Any advice for a potential Los Angeles owner?

I love our 2006 Prius, but miss the advantage of the carpool lane. My roundtrip commute is 80 miles down the 405. I don't have the ability to plug-in at work, but will nightly at home. I'd love to buy the plug-in, but I'm hesitant since it's so new on the market. I'd really appreciate any insight! Thank you!

i only have 1500 miles on mine and don't do much highway driving, so others will have better advice. i traded my 08 and couldn't be happier. pip is larger, quieter, more comfortable and i loved the 08 and 04 before that. after the tax credit, it's a $3-4000. premium over standard similarly equipped pri. you get the hov lane and drive locally on electric. what's not to like? welcome to priuschat, all the best!

Jed I live in Long Beach and drive the 405 sometimes as well. I work for myself so I don't commute every day, but I do have client meetings in Westwood and have to fight the 405 south at 5pm occasionally. I bought the PiP to retire an 06 HCH w/ 130k miles.

The PiP is pretty sweet. Glides are way better with endless battery. Or use up your EV as EV Boost on the freeway going 65-70 mph you'll be getting 100+ mpg. It's amazing.

My only recommendation is to get a charge at both ends o your travel. Without that it's a bit of a waste.

In case you haven't seen this thread yet.
SoCal Dianne's PHEV Prius PLugiN available inventory! (Summer 2012) | PriusChat
There must be 100's of PriusChaters all across the country driving Dianne's cars.

First Prius for me. Carpool lane so worth it for me. You might surprise yourself with creative ways to plug in your car. You are paying a premium for the HOV sticker. Is it worth it to you?

The PiP is pretty sweet. Glides are way better with endless battery. Or use up your EV as EV Boost on the freeway going 65-70 mph you'll be getting 100+ mpg. It's amazing.

Last week I noticed my PIP getting way better mileage on the FWY, dont recall what mode I was in but was getting 75 mpg vs. the 55 it usually gets at 70mph. Sounds like what you are describing, is there a way to get into this mode?

Do it for the HOV if nothing else. I'm guessing the relief you get on the 405 using the HOV would be worth it.

nevermind, got it, just leave in EV mode. I got over 100 MPG on a 19 mile commute this afternoon...love it...all at freeway speeds.

Yes or use gas to get up to speed then kick over to EV. I use ICE to ramp onto the freeway get up to 65 mph then switch to EV.

on a 17 mile commite this morning I got 156 mpg at 70-75 mph, had 1.2m left on battery. I drove it door to door in EV. This car is ridiculous.

I don't mean to rain on your MPG parade, but there's no way you drove in pure EV mode. Any speed above 62 MPH and the ICE has to run, though it does so at a reduced level. Also, the fact that you got 156 MPG indicates that the ICE had to run. That being said, those are very impressive numbers.

I took the statement to mean that he didn't manually select HV mode on the highway and that during the entire trip, the car was in EV mode. In that case, gas would have been used as necessary during the parts of the trip that required it.

I just got into work, it's 38 miles one direction. I cross the Bay Bridge each morning and the carpool stickers save me so much time. For me, those alone are worth it. The MPG increase is really unbelievable. I drive about 400-450 miles per week and would guess my avg MPG will settle down to about 75. I'm on my 4th tank of gas right now and have driven 360 miles averaging right at 100 mpg according to the computer. (I do charge at the office) This is my third Prius and each one just gets better. The fit and finish is great and it just feels much more comfortable than my 2005 (which I no longer own) and my 2010. The sooner you get it the longer you'll get to enjoy the carpool stickers and right now there is still money left in the state fund to get your $1500 rebate.

Someone left their cake out in the rain. And I'll never have that recipe again.

'I took the statement to mean that he didn't manually select HV mode on the highway and that during the entire trip, the car was in EV mode. In that case, gas would have been used as necessary during the parts of the trip that required it.'

Exactly.

The one thing you cannot buy is time.
I'd do it.
Oh wait! I did! LOL!

Hi! Great to hear you're liking your Prius. I have a similar commute in Southern California. About 41 miles each way, is most of your driving in stop and go? What do you think your average speeds are? Also, do you get these results by just letting the system do everything on it's own or are you actively changing modes? Thanks for the insight!

I commute 80 miles round trip in Northern California. I just hit 10,000 miles with my Plug-in and posted the results here:
Plug-in Prius results at 10,000 miles | PriusChat

I haven't read this thread carefully, but OP should keep in mind the green and white HOV stickers are set to expire 1/1/15 per
Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle HOV Lane Usage
.

and per history with both the white and yellow stickers, along with the unbelievably slow uptake of plugins so far, i suspect that will get extended to at least one more year down the road