Hello, I have been in the market the last week or so for a Prius 4. Today, one of the dealers I have been dealing with suggested I consider getting a plugin despite the fact that I don't have a garage and charging it and using it as a EV is not really viable, due to all the rebates/specials etc as the price ends up practically coming close to the model 4. With that being said, are there any drawbacks to this slightly heavier car(about 300 lbs), other than slightly slower acceleration and at least the sticker mileage which is about 1 mile less. How good are the lithium batteries compared to the existing Nickel batteries? Does it have any better insulation compared to the regular models? I am planning to pay extra and put on leather seats(even with this the price ends up being just about the same as the prius 4). Please share your thoughts, on the plugin model. Thanks, GT
Fuel Economy - Find and Compare Cars It's actually rated slightly better with 49 instead of 48 highway. I think it's only 100 pounds heavier You'll have the same warranty. Any chance you'll end up with charging ability, at work or friends places? What's the off-peak leccy cost in your area? Anyway, I'd say go for it unless insurance difference would be shockingly high.
I honestly don't know what the off peak electricity cost in my area. I may be upgrading into a home next year, and if that happens then I will definitely be able to charge it up. I did not consider insurance costs at all, I will check that out later tonight. Any more thoughts greatly appreciated. Thanks, GT
Pip ~125 heavier, no spare tire! (slime patch kit), Pip specific wheels, ~12 mi EV only range up to 62 mph the advanced trim has a lot more goodies
Current incentives make the car cheaper than a Prius Three when you factor in the cost of financing. So I'd say it's worth it. Also, where do you live? That makes a difference too.
I live in NJ and will be driving it here. There is a very real chance I will never charge the car and just use gasoline for a few years. I just want to make sure that doesn't impact the efficiency of the battery. I do tend to keep my cars for a long time, and my hope is to drive this thing for at least 5-10 years.
Yeah, so you can get the PiP for about $5k below MSRP and at 0% financing. After that, you can get an additional $2500 back from the federal government assuming your total tax liability is at least that much. The regular Prius has no financing incentives, so you'd be paying interest (2.9%?) and MSRP.
I have gotten some pretty good quotes for a Prius 4 nicely below invoice. That being said, with Uncle Sam's help, the price of the OTD PiP price does come below the Prius 4 price I am looking at. The only thing is the fake leather that the Prius 4 has, which the PiP does not have which is something I do want.
check out this thread Price Paid on PIP? in the later posts there's a link to a spreadsheet of sale prices which might help as well. those prices do NOT include the $2500 rebate.
PiP has stronger regen brake due to the bigger battery. That benefit is still there even if you don't charge it. If you are going to be able to charge it in a few year, I would go for it. Resale value would be higher too.
OK we need to know NJ. You have no state incentives for PiP, so that is one less thing pushing you to PiP. If you follow the pages here you will see PiP is very low priced here for 2012 models on East Coast. We are not quite sure how many more weeks of good prices but 2012 PiP deals will soon start to subside. We think you could get a PiP in the range poss. $26-27K before fed credits, state taxes, fees. You can also opt for PiP Advanced add 3-4K. Its a hard choice, many of us here would tend to go for PiP at the low cost levels at this exact moment. The one PiP neg is no spare tire so some are deciding to buy their own spare for some situations. At the risk of over simplifying, you want PiP either becuase a (1) you have an technical interest or (2) some feel elec is ethical superior choice. I am more in Option 1, but you have to decide for yourself. Refill cost saving argument is iffy in NJ
...me too but hard choice to sell 2006 and we have no state incentives in VA either. We do have pilot test elec program for cheap overnite refill so that is one incentive (if available only a few can join the test)...I tend to buy and hold cars and 2006 Prius is classic buy and hold car
but think of all the awesome new goodies you'll get in this car! especially the wireless audio and phone things alone make it awesome
With the SofTex issue with the 4 and the base PIP, you can go with leather from Katzkin or Classic Soft Trim. That would be better than the SofTex in my opinion...and I have one with it.
Thanks!, this probably is one small thing that was nagging me, and now will probably push me over into the PiP purchase. How easy is it to install the Katzkin seats? One other question I have is, what are the pros/cons of the LiIon battery in this model vs the NiMh batteries on the models from the last 10 years. Does the chemistry of the Lithium battery makes it prone to quicker discharge cycle and further sooner replacments compared to the usual NiMh batteries. As a lot of you guys seem to have a lot of experience and thoughts on this matter, any help is appreciated. As I plan to keep this car for some time, would I have to replace batteries at considerable expense within 4-5 years? Pardon my ignorance in this matter. GT
i do not know, a lot of people seem to like the SofTex seats. i think it's a matter of personal choice and the only way to "solve" it is to go into a dealership and actually sit in/feel both and see what you like better. re: batteries, no one really knows. the battery does have a 10 year/150k warranty, but it's not clear what needs to happen to it for a replacement to fall under that warranty (i.e. do usable miles drop to 2 miles? 0? 5?). but toyota has been testing out this system for some time now, so i don't really see them putting their name and reputation on the line for a battery system if they didn't believe that it would stand up to the test of time.
the NiMh on the early Priuses have proven very reliable (10yrs at least) to date, haven't heard of issues with Li on Pip (but production has only been out for a year, initial tester vehicles sent out 2010 IIRC) lot of us early adopters are putting faith in toyota's development engineering based on their reputation with NiMh and HSD. however, we need to wait and see if real world conditions will impact Li differently (leaf Li not doing so well in hot climates... google for details).
Very good advice. I love leather. Have it on my TUNDRA limited and had it on my level 6 2008 Prius. The SofTex is a very acceptable alternative. As you said, its recommend trying it out first. The power driver's seat in the Advance is no small thing either.
