My situation has changed lately so I'm debating back and forth between the Prius, PiP and Prius C. I'm in my lower 30s married with no kids (yet but plan on some). Right now I have a minimal commute of about 3 miles each way. I cannot ride bike/walk to work for reasons I'd rather not get into. My non hybrid car is on it's last leg. We live in an apartment and we plan on moving sometime soon but will most likely stay within a 7-10 mile max commute each way. The commute could be done on the free way or surface streets. I do work for a company that has free charging stations if I got the PiP but I could not charge from my apartment. I really like moon roofs but it isn't a must have. I live in Southern California (if that matters). My budget could go up to the price of the PiP and I know there are some incentives ($4500 total if I'm correct). So I'd like to get the best car for my situation and the most bang for my buck so to speak for around 28k ish give or take (I deducted the PiP rebates. So my options seem to be PiP, fully loaded C4 or regular 3 with moon roof (maybe?). What would you choose in my situation?
Non Hybrid is best for you. Sounds like you do not drive enough. I just purchased a C4 (loaded, 26k) and Wife bought a 2013 Fiesta (Loaded, 21k) You will pay more in gas, but save on monthly. Hybrids only make sense financially if you drive a ton (I avg 25k miles a year right now)
I have to say, unless you drive a great deal on weekends, the PiP will be a statement, not a money saver. 10 miles * 5 days a week * 50 weeks a year =2,500 /25 MPG in a cheaper car * $3.50 gas = $350 savings a year commuting to work. It would take a lot of years to make economic sense. At 30,000 miles a year, 4 years pays for the higher initial cost for me.
I appreciate the advice but I'm getting a Prius, just not sure which one. I have many reasons for wanting one.
And the PiP is a bit larger than the C, so imo will be better for when you do have kids and carseats, so I'd also suggest you get the PiP.
I would buy a used Prius. I love my 2010. Got it with 26K and bought a three year warranty just in case. There are quite a few of them around. You just need to get with a good dealer.
What are the reasons? You also need to remember, not driving a Hybrid long miles every day will degrade the battery(s) faster and cause more issues for you in the future.
Can anyone back up this claim? So you are saying hybrids are only for people with commutes over 15 miles or so round trip daily since this is what my commute will soon be? As to why I want to Prius? -I'm a geek and this car is a geeks dream -I'm all about using less fuel for environmental, political and cost reasons -I like the way the Prius looks -I trust Toyota for reliability And why are you grilling me on my reasons for wanting a Prius? Are you hoping to give me a "Gotcha!" moment and convince me I really don't want one?
Can you please explain with scientific reasoning as to why the traction battery will degrade if he does not drive long miles?
Short trips kill the mileage on hybrids (not the PIP) as the warm up time of the motor etc. The life of every battery is getting better. They are not where they should be in today's world. I have personally killed one already. Hybrids are designed for the longer trips, not the short 5 minute drive. They are meant to be driven daily, and not just sit around. Well, talking political, a Hybrid/Electric car is not for you. Cost? They cost more than other cars (and more so if you do not do long miles) They are far worse for the environment than gas cars because of the mining of the nickel for the battery You may think I am grilling you, I am not. I drive a C, I have had a Hybrid in my family since '08. They are good, and bad. I am not trying to change your mind. Just stating what I know. You asked what was best for you, and the situation you described, I would not go Hybrid. (just my opinion)
If you can justify the PIP Prius, I would go for that over the other choices. I would do a Prius with a moonroof second and the C third (if you weren't planning on kids, then I'd swap #2 and #3). You'll appreciate the extra room the liftback provides over the Prius C, especially with kids because between child seats and "all the kid gear" you'll be carrying around when visiting, you'll want the extra room. I'd go for the PIP because your shortish commute and ability to plug in at work is ideal for a PIP. I drive ~35 miles one way to work, thus a PIP would not be ideal for me. I'd love to have one for the weekends though, when my commuting is much shorter. I disagree with Dopey's claim. Don't worry about "payback periods" and such. It is a car....not an investment. Cars are money losing propositions. Some people opt to lose money up front on car purchase price, some opt to lose money on vehicle operation, some do both. I'm appreciative of a car that is inexpensive to operate and maintain, and the Prius is a winner in this regard. All this advice is given with the assumption that you will own this car for the "life" of the car, (10 - 15 years or more, 200,000+ miles, etc). If you find you like to swap out cars every few years, then you might want to consider purchasing used.
Most of my drives are to the grocery store and back. The grocery store is about 2 miles away. My second most frequent trips are to the neighboring town for church and other shopping and that town is 7 miles away. I've had my Prius for over 3 years now and can't see that anything is wrong with the battery. I consistently get around 54 mpg. Anyone telling me I shouldn't have gotten a Prius can talk to the hand. I love my Prius! Love saving gas, and plan to own it until it doesn't run anymore. (or at least for 10 more years, unless hover cars get invented by then) To the OP: I still suggest the PiP...talk about geek!
I'm going to go check out some Prii tomorrow and I'll report back. I need to do some research on how the PiP rebates work. Do I actually get a check from the Feds and California and if so how long does it take? It might SLIGHTLY discourage me if it takes like a year or something. And I plan on owning it for a really long time.
The individual that stated the traction batteries will degrade if not driven for long distances is stating an opinion rather than backing it with scientific evidence. The actual truth is that the batteries are designed to last a long time. One safeguard in place is that the battery is never fully discharged or recharged. Not only that, the battery is covered under warranty for 10 years / 150,000 miles in California. If I was in your situation I would go for the Prius over the PiP and C. The reason being that it would be quite a hassle for you to charge your car since you live in an apartment. I am not aware of your work situation, but the charger for the PiP is quite expensive. You probably would not want to charge it in an open place where it could be easily stolen. The premium for the PiP is quite high for the miles it provides, I would wait a couple of years until we have better batteries before going to a plug-in version of any car.
The California rebate is issued within a month. The Federal tax rebate has to be filed with your yearly taxes. It would be better to talk with an accountant regarding your situation. I know a few people who did not qualify for the Federal tax rebate because they exceeded the maximum deduction allotment.
I was thinking of getting a PIP also because of the fact my workplace and many shopping centers within range have plug in stations. The problem is that it is at the end of the range so I will have to plug-in at home, and thus higher electric bills and my salesperson said it was pretty significant (being in Hawaii our electric bills are pretty high). However, if I only had to plug in at work, and not at home, I would have thought more seriously about it.
