I'm considering these two options at the moment: a PIP Advanced and a Prius Five w/ the advanced tech package. I'm wondering what differences they might have, other than the obvious ones of the PIP Advanced can be plugged in, and has a higher price tag? I've heard that the PIP doesn't have a spare tire, but the Five does. It looks like the standard tires on the Five are a little larger diameter. I saw one website that suggested that the upholstery might be different (artificial leather on the Five and fabric on the PIP) but another that suggested they are the same. Any other differences folks are aware of?
Prius Five AT Spare Tire 215/45R17 Tires on 17" Alloys Lane Keep Assist Underfloor Storage Bin w/ Tonneau Cover Holder Side Cargo Storage Bin Red Taillight/Brakelight Covers PIPA Tire Repair Kit 195/65R15 Tires on 15" Alloys Smaller Fuel Tank Dual Stage Heated Front Seats (Prius Five AT only has one heater setting) Reduced Sized Storage Bin w/ Tonneau Cover Holder No side cargo bin Blue Tinted Headlight Covers (like the 2010-2011 Prius) Clear Taillight Covers Silver-Painted Exterior Door Handles Silver Painted Front Bumper Trim Silver-Painted Rear Tailgate Trim That's all I can think of right now. The base PiP has cloth seats with heated front seats. Both PiPA and Five AT have SofTex seats.
When I average 45mpg that's when I start looking to see what's wrong with the car. I would expect to be within 2-3mpg of any Two-Four on the same course. Around here the Five-AT and a PiP were hard to find. If you have a selection of both then you are in an uncommon position. I would search for the brochures of both cars to see what each is missing.
I haven't swapped wheels so I don't know what the increase in FE would be going down to OEM tires on 15" wheels.
Awesome replies, thanks! I'm in the CA bay area, so there are at least 20 dealerships in the range I'm willing to drive. I've checked dealer websites and even called a couple of them. The Five-ATs are rare, though a few are around. There are definitely a few of the PiPa's around. Having two options might improve my odds of finding one, maybe even at a discounted price since the 2016's are due out soon. I have the option of charging at work, which is why I'm interested in the PiPa. I'm hoping that once priced out with the tax incentives the price won't be that far apart for the PiPa. My math is that I'll reasonably save 11mi of gas per day for roughly 250d/year. At 50mi/gal, that's 55 gal/year or about $165 / yr. Not that massive compared to the price of the vehicle itself, so not a huge incentive to go with the PiPa, but I'd still like to do it if the pricing comes out close enough. If, as folks are claiming, the PiPa gets a little better mileage on hybrid mode as well, that might improve the math in it's favor a bit more. Asking about the other differences was useful too as it could make the difference between the two. I'm a little bummed that the PiPa loses the lane keep assist, but the differences are things I can live with.
Both cars are dying breeds so what you see is all you can get. If you are happy with the gizmos in the PiP and are buying on fuel economy then buy the PiP. If there isn't anything wrong with the 2005 I would keep it. "Soon" is going to be another quarter for the MY 2016 Prius and a year after that for the next PiP. The average Prius may sit on the lot for 60 days so unless they just arrived in inventory they won't be around too much longer. This may the sweet spot. I don't see gas prices going any lower and interest rates are creeping up. Toyota's incentives are going to disappear with the inventory.
I think you are being way too conservative. I figure that my PIP AT gets about 20mpg better than the Prius hybrid. However, your final figure will depend on your personal driving habits. People who have LKA say they turn it off because it is so annoying giving many false warnings. Living in California, the heated seats are never used. We use the Radar Cruise Control all the time and will never have another car without it. The California HOV stickers for the PIP are wonderful if you do a lot of driving on California freeways. The smaller PIP 15" rims and tires and semi-enclosed wheels give much better gas mileage than the 17" rims. We enjoy the the 70 to 80 mpg average on each fill up with our PIP. We get 650+ mile cruising range and still have 1 1/2 gallons left in the tank. Personally, I would never consider a Prius V after owning a PIP.
I wouldn't say the LKA gives false warnings. For me the annoyances are: It works at it's full capability only when cruise control is set. It's useless screen overrides my favorite. It's only as good as the lane markings on the pavement, which really isn't its fault. -- In a PiP the shorter your trips the more gas you will save. If it is never plugged in the bigger battery makes it a better hybrid than the liftback.
I debated the same scenario when I was looking for a new Prius three years ago. Initially, I wanted a new 2013 Prius 5 w/ATP. I placed a deposit on one which was inbound. I then found a good deal on a new 2012 Prius Plug In Advance. Ultimately I chose the PIP. I enjoyed the 10 mile all EV range. Wanting more EV range, I leased a 2014 BMW i3 BEV one year ago. I still have my 2012 Prius and drive it as well as the BMW i3. If you could get the Prius 5 w/ATP at a much lower cost than the PIP, I assume Advance, I'd go with the lower cost Prius 5. Fuel savings on the PIP won't matter. My Prius PIP Advance is well equipped and I purchased the 17" Prius five spoke wheels. I have essentially a Prius 5 Plug In, minus LKA and parking assist. The Prius Five w/ATP would be my choice today, based on cost savings.
