Really leaning toward a 2014 Prius Plugin, need your opinions/thoughts

Here's what I would say....wait and see....

Right now we got PiP's selling like hot cakes in Ca. due to HOV green stickers running out. I am waiting to calc % PHEV in Ca. but we gotta guess PiP's are >65% sold in California.

When and If the green Ca HOV stickers run out, which will be about end of 2014 (unless pending bill AB2013 makes more stickers) the main current market for PiP may be gone and Toyota will get serious about pushing sales elsewhere (discounts etc).

PS- ...go with your own judgement I am just throwing one consideration out there

 

No, I'm serious. The extra costs of buying a hybrid, and beyond that, the extra costs of a plug-in aren't really justified in a typical vehicle scenario.

If you have a reasonably short commute, and use it mostly for that, and you can plug in at both ends, and get it for free at work, it's definitely a paying proposition. If you plan to mostly use it within a radius of less than 40 miles, you'd be better off with a full electric like a Leaf. If you'd be willing to trade interior space and reliability for EV range, better to buy a Volt.

Under normal driving, as in my case, it didn't really pencil-out. I calculated that it would have required 200,000 miles before I broke even on the extra cost. That was under the assumption that I was saving about 2 liters per 100 km, which is about correct in comparison to my previous car, the Corolla.

As it turned out, I got a steep discount from the dealer, I can take advantage of plugging in, and I love the interior space, the performance, and the reliability, but most of all the much smaller fuel bill. I don't regret my purchase, but for anyone imagining it's an easy pay-back, it's just not true. And if the rumored price increases next year are true, even more so.

 

At this point it's between the PiP and the Leaf for me. I'm waiting to see what Toyota's incentives are today/tomorrow for the next month. I missed out on the 4k back a few months ago.

 

Mini Cooper Countryman wins small car crash tests, Nissan Leaf fails - LA Times

 

To be honest, I would just pay off the car since you stated you do not owe much on it left. On that note, I had a Prius C then a Prius and now a Ford Fusion Energi. So far I'm loving the Energi. The ride quality is very nice and considering it was actually cheaper than the Prius PIP with better materials. You may want to check that out.

The Energi can go around 22-25 miles on electric which covers my round trip commute to work (7.5 miles each way). There's a $4,004 federal tax credit and the price we got it was 29k - 4k (tax credit) =25k 0% APR financing.

 

and no trunk.

 

i doubt the pip 2.0 will double capacity and awd, if that's what you're looking for.

 

If I were you, I would just stick with current prius and drive it for another few years... Till something really worth buying comes along...

 

I say if you can afford it, and want a new car, do it! you only go though life once., why be cheap, if you can afford not to be!

 

You've been driving the liftback for about 4 years. Getting a PIP would essentially mean driving the same car for a long, long time. Something to consider.

Pure city driving, I can get 30ish miles EV in my Energi. There are some incredible deals on the last remaining '13's if you can find one.

 

Stick with your current Prius and drive it to the ground. Your EV percentage is around 25%, so you're not saving very much in fuel cost. Solar panels are irrelevant if you're already using more kWh than you're generating.

 

Whatever you decide about sticking with the old car or buying a new one, the Volt doesn't look to be the answer. You've got at least 100 miles, and maybe quite a bit more, to do on the ICE in your one day commute with the Volr, and it has far lower mpg than the PiP for that. Your daily total for the rest is all, or almost all, within PiP range. so if you are going to trade, a PiP looks as if it makes a lot of sense.

 

I have 17 miles commute (8.5 miles each way) with PiP. I can only charge at home and my July average was 143 MPG Cons.

Your lifetime MPG with Energi is 89 MPG? I would think you'll get higher. Perhaps you drive a lot more in the weekend with gas?

 

I mentioned AWD and longer range because Toyota executives have said so. Details of course are not available. The doubling of range is my guess.

 

I rather have a spare tire than longer range. Both would be awesome.

 

Maybe they are planning to do what they currently do on the Highlander Hybrid: the usual Hybrid Synergy Drive is on the front wheels, and there is an electric motor on the rear wheels. Thus, the rear wheels cannot be powered directly by the ICE. What I don't know is if the motor on the rear wheels is a full motor/generator that can do regenerative braking. My son has one of these.

 

I think you are right. I vaguely remember talk about improved braking regen, so perhaps m/g in the rear is the solution. I hope so!

 

i would expect 50% increase in ev, awd would make it non competitive imo. but what do i know? diannes says it will be substantially more expensive, so there's that to think about. as much as i would like more ev, i think i would wait for the next glut of stock to make my upgrade. it hurt too much to pay 30 and see it sold for 24.