Why get PIP, no cost savings.

I really don't get why people buy a PIP.

There would be two types of driving routines.

1) your fully charge it amd drive 13 miles, say you can fully charge the prius twice a day, drive 26 miles per day. You save half gallon of gas minus the electrical bill. Say you save $2.00 per day.

So, you pay 6k more than a regular prius, it takes 3000 days which is nearly 10 years to break even.

2) say you mix EV with hybrid, drive 100 miles a day, you get 85mpg. getting about 25 extra 25 mpg which is the same saving, $2 per day.


am i missing something from the PIP?
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1) you seem fixated on micro-economics. What if the owner bought it to lower the US payments to OPEC? Or to improve the air quality in the place that they live? Or to try to leave resources for their grandchildren?

2) You seem to feel that you can only charge once a day. This may be true for you but as an example I tend to see 3 to 4 clients a day, with a 20 mile average distance between them. If these clients were in a mood to help, I might be able to charge 5 times a day, bringing 'payback' to 2 years. Since the PIP battery is so small, it could recharge while I do computer work.

3) If we assume both my first two answers are wrong, why do you care why your neighbors are saving gas for you to use?

1) I just like driving in EV mode around town - and there is no other Plug-In that offers the same mix of affordability, space, and reliability

2) The CA HOV stickers

For me the only reason to buy any Prius is the California HOV sticker.

Today I drove my fully charged car to work and back, driving 77 miles, with mileage of 80 MPG.

You drive a Prius, you spent a couple more grand over some non hybrid equivalent, why?

You can make your own electricity. Let's see you make your own gasoline.

Sounds like PIP has no cost savings, but for other reasons.

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I'm still waiting for someone to calculate the payback period for my heated leather seats in my package 4.

As Jimbo pointed out, there is more to life than cost savings and break even points. At least for energy efficient cars, it can be calculated vs less efficient cars. But just because we can calculate a value doesn't mean the value has......value.

No, you pay about $2,300 more than a regular Prius. Some people pay more than that for leather seats, or custom wheels, or a bigger engine.

Thats what i said, not from a money perspective.

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PIP MSRP is 32k how can it be $2,300 more?

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Because you have to compare the options that come with the car, such as remote AC, Entune, alloy wheels, heated seats, and you have to factor in a Federal rebate of $2,500 and a California rebate of $1,500.

last tank 119 mpg

'nuff said

This was exactly my calculation approx. $2,300 more than a regular Prius.
I replaced a 11 Year old car with 145,000 Miles. Since I plan to keep the Prius for a similar duration the additional cost was not a big factor.

Plus I did not buy PiP to save money, I bought it because of its cool technology. I hate wasting money on GAS and would rather spend it upfront on a car.

From what perspective did you buy your 2010 Prius?

From when a car is an investing asset?

And even on 'return of investment' perspective your calculation is wrong as it does not include other influencing factors (main one is the anticipated resale value difference between the two vehicles).

1) Driving the PiP around in pure EV is a lot of fun.
2) The car's ICE efficiency has been documented to be greatly improved over the Gen3 Prius (see the "New PiP Owners...More Dat Please!!!" thread. If you take long trips regularly, your payback will be much sooner.
3) You get options available in more expensive cars (heated seats in the base model in Minnesota is awesome).
4) Clearwater Blue Metallica is prettiest color I've ever seen on a car (ok, I'm biased).
5) It's not about the money! Less money sent to the middle east is great.
6) This is the future and, by supporting it, we bring the improvements it will provide (for all drivers) at a more rapid pace.
7) If a oil crisis develops we are better prepared to adapt.
8) When gas prices skyrocket, and the filthy rich oil executives only get grilled by congress, I will be less angry.

It's a valid question "Dark Prius." The reason the plug-in Prius make sense to me is because I will use it for a lot of short trips. For example, on Monday I take my son swimming which is 1 mile away and on Tuesday I take my son to baseball which is 2 miles away and Wednesday it's back to swim 1 mile away. Not to mention going grocery shopping which is like 2 miles away and going to target which is 2 miles away. Now on your regular prius there's no way you're getting 50 miles a gallon on those short trips, the engine just can't warm up in that short amount of time. Plus I work 14 miles away from work and can plug in there too. So for me it's a no-brainer. Thanks for the question....

This is a good example of confusing a financial decision with an economic one. Financially, it almost always makes sense to buy a 5 year old economy car. But many people buy a new car every few years. It is just a matter of taste. The PiP is no different. I remember the early days of the Prius, where people were paying thousands over MSRP to get one. There's no way that any of those buyers broke even vs. buying an Echo or Civic.

And the green HOV sticker is surely a driver of sales as well. That also shows that people are willing to pay a premium to save time on their commute.

I don't know if you can justify it strictly on a cost basis, but the Prius Plug-In and the other Prius are just as much about making a statement as economics. Not everything has to be justified based on economics. If you enjoy the car and the statement, then it is right for you. I enjoy my Sequoia especially when I'm towing it with my Prius.