?

It will be intriguing to find out what the decision process becomes in a few weeks, once PHV are on the road here providing real-world data. Far too many incorrect assumptions influenced choices of the past.

I always feel bad when the potential for buyer's remorse from those who didn't study well before committing to a purchase becomes a reality. Then what do you do? It's too late.

I'm going to do my best to get some stats & video right away with my PHV. 12 years of study on the topic (and having already driven an early model) made my decision simple.
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There may be some who will disagree with me, but I'm just going to say that growing up, my parents always owned American cars, mostly GM now that I really think about it. And one thing I realized when I became a car owner myself was that I very rarely was forced into a position where I needed to pay out a ton of money for a needed repair. Meaning, just regular maintenance and the occasional "non-essential" repair (nothing that would prevent me from getting to work or school, for example) was enough to keep the car on the road for many years.

I even remember thinking to myself, "wow, I'm really lucky that all the cars I've ever owned were relatively troublefree, lucky me". But that is really because growing up, it was not uncommon for the family car to be in the shop. It was not uncommon that our "family mechanic" became more like a family friend because we would go visit him so often.

I'm not saying that GM's quality is not good or great now. In fact, I have no idea since I never really bothered to look into it. What I do know is that my childhood experiences greatly influence my purchase decisions today.

I'm sure the Volt is a great car. The people who own Volts here seem to love them. I've never driven one and I've never had the desire to drive one. If I wasn't getting a PiP, I would've gotten a Lexus CT200h or a regular Prius.

 

I'm not planning to get either but since you live in CA, if you're going to jump the gun on the Volt, I think you'd be better off waiting until you get an eAT-PZEV version (Chevy Volts Built After Feb. 6 to Qualify for California's Coveted HOV Stickers | PluginCars.com and 2011 Chevy Volt: No Carpool Access For 2012s Until March) so that you can get the CA rebate and carpool lane stickers.

I haven't kept up w/the news to see if you really need to wait until March for that.

I'm sure folks over at gm-volt.com would know.

For me, in my family, we've owned 3 GM cars. We don't buy GM anymore. They weren't horrible lemons that I've seen horror stories about but none were any good in terms of reliability. Our Toyotas and Nissans have held up much better and cost us WAY less in out of pocket repairs.

 

If you need some time to pass, read up on the Plugin Prius Owner's Manual.

 

I would actually prefer a Volt, as the 35-50 EV mile range would let me drive at full highway speed to work rountrip on electricity. There are 3 issues I have with the Volt.

#1 and by far the only thing stopping me from buying it: I cannot get into or out of the Volts drivers seat, easily. I have to go head first and throw myself in. If I sit on the seat, and try to swivel in, my head hits the top of the door jamb, and I am not very flexable any longer, to be able to crouch down to get in. deal killer.

#2 The trunk, when opened, is NOT a hatchback. Its actually down 6" like a traditional trunk, driving Priu for the last 11 years, I really don't like that design.

#3 No rear leg room when drivers seat is pushed back. There is essentialy no usable rear seat in the car, besides the fact it only has 2 rear seats, they are pretty much both unusable.

other than that its a great $40K (stripped) to $45K car (loaded its $45K for the 2012 model). There are plenty of them in stock at the local Chevrolet dealers as well, no problem there... that has to say somethng as well.

 

I think the PiP will sell better b/c it seats 5, is cheaper, has a loyal following of previous prius owners.

However that doesn't mean much in your specific case. I think pre-ordering is a tad crazy myself unless they tell you what you are getting. I would wait until the PiP is out and you can compare them both. Test drive both, read the warranties, decide what you like.

I want neither of them. The c-max is more alluring, but still not quite right.

 

I would view it this way....

If your commute is within the charge range of the Prius, it's a win!

If your commute is not within the charge range, you are still getting the Prius MPG + an Plug in boost to your MPG's.

On the weekend, your overall MPG's may not go down because you can do your short trips using electric power. Longer trips would be with your Prius MPG's.

My weekend driving kills my MPG's (and I get fantastic MPG's despite this). If I could have a plug in to drive on the weekends, I'd be a happier camper. It wouldn't make such a big impact for me on my daily commute of 70 miles. But the weekends would be glorious!

 

i would consider a volt because of it's electric range. but at this point, i'm not willing to pay more for that. i'm getting the basic pip so, only 30K or so after credit. plus, i need the hatchback and space for hauling things. otherwise, i would consider a 'C' or something that size in a plug in when it comes along.

 

for your consideration: if you can fit in a Volt (I can't), the base model is $40K, however, there is a $7,500 federal credit on it (16KW pack), rather than the $2,500 federal credit on the PiP (~4KW pack).

Basic Volt: $40K-$7.5K = $32.5K after federal rebate

Basic PiP: $32.5K - $2.5K = $30K after federal rebate

So they are not much different in price, after all. Of course you will pay more sales tax on the Volt, than the PiP, so the Volt is more expensive, however, its designed to go 25-50 miles in Pure EV, even at 70mph highway speeds, so it has some advantages over the PiP.
Even though its extended range is lower MPG, depending on your drive cycle, you may well use less gasoline overall because of the extra electric range.

 

My Volt lease was $39,995 for the base model. I did not see the value in the $47k to get leather seats, and an active nav in the dash. OnStar gives you free navigation. You just need to either have a smart phone to use the app to input destinations, use Google Maps, or call OnStar like my father in law does with his Cruze.

I think it is up to the individual. I see value in the PiP. However I think they need to cancel the regular Prius.. My Prius at $3.51 a gallon costs $0.068 a mile to drive. The more I crunch the numbers getting 15-20 miles out of the PiP would be great. However it means more charging if you want EV.. Not to mention my Volt is EV from 0-101mph till I run out of juice (or so I've been told). It is even EV when I am freezing my booty off in 27 degree weather, lol. Personally I like the 40+ mile range. On average I get 42-46 miles per 10.3kwh charge. For me the couple thousand dollar price difference was worth it. For my current drive to work the PiP would not cost much more, but it would not make it all the way home. Will certaintly be interesting to see some real numbers. I have almost 5000 miles on the Volt and we use it almost exclusively to go everywhere anymore.

 

Base Volt and Base Prius PHV are not comparable equipped. Check them out side by side.

 

how do i do that?

 

That would be insane. Liftback Prius is without question the most important, proven, and best selling advanced technology car on the road today, around the world.

Some are hyped out of their minds over the Prius c and PiP. Trouble is the c, although many could drive it, will not fit a great many tall people, nor will it be all that for four 6ft tall adults.

The PiP is $8k more than a liftback Prius Two and clearly many people have no option to plug-in because of not having or garage, or they park in car ports.

Liftback Prius should outsell the c and PiP combined.

Honestly, cancelling the liftback Prius is a disturbing thought. All the people who could afford a $25k midsize 50 MPG car would be let down. I'll bet the oil companies would rejoice at that.

 

I saw the title of this thread, and immediately thought, 'Here we go again!'...

 

I am aware of the HUD. Had one in my Pontiac's, and used one when watching my friends Z06 Vette while he was deployed to Afghanistan. They are novel items, but wear off quickly. Sometimes it hurts the eyes. It has regular headlamps like my Volt does.. The PiP premium has the LED's. I have heated folding exterior mirrors, 16" wheels compared to 15". It does have a rear window wiper which I do not. My charge port does not illuminate, but my charger plug has a light on it. Radio system looks the same minus Entune. I have keyless SKS entry on all 5 of the Volts doors as opposed to 3. I have cruise control, and pretty much everything else on the list. Guess would be shorter to list the don't haves

Volt don't haves: Entune, heated front seats, seating for 5, a heater that comes on before the engine comes alive at <25 (that noticeably works), 50mpg rating, and is built by a company without Toyota's reputation in efficient cars.

PiP don't haves: Can't go faster than 62mph EV, can't accelerate full throttle EV, doesn't go 35-46 miles EV, $7500 tax credit, OnStar remote link App/Onstar (both Entune and Onstar are complimentary for 3 years)

Personally I can live with my don't haves. Our Prius is coming due for its oil change, and I most certaintly will check out a PiP if they have one. Me doing the numbers on paper though a Volt and a PiP are a bad combo. Cause anything I would use the PiP for the cost per mile quickly comes close to my regular Prius. Especially using everyones favorite scenario for the Volt to prove its worthlessness in that I would actually have to stop & recharge after X miles to maintain efficiency. The PiP certaintly does better than the Volts cost per mile at around 50 miles.. However by my own math as you get closer to 100 miles it levels out between my Prius and the PiP. To where there is only a $0.003 per mile difference, and obviously it diminishes from there. Even if you use the numbers of people who drive like myself and get in the mid 50mpg range for both. That is using my own 11.2 cents/kwh with all taxes & fees included in that figure. I know in Cali some are paying 30-40 cents kwh. Which actually makes driving on gas cheaper for both.

I think the PiP has its calling. It makes more sense to go from a Gen II Prius to a PiP than trading in a Gen III... The car I traded for our Prius got 13-16mpg on average, and the truck that went to the Volt got 18-19mpg.. So it made sense for me. The cost savings were enormous on both fronts.

I have noticed too there is a huge sentiment of anti-public charging. We went by the Nissan dealer tonight and they had signs on their chargers wanting a $10 connection fee..... Now I am not sure about everyone else, but that is about half my months electricty for the Volt over 1000-1100 miles. So I think opportunities to charge the PiP out and about will be fewer and farther in between. I have only charged my Volt in public once or twice, and only for a few moments as a demonstration tool. As fuel prices get higher then sentiment towards us only grows worse. I am all for paying my fair share for charging, but $10 just seems a little steep.. I think $2, or $3 is more in line. That is even assuming I sit there for the 3 and a half hours to take a full charge if I even needed it in the first place.

It is by far not my intent to try and cause discourse. I am sure it may come off that way sometimes but that is the downfall of reading text on the internet... I really wish I knew a lot of the things about both the Prius and the Volt before I bought them that I do now. It would not have changed my mind. It is just stuff that would have been nice to know. I try to just give people real world numbers based on my own experiences to work with so they can make the best decision with their money. If they buy a PiP great, and if they get a Volt or a Leaf great too. There are a lot of PHEV's, and EV's coming to market. I am anxiously watching, and trying to make my own decision when my Volt comes off lease. To early to tell. The Volt, PiP, and Fusion/Cmaxx Energi will be the only games in town for the short term as far as EREV/PHEV's go. So will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

i don't feel that you are causing any problems. you like your volt, nothing wrong with that. this is priuschat, people can get a little possesive, that's to be expected. i've been guilty of it myself! i find it interesting to hear from people about their experiences with other alternative energy vehicles. let the debate continue!