Any Volt owner switching over to Prius PHV?

What difference would it make? Did any Volt owners drive an early model PHV? Notice how on the other forums & blogs they already placed judgment despite not having firsthand experience?

The point is, there are many aspects to the purchase decision. Heck, even driving itself entails a variety of different factors. Just look at the varied comments we get about Prius.

I think the better question is what those who are leasing Volt now will do later when that lease expires.
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I said this back on page 1 or 2 but I intend to cross shop all my EV and PHEV options in 2014 when my lease runs out.

I will definitely consider a Pip, but for it to win out it would need to allow me to use less oil than the competitors or offer a significantly better ride and handling than I am used to from a prius. At the moment I don't expect the Pip to prevail on either front.

I am optimistic there will be a pure EV with around 200 miles of range I can afford by then.

 

Agree there are many dimensions. I cannot speak for others, but I drove a fellow faculty member's Prius "Boulder Conversion" PHEV for about half an hour test drive (A converted 08) then I rented 2011 Prius for a week to see how I liked it. I was told the PiP prototypes drove pretty close to a 2011 except for the difference in EV range and top speed (which I got to experience in the conversion). Given my commute and the difference in ride, the Volt was a easy decision -- even when I thought the PiP was going to be <30K.

It will be interesting to see what evolves when the Volts come off lease.. as the off-lease market will also allow people to get reasonable prices second hard Volts.. and the owners will vote with their feet/dollars. I bought, so I'm not likely to sell my volt, ever.

 

That's unfortunate to hear. You weren't told the whole story.

PHV is able to draw & utilize more electricity than the 2011. The value we've seen is 38 kW instead of 27 kW. That means you'll get more power while EV driving, not just a faster top speed.

In other words, PHV delivers a new level of acceleration and hill-climbing performance beyond the 2011 model.
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I have the impression that relatively few people had the chance to do extended driving in the PiP prototype. I've driven the 2012 beta production PiP around at the Green Car Expo in Richmond, California last Fall. It performed well for all of the 3-4 block route. I was able get the engine to start without great effort at city driving speeds but I intentionally did it. In order to get a real feel for the EV performance I would have to drive it around for at least 10-20 minutes in various road conditions.

 

Glad to hear it has more power, but I was as detailed as I should have been. I ment the 2011 for quality of the ride, fit and finish, not the power for EV (or speed). For those I was going with the feel of the 10KW Boulder plugin conversion I got to ride. (The 2011 with advance package had much nicer fit/finish/quality was much nicer than the 2008 base model converted PHEV). The Boulder conversion ads 10kw of battery and a forced EV mode that is good up to 50mph. (just checked and did not find specs on how many instantaneous KW it provides for EV mode). I knew it was not as good as the PiP, but still it was better than then regular Prius. (At the time I was also considering getting a used Prius and a Conversion kit -- would have been cheaper in upfront costs).

But the ride of the Pius was too soft, the seats were not as comfortable for me (though apparently that is a personal taste issue) and the acceleration was weak (though maybe that will be better in a PiP it will not be up to the Volt (at least by specs reported so far). (In addition, the prius styling was not something my wife liked. )


Taking a tangent.. As I was reading the boulder conversion site I noted the great price for the smaller pack. Too small for me when I was looking, but if there are any Prius 04-09 owners in CO reading this.. the 4kw PHEV pack from boulder conversions is only $750 after CO state rebate. (yes Seven Hundred Fifty!).
Boulder Hybrid Conversions

If they really get 40% to 100% increase in MPG for mostly local trips, it may give an used Prius a few more years of really good use and have a rather short ROI (~12500 -25000 local miles).

 

Well???? :noidea:

 

I am happy with my decision.. The PiP does not offer substantial cost savings over my regular Prius. Especially since I use the Prius on long range drives its cost savings to me would only be $0.003 per mile over my regular Prius. Granted it quickly overtakes the Volt in cost once I leave EV mode, but that rarely happens. If anything I am looking to pick up a Leaf, but that is a long range goal. Only thing that would change my mind on that is if GM puts out a bigger battery pack for the Volt. I would definately keep the car after the lease is up then. Now is just me waiting to see what comes out to fill the space between the Leaf, and Model S range if anything. I have 2 and a half more years to contemplate.