Considered a PIP but went with a 2012 Prius 4... questions for the future

Why would you need to modify your house? You can charge at 120 volts.

What's the problem w/public recharge areas? You don't need to charge when going on a roadtrip.

That said, Tony Williams drove his Leaf (which has much longer range at an EPA rated 73 miles) from Baja California, Mexico to British Columbia, Canada (My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Mexico to Canada via Electric Highway June 12-20, 2012), which was ~1600 miles. He did take advantage of CHAdeMO DC quick chargers in WA and OR. The PiP has no CHAdeMO port.

 

It goes to show you that there is a lot of misinformation on the PiP and electric vehicles in general. My home was built in 1969 and it has confirmed bad electrical wiring in the kitchen. I plug in my PiP in the garage to a standard outlet just fine. So far, no broken fuses even with the clothes washer going at the same time. I get full charges in about 3 hours. No need to modify anything when charge time is that short. Work ignored my request to plug in at work but I still make the 107 mile roundtrip commute just fine. (All current electric cars would come up short for my commute save for 6 figure Teslas)

I'm surprised the salesman didn't tell you the PiP is a "conventional" hybrid. It is a "conventional" hybrid plus it can run on electric only. For my example, I get up to 92 mpg on my commute to work with part of the way in electric mode. On the return trip, I get 50 mpg in "conventional" hybrid mode.

 

^^^
Hmm, maybe this is why Toyota is (resorting to?) putting on big incentives on the PiP.

 

a base PIP is cheaper then a FOUR after all these incentives. Odd decision you made IMO

Dan

 

i plug into 120v in my garage. all the best with your new pri, enjoy it and don't look back, the next gen will be even better!

 

Very odd u went with a Prius 4 over the PIP

 

There are a lot of features in the Four that don't come in the Basic PiP.

 

I don't think I've ever seen MPG under the low 50's for any trip with my PiP, even when the EV charge was depleted. Maybe once when I went a mile down the hill and back up on zero charge.

You might make a different choice based on price and features, but as far as the drivetrain goes, a PiP is just a Prius plus. No minuses. (Let's not quibble about spare tires.)

 

the other advantage of the pip is that it's working with lithium instead of nickle.

 

Nickel and Lithium aren't problems, but both battery types often use other toxic metals, such as cadmium, manganese, and cobalt.

 

Me too.... I tried 3 times to register with my local dealership for a PIP when the online signup was announced. I was ignored and when I contacted the web sales manager personally he was completely clueless / uninterested in taking a pre-order. I took this as a sign : this was not meant to be at this time. A couple of months later I had a very satisfactory experience purchasing our " three " from a dealer in the next town. I also follow this thread to see what I " missed " and to plan ahead for our next vehicle purchase at some point in the future. Meanwhile, I am extremely satisfied with the Prius we have. No regrets so far !

 

I went through the same process. I do not live in a state with tax rebates, so the $2500 from the Feds still left a bit to pay. In addition, the basic PiP did not have the accessories I wanted. I really like my Four after having put 80K miles on a 2008 Gen II.

 

You're not missing out on anything. You made the right choice. I thought your salesman was odd at first. But if you can't charge at home, work, or public charging stations, then there really is no reason to pay more for a PiP. You'd be paying extra for a larger battery that will never be used. If I can't plug in, I'd much rather have a Prius four over a Base PiP which is equipped like a Prius three.

 

Well, he can charge at home. He mentioned rental house. 3 hours at 120 volts isn't bad.

I plan to lease a Leaf and stick w/120 volt charging (which takes WAY longer from empty).

I can't speak to CT, but I'd imagine there are some CA folks who bought a PiP only for our CA HOV stickers. I recall reading about someone here or on MNL who knew of a neighbor w/a Volt that's NEVER been charged.

 

To plug in at home, all you need is an oridinary household outlet.

I certainly hope people don't get the impression more is required.

 

It sure seems like the OP got the wrong idea from the salesman. But then again, salesmen who have wrong info or lack of info about the Prius is nothing new...

Hopefully folks at Toyota are aware of salesmen like these giving the wrong idea.

 

As others have stated you can charge at basically any standard outlet. As for public charging those are becoming more and more common but probably not worth it with such a good gas efficiency from a fiscal perspective.
Congratulations on your Prius 4, I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as we did our past Prii.

Next time you talk to any car salesman, verify the information you get. Some are very good, some are very bad.