Will the Plug In Prius Save You Any Money vs. the Regular Prius?

Never mind...

 

However, I'd consider the heated seats (in particular) and the alloy wheels to be part of the Plug-in premium. They have more value on the Plug-in than the liftback. So I don't think you should deduct the $750 when calculating the CA premium. Using minimum sales tax of 7.25% it's actually:

(32000 - 25565) * 1.0725 - 2500 - 1500 = $2901.54

Of course if you'd be satisfied with a Two the difference is at least $4580. Not too bad for EV if your situation allows you to make effective use of it, but it still doesn't stop me from feeling that Toyota is pocketing the rebates.

 

For those who drive lots of short trips and can recharge in between the plug in is a real money saver. Regular prius does not get good mileage on short trips. Plug in costs about $.035 per mile at $0.12 per kwh. At 50 mpg and $4.00/gal. gas it costs about $0.08/mile for a savings of $0.045/mile; however, on short trips compared to 40mpg of regular prius you save $0.065/mile at $4.00 /gal. At 30 miles per day with 2 charges = $1.95 x 365= $711.75 per year. After fed tax credit and local rebates plug in is only about $3500 more than similarly equipped regular prius, so the pay back would be about 5 years and 54,750 miles, or about half of the warranty of the battery and much less than the expected life of the battery. I have solar panels on my barn roof which produce extra power after covering personal home use, so in my case my pay back is much faster due to free electricity.