Will a Prius plug-in be worth it?

That is a very subjective question.
After all, how much is built in navigation worth? How many times would it have to save you from needing to buy a paper map to make up for the added cost?
Or how about a sunroof?
This question really is meaningless without additional information.
Will it be worth it you ask? First you need to answer:
How much more does it cost?
What value do you place on using less gas (environmental benifits, national security benifits, economic benifits, etc)?
What will gas prices/availability do over the time you own the car?

 

Zythryn -

Thanks for that thoughtful reply. So refreshing to hear.

If the out-of-pocket cost of goods is the only thing considered, we are screwed. What cost do you put on health? Human life? Gets a little muddier when you consider all the ramifications of your purchase decisions.

 

If you are primarily concerned about operating costs then whether a PHEV is worth the extra cost depends on 3 things:

1. How much extra does the PHEV cost
2. How much does PHEV conversion reduce your fuel cost
3. What is the replacement interval / cost for the PHEV battery

No one can accurately tell you how much a factory PHEV will save or cost you because we don't know the answers to the questions above.

We can compare the operating cost of a 2004-2009 Prius to a Prius with a Hymotion L5 conversion.

Per the calculator on their webpage:

• The conversion costs $10,395
• It will increase my mpg from 48 to 117
• It will reduce my fuel use from 214 gallons per year to 87 gallons.

Currently gasoline costs 1.70 per gallon here
214 x $1.70 = $364
87 x $1.70 = $148
Yearly Savings $216

Hymotion won't say how long the battery will last but lets day it last for 10 years. I would have paid $10,395 to save $2160 in fuel.

I don't expect fuel to stay at $1.70 though. Lets say it averages $5 over the 10 years
214 x $5.00 = $1070
87 x $5.00 = $435
Yearly Savings $635

So in this scenario I pay $10,395 to save $6,350. (Not including electricity to charge the battery)

I have concluded that there is simply no way a Hymotion conversion makes sense financially. That doesn't mean that others won't purchase the conversion for environment reasons or just because they think it is cool.

Everything changes if Toyota decides to do this at the factory level. Toyota could probably do the equivalent of a Hymotion L5 for 1/3 of the cost. Then a PHEV vehicle would make sense and cents.

 

If you only consider the current price of gas, and not the lower cost of maintanance then it depends how much you drive.
The hymotion pack at 10K is most likely not worth it STRICTLY on gas savings.
Due to economy of scale, the 2010 will most likely be a much better deal.
What are you using to calculate the cost of gas over the next 1-5 years?
What cost do you attribute to the deaths and illnesses caused by refining gasoline as well as 'secuiring' supplies of it?
To me, the hymotion pack is a bargin. But it won't pay for itself. It will come closer to paying for itself than a sunroof

 

That's the way I think of our Hymotion and EV switch mods. I'm sure I get as much pleasure out of gliding around town in EV mode as a sports car driver gets out of going VROOOOOOOM or a luxury-lover gets out of leather seats and the latest electronic gadgetry. It's cool and it makes me happy. I spend a lot of time carting my kids around in the car, so I may as well enjoy it.

Don't tell my 8th grader, but when he misses the bus and I have to drive him to school, I don't mind too much because I can go the whole way and back all in EV mode.