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Is the Plug in Prius worth it for me?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Alice Mya, Aug 30, 2012.

  1. LenP

    LenP Member

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  2. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    OP has no outlet to plug-in, if I am 'membering the right thread.
    Lease was a good idea.
     
  3. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    the OP has a charging opportunity twice a week at work, but I think they would need to get more than the 15-20 mile max charge of a PiP to take advantage of two charges a week. The Volt could get two 38 mile charges, almost enough for the OP's 84 miles per week of driving. An opportunistic weekend charge would get them through the week without any gasoline expense.

    Someone posted there are $99 Leaf leases available, that might be an even better solution for the OP. Niisan Leaf lease deals - As low as $99/month After reading the thread, they are more like $199/month.

    correction, the OP has a charging opportunity at school twice a week, not work. She might not be at school long enough to get a substantial charge. The Volt can only get about 10 miles of ev range per hour of charging. I think the Leaf can get 20 miles of ev range per hour of charging. To make the Volt scenario work I think she would need to be at school for 4 hours twice a week and another 2 hours charging on the weekend. The leaf might get by on 2 hours at school twice a week and a short weekend charge.
     
  4. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    which is why, imho, any sort of "EV-primary" vehicle is not a good solution to this situation. It's very likely that the OP will get stranded or end up using more gas than electricity.
     
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...so OP maybe gets a good lease deal on a Prius c or Liftback and in 3-yrs gets PiP if situation has changed re: availability of electrons.
     
  6. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    It will depend on climate, speed and driving style, but I don't think OP posted her location. Here in AZ I routinely get >50mpg on a 10 mile (one way) mixed surface/highway commute with moderate speeds (55-60 highway, 40-48 surface) but no deliberate hypermiling. First couple of miles are in the mid to high 40s, up over 50 by 5-6 miles and usually end up at ~52mpg. This is in a Gen 2 (2005). From what I understand Gen 3 will both get better mpgs and warm up faster. In colder climate, warmup and heat requirements will take their toll in winter I'm sure.

    Rob
     
  7. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    As I said before, I love EV/PHEVs but they are not very practical if you have limited access to charging. A standard Prius would make a lot more sense. There are certainly other factors than money that come into play, but for only being able to charge twice a week the additional gas offset will be very small compared to going from a low mpg vehicle to a Prius.

    Assuming 12 miles a day, 6 days a week annual fuel consumption would be:
    Existing 15mpg vehicle: 250 gallons/year = $1,000 / year at $4/gal
    Prius at 50mpg: 75 gallons per year = $300/yr at $4/gal
    Volt: ~0 gallons per year = $148 / year at 36kWh/mi and 11c/kWh
    Leaf: 0 gallons per year = $140 / yr at 34kWh/100mi and 11c/kWh

    So going from existing to Prius saves 175 gallons per year, going all the way to a Leaf only saves an additional 75 gallons per year but introduces risk of running out of charge particularly for someone that can't charge at home. Volt would likely have similar additional gas reduction to Leaf (and slightly higher electric costs), but would burn up some of that savings on any long trips or weeks where charging couldn't be found due to lower mpgs.

    Rob
     
  8. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    Why do you use 11c/kWh for the Volt and 9c/kWh for the Leaf ?
     
  9. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    Didn't you know your electricity gets cheaper when you own a Leaf ;) Sorry, its a typo. Both were originally calculated at our AZ average 9c/kwh, but then I recalculated at 11c as I think its closer to the national average. Both $ values are correct, just forgot to update the Leaf to say 11c. Leaf is slightly cheaper only due to less EPA Wh/mi. Thanks for pointing out, will fix.
     
  10. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    you should probably add in two $50 oil changes for the current vehicle and one $50 oil change for the Prius. :)
     
  11. Alice Mya

    Alice Mya Junior Member

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    My commute is 6 1/2 miles one way or 13 miles total. I am in Massachusetts at the moment. I do a lot of soft breaking and coasting if that matters?
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you'll get 50 mpg's easy in the prius. 45 in winter.