New Prime owner in Vermont!

I had a 2010 Prius II and absolutely loved it. I sold it because it did badly in the snow and I wanted the next generation with the traction control switch and new frame. Drove the regular Prius and the Prime and loved the feel of the Prime. Plus, I have a net zero house run on offsite solar, often running a surplus. I have a bunch of credits from Green Mountain power and work within range for the battery. Looking forward to many EV only miles! Pictures to come later--it's dark now and I only took a few quick lousy phone shots earlier when picking it up. It's white, not quite as fun as my red 2010, but I really like the style of the body this generation (I know it's considered a polarizing design but I seem to be one of the ones who likes it!). Not much to report on yet as I only picked it up earlier today, but it was a nice drive home...and yikes, is the 700 page manual daunting!

 

Wow! I saw a mention of it but wasn't sure if they're offering it for plug in hybrids as well as all electric cars. Are they? That would be a great incentive. I have a newish Vermod house, net zero with the offsite solar. I live by myself and don't use much electricity--so each month I have a surplus. Would be very handy to add the level 2 charger!

That would knock me RIGHT out... That thing is dense--and a grammatical trainwreck with the bad translation!

 

Sounds like a pain--and yes, buying an extra plan I would probably lose out. Right now all my electricity is basically free, because of the surplus. Unfortunately I was too late (built the house in 2016) to get the actual net metering and get paid back for any I don't use, but not having a bill is nice even if I've lost out on that. I believe my house was wired for an eventual plug in, plus my dad has the skills to do an installation if it isn't, so I'd save on labor costs. I'll have to call GMP on Monday and see if they can help me figure it out.

What area of VT are you in/where did you buy your Prime? I'm in Hartford, got mine at White River Toyota. What is the deal with workplace charging--is that usually a subscription service like Chargepoint or offered as part of job benefits? Lots of new stuff to figure out! I'm asking because I'm in the process of applying for positions at Dartmouth Hitchcock and hear they have charging stations but don't know how it all works yet...

 

Today I decided to just ignore it (got so overwhelmed last night!) and enjoy driving it. Breaking it down to one thing per day sounds like a good idea!

 

Sounds like your wife has been getting great range! Good to hear. That's a long commute! I'm lucky I moved into town, Dartmouth isn't that far for me. I grew up in Strafford so know what a drag long commutes can be, though. Sounds like your Prime will give her significant savings. Makes sense what you're saying about habits learned on a regular Prius helping; I had my 2010 for 3 years before getting the Prime. I think it helped me...but can't really be sure yet as I've only taken 2 trips so far--home from the dealer and a quick trip to the store today. Fully EV after charging last night using the included plug (dealer sold it to me with the battery dead...arrgh!), still says there's about 16 miles of range left. Fun to follow along on the dash monitors to see where I gain or lose juice. I'm not driving a lot this next week but it will be exciting to learn as I go. I haven't gone on the interstate yet either. I will be in two weeks from now to go to the airport, it'll be interesting to see how it does then. That would be great if you could get her employer on board with charging. I tried to look into it more just now about Dartmouth, they're not on the usual maps but it says they have two stations--one in their huge parking garage and one in an offsite clinic. Who knows! They just got a new CEO who is willing to listen and is trying to make positive changes (as opposed to wrecking the place like the last guy), so maybe a suggestion to clarify or promote the charging options is in order...? I did see a Chargepoint stop at Dan and Whit's when I got chicken feed earlier, so they're around here, just have to look for them. And I DID pass another Prime on the way home--a quick glimpse of a gray one!

 

Thanks! I've been poking around some on the website, and will get an account soon!

I'm planning on getting snow tires right away. I've always put snow tires on all my cars and can't imagine trying to make it on just all season tires in the winter...seems silly (and stupid), at least around here... I drive mostly on paved and well maintained roads, so clearance wasn't as much an issue as the handling. Hoping with the redesigned frame and the addition of a traction control switch that might improve a bit.

I might still get a level 2 charger if the incentives are alright, but am doing fine for now with just doing the regular plug in at night. It's been almost a week and I haven't yet used any gas! Really pleased so far.

 

Right now, they ship a free level 2 charger to customers who have just bought a new electric or plug in hybrid car; for those who already have one they can buy a charger at a discount. Then for heavy users they offer a plan that has a flat rate per month for all electricity used to charge (I think it was about $30), or just leaving it at the same levels as usual (which is what I will do--I have credits I'm not using up so my bill will still be zero or close to it). I think that's how it works...? I had a frustrating day of phone tag with them yesterday. Seems not many people there knew much about it, and were just repeating what was on the website. Lots of going around in circles.

 

It's been a week this Friday and I'm loving the Prime so far! Managed to stay in EV range almost the whole week--only used a bit of gas last night, coming back from Windsor, just barely beyond the range both ways. I plug it in at night each night and have managed to do everything but the Windsor trip all electric. Today I ended up parking next to an identical white Prime. Didn't get a picture, though that would have been fun, but got to talk to the owner. She had gotten hers a week ago as well and is just as excited as I have been. It was fun to get a minute to talk and I told her about the GMP charger incentives and about Prius chat.