Should I buy Prius Prime or regular Prius

Yeah I'm learning that if I go out and come back home it's typically about 10-15 miles of driving. If I know I'm going back out later in the day I can plug in and get enough charge in it for that 2nd trip usually. It's a game of deciding when I can use what's left in it or if I need to charge a bit before going out again.

 

It's not really much of a game. I plug in the car whenever I get home, so even if I'm home only 15 minutes, that's an extra couple of miles that I can travel. Rough calculations say the car gets about 10 miles of range from each hour of charging with a level 2 charger on a 220v circuit.

 

Yes, having a Level 2 EVSE does change the situation. I’m still on the 110v wall socket. Also I prefer to run the SOC down low before fully recharging but I may get over that in time.

 

One of the advantages of plugging it in every time is that it becomes a habit. You stop noticing it after a while.

 

Toyota have withdrawn the “Regular” Prius from sale in the UK.
I believe the US is going the same way soon.

 

That is unfortunate but likely inevitable,
My hope was the standard Prius would become a small battery PIP.

But if they are all Prime that means you may get some new Prime trim packages and AWD.

My worry is that the Prius brand goes the way of the Dodo

 

Or the way of the Pinto

 

Strictly from an efficiency point. If you only do lots of highway miles a vanilla Prius is lighter and should get better highway MPG's.. If you only do city miles, time is a luxury you got and you can recharge.. Prime it is!

Personally i chose a Prime as we have employee chargers at work and a 6k bucks government rebate. Free electricity!

 

All the web sites (including fueleconomy.gov) show slightly higher mileage in the prime. I recall hearing that the larger battery lets the Prime do a better job of buffering energy and regenerative braking.

 

You would think so, but we have both a Prime and regular Gen 4. The Prime gets consistently better mpg on long road trips as well as in HV driving around Tampa on 45-60 mph roads.

 

Really, i'll have a closer look but i think i saw better milleage on the vanilla in those brochures at work. I'll have a second look as i might have switched the 2 of them.

 

Unless Canada uses different numbers from the US, you switched them. Although the ECO does get better EPA numbers. And then there's the consideration that cars don't always obey the commands of the brochures.
Here's the 2019 Prius (my most recent brochure):


And the 2018 Prime (my most recent brochure):