Looking into buying a Prius

welcome!
sounds like a prius is the right choice for you, but i would test drive one before buying. the biggest quirk is the engine shutting off all the time.
bring your family to see if it is the right car for those michigan trips.

all the best!

 

Welcome to PriusChat !

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I just came back from a long trip, once the ~25 mile battery charge runs out it seamlessly switches over to gas engine (ICE) and simply goes down the road that way.

On this same trip I rented a Tesla S through Turo for two days, I'm VERY glad I own a Prius Prime !


Rob43

 

Keep in mind with the Prius Prime, the hatch floor is raised about 4", to accomodate the extra battery. It also doesn't have a spare tire. If I'm not mistaken only the base level Prius (non plug-in) has spare now?

 

And, the driver usually doesn't even know when the engine is running or not. Toyota's system is very well designed. The operation is smooth from electric to gas to electric to gas to....

We are in a situation much like yours. The Prime works very well for us. We'd buy another.

 

As a Ford and Toyota owner I would say that going from a Fiesta to a Prius for the sake of TCO and peace of mind is likely to become one of the best automotive choices out there

The Prius is a marvel of engineering. It's just such an incredibly well thought-out and made car that I don't even know what to compare it to ... perhaps the Mercedes W110-W123 back in the 60's-80's? or the DC-3, the only airplane to have been in service for 80+ years? In 2017 I decided to jump onto the EV bandwagon, and guess what: the POC that was supposed to replace the Prius was returned to GM, while the Prius is getting a new set of rain deflectors, a new set of tires, and unlimited tenure in our household!

 

1. Electric driving is fantastic: smooth, quiet and powerful
2. 133 mpge (more if you drive less than 30 miles per day, see the Prime Mileage forum)
3. Tax incentives (depends on where you live, but in SoCal I got $7000 back from fed/state/electric company)

 

I think even in hybrid mode the Prime gets significantly better mpg?

 

I chose the regular Prius over the Plug-In because I prefer the extra luggage space and can't make use of the tax credit and don't commute anymore, but that statement from the dealer is the lamest excuse ever for not buying the Plug-In. It sounds like they don't have a Plug-In to sell and want to steer you away from it for that reason. For the usage you describe, I think you would be better off with the Plug-In.

 

Yes, does everything the plug-in does, and even charges itself! aka the "self-charging hybrid". Simple, catchy and 100% true.

New Niro Self-Charging Hybrid | Kia Motors UK
Toyota Self-Charging Hybrid Range | Toyota Ireland

But seriously ... with a Prime, you will be able to do most of your driving (30 mi/day a few times a a week you mentioned) on electric power, which is convenient from many points of view. The new Prime has 5 seats again, so its main IMO disadvantage is gone.

Another thing to consider: unless you are lucky to already have a 240VAC outlet where you want to keep the car, you'll need to make arrangements for installing an L2 charging station, which can be expensive and difficult. For example, if you live in a condo, the HOA rules and the topology of the power lines, and the costs of the appropriately qualified and licensed electrician etc could spoil the party ...

To my eye, Prime's face is a lot less controversial than that of the regular Prius; that said, for 2020 the non-plug Prius has "borrowed" some of the Prime's external features to help with sales I assume.

 

Hang on, you can charge at regular voltage, 110~120 whatever it is. 5 1/2 hours, which is slower, but works for overnight.

 

The old meme of "How do you tell when a car salesman is lying? When his lips move," remains true. Why do we like our Prime?...3 cents a mile on electric operation. Burn much less gasoline. Quiet & smooth. Better hybrid due to the larger battery: 60 mpg on the highway after the battery is depleted.

We always charge at home at 120 volts. Works fine. Toyota's included portable charging cable has only a 120 volt plug on it.

 

Curiously, was the Prime you test drove charged up by the Dealer before you drove it ?

Also realize that if you have a conveniently located 240 volt outlet, you can charge up your Prime by using the included Toyota OE 120v EVSE at 240 volts. This costs less than $50 dollars and your full charge time will be about 2:28 minutes.


Rob43