PIP - Leaf - Or Volt ??? - Help Me Decide

IMHO the advances in battery technology aren't going to be as optimistic as you're hoping, so I'd go with the Leaf and not worry about it going obsolete.

Jeff

 

Let me confuse you some more. Are you married to having plug in or EV? If so, why not Ford Focus or Ford C-max? If not, Lexus has .9% financing this month and some great 3 year lease deals (while you wait to see how the EV / plugin market shakes out in the next few years)!

 

How many drivers are there in your household?
It will never make economic sense to throw out a car that works well for a new car.

I think the PiP is $32,000

My advice is to keep a log for 3 years with your current Prius, and see how many trips exceed 13 miles, 37 miles and 73 miles. Then you can figure out how useful each car will be.

 

Your weekly mileage is only 100-150 miles and you already own two Prius?

You realize the most efficient choice is simply to keep what you already have?

But since I think you want the "fun" of another toy, and the ability to not use gas...I'd recommend The Leaf.

I think The Leaf...and a Prius...would be a great combo of vehicles to own.

 

As a two car household particularly note the days on which both of you have to travel those longer distance.

If you're both keen on PEV and want to know how it'd work you could also try putting a sticker in one of your Priuses saying "pretend LEAF" and pretend that you have a LEAF. Then see if it works. Find out typical charging rates etc. You could "rent" the pretend LEAF if you're both going long distances.

If you were to lease one for 3 years I'd suggest the Volt, just because it has a good lease price and doesn't limit you, but the LEAF exercise could be more fun.

 

This is why I leased the Volt... Here is my take on it. Granted the PiP was not on my radar as we already have a 2011 Prius.. I did however look at both the Leaf and the Volt...

If you know you will not be going anywhere in the next 3 years I would get the Leaf. Here is why. The Leaf has a larger interior, and is more comftorable than the Volt (in my opinion). It also appears to me to have a larger trunk. I was very impressed with the one that I looked at.. Granted this also depends on your driving style too. If you are pushing the limits of the EPA estimated 70 something mile range once the battery starts to degrade you are screwed... I still think the Leaf is the best car on the market right now for someone looking for an EV.

Why I have a Volt in the end. Well being in the military I need to be flexible. I also did not want to have to pay to flatbed a Leaf from duty station to duty station. With the Volt also you are free to use the air conditioning and heater without worrying about not making it home since you have the gas generator. For shorter commutes you are still getting awesome gas mileage.. 98% of the time I get 44+ miles per charge, but then again there are people with the Leaf getting 120+ miles per charge. It all depends on how you drive. Personally like I said I would go for the Leaf. If I were to do it over again I probably would have waited till I got to Norfolk and got the Leaf then so I wouldn't of had to flatbed it. The Volt is a very nice car though, but it certaintly is not for everyone. It reminds me of my old Cadillac Eldorado inside only updated for the 21st century... My best advice to you is to go look and drive all 3, and then decide. If you need flexibility though the Volt of the PiP are your choice as that was the only thing that held me back from a Leaf..

 

And in three years, you can start over again because the maximum EV distance of all three may have doubled.

Actually, that is a good plan. By then you may need a new car too

 

Lets try again, what problem will a new car solve?

[Edit: Cross Post, we aren't trying to solve any problem, never mind]

 

I'm in the same situation.
I've got an order for a 2012 Leaf, a 2012 PiP, and could (in theory) but a Volt off the lot.

I test drove the volt for the first time recently. Nice car to drive, but getting in and out was a bear. The stupid pillar was in the way. Plus, with the seat set for me to drive (not even all the way back) there is no way ANYBODY could comfortably sit behind me (I tried!). So, probably no Volt - even though the EV / gas range ratio would fit my need very well.

The LEAF would suit most of my driving needs very comfortably -- and we do have a second car for long distance stuff. I'm just a little annoyed that airport is just out of reach (without recharging). The seating in the leaf is tight, but OK - even for carseats/boosters in the back. Trunk utility is small, but really, I'm not going to take much luggage anywhere!.

The PiP costs a bit more than I had hoped, but doesn't seem that out of line - especially compared to leaf and volt. Utility of PiP is a known. Biggest unknown is driving - could I do my daily commute on EV all the time? (14mile RT, sub 35 speeds)? What's the EPA range? How's it handle the cold. Plus, still have to deal with oil changes etc....

 

Lets assume you 'need' to drive 1 mile per day on gasoline.

In 50 days you use 1 gallon, in 500 days you use a tankfull.

You want to use gas faster than that just to be sure you have good gas.

Even 2 miles a day of gas takes 250 days to refill.