Why would you choose a Prius over a Chevy Volt?

The Volt is kind of small.

 

Where do you live? California electricity can get expensive in upper tiers.
How many people and cargo will you need to transport?
Which test drive did you like the best?
How far is your daily commute?
Help me help you.

 

What will be your typical use?

Far more people are able to do their full work commute in all-electric mode in a Volt than in a Plug-In Prius. For numerous people within this span, the Volt's EV range is the deciding factor. For those outside this span, the choice becomes more complex.

 

Many reasons I would choose a prius over a volt. Reliability, interior space, the volt does poor in cold climates to name a couple. To be honest the Nissan leaf does better than a colt and it is full electric. Most common complaint here is poor fuel economy in the winter with the volt.

 

It would affect the volt. Cold weather affects range dramatically. Winter you can figure about 25 miles of range on electric because you also have draw of a puny little electric heater that just dribbles mildly warm air, hills, ect. In nd where temps get to 60 below zero most people never have the benefits of ev with them. The ones I have seen all have the engines running and the one on the lot always shows fuel economy of 36mpg which is not that good for a car that is supposed to do 50 miles of ev for city commuting

 

One way, or round trip?

If one way, will you be able to recharge at work?

 

Prius isn't exactly immune to the cold, either...
Really depends on your priorities. If you want to do as much of your driving as possible in EV, then the Volt is probably the better option. If you want the best mileage after the battery runs out, the PiP wins.

 

The interior quality and materials of the volt is much nicer, but my biggest concern is the drivetrain between the two cars. The Prius is a proven platform for reliable hybrid cars and I'm very interested in keeping maintenance costs to a minimum over my ownership of the car.

And personally, I'm not open to primarily-electric vehicles yet. Charging infrastructure is abysmal around where I live, and I commute well over 60 miles a day. Residents of townhouses in my area do not have access to 240 volt outlets. The asking prices for an electric (or plug-in hybrid) vehicle that is within commuting range is not within my preferred budget. I actually wouldn't even choose a Prius Plug-in, but that's for my own circumstances.

I would think about what concerns you the most out of owning a car over a few years. Although a volt would serve your needs very well based on what you have said, the reasons I mentioned for owning a standard Prius (or a Prius v) would mostly apply to a Prius plug-in, albeit at a higher cost.

 

if you're not comparing the plug in prius, it's really two different cars. for your commute, volt would be all or almost all ev. for longer distances, prius offers much better gas mileage. other than that, it's really a personal choice like any car buying decisions. all the best!

 

What are the government kickbacks for the Volt in BC?
Can you (legally) charge at work?
What are your electricity prices?

As stated above, they're two very different cars.
I know which one I would buy right now, but I live in a different climate, I have a much smaller commute, I'm an empty-nester, I can LEGALLY charge at work, gas here is $2.60USD a gallon, electricity is 5cents/kWh, and my government kicks back a heckuva lot more on the Volt than for a Prius. Also...I live in hurricane country and the Volt would be a much better emergency backup power source than the G3, although the G3 also has that capability.

So....which one did I get?
Neither.

My work car is a Prius and I like having a $0.00 car payment.

You're going to have to examine YOUR situation and make your choice.

Good Luck!

 

It is not clear you meant to post in the Prius v forum, but lets pretend you did. (Now moved to the plus in forum)

Prius v has no plugin range, and gets a EPA 42 MPG, it seats 5 adults and has 36 cubic feet of cargo space ( or 2 adults and 67 cf) it has a space saver spare.

The Prius PHV has a 6 mile EPA electric range and 50 MPG. It seats 4 adults and a child under 10 with 21 cf of cargo, or the rear seats fold own for more. No spare.

The Volt has a EPA 35 mile range on electricity, but only 37 MPG on gas. It only seats 4. 2 adults and 2 victims. The rears seats do not fold so 10.6 cf is it. No spare tire.

I used English traditional units and USEPA numbers the actual ratios remain the same in metric.

 

No, that's just when the hard-acceleration occurs in the EPA testing, which triggers the engine to run then shut back off.

Range is roughly 12 miles. I've personally went 17 miles. It varies. The capacity is 4.4 kWh.

 

I did not type that, so I do not feel the need to defend it.

 

I wondered why your messege ended so abruptly at that point. I obviously caught it prior to the update.

 

It's kind of redundant to ask a Prius forum what's the best. But the bottom line is not economics (a standard economy car is better for all but high mileage users); the choice is yours based on personal preference. If I lived up north I would consider 4 wheel drive and a conventional engine with a good heater.

 

The Volt handles the cold just fine. It's handling in the winter is superior to the handling of the Gen2 Prius, I don't know if gen3 improved that.

It really depends upon your driving patterns.
If you would find yourself driving on gas often, the Prius is probably better.

How often will you have passengers in the back seat? The Volt back seat is small and I wouldn't get it if you have adult passengers often.

Of course, if you can wait, we should be seeing the second gen Volt and the next gen Prius mid to late next year.