Considered a PIP but went with a 2012 Prius 4... questions for the future

It sounds more like the salesman wasn't interested in selling the PiP. Instead they wanted a bigger commission check, so they pushed the OP to a car with a higher margin.

 

If you REALLY didn't have a standard 120 volt outlet at home to charge with, your decision was ok.

If you COULD charge at home though, you made a big mistake, IMHO.

 

Here's to being happier than a witch in a broom factory with your Four.

 

the salesman sold you a FOUR for one reason...He made more commission...with the PIP i dont think dealers are making near as much with all the incentives.

even if you never plug in, you would have saved money on fuel.

 

^ My salesman told me he got paid more for the PiP. But that might just be based on msrp.

 

That charging system stuff is crapola. Like others have said a 110/120 normal outlet is fine.
If you do a cross country trip, you will not benefit from charging stations. 12 miles a day from electric vs 600 from gas - the battery is too small to waste anytime charging it on a long distance trip.

However, a 2012 Prius is certainly a fine choice, and with your driving habits, perhaps the best bang for the buck.

 

For my spouse and I the sales people and two dealerships we shopped at including the one we purchased said to just use the 120V cord that comes in the trunk on delivery. They did not mention a dedicated circuit but that is more if you want to be "perfect" if you have hardly and draw on outlet your using it should not be a problem.

For us they never mentioned the 220V level 2 charging station for the house, other then saying they have them in the lot at the dealership and you really do not need one at home.

 

On my cross country trip, I found I could charge at every gas station with a strip mall attached, when I stopped to stretch legs, eat or just shop for small trip stuff... every decent strip mall gas station with a convenience store has at least one 120v receptacle on the front wall, where people park anyway to go into the convenience store. I always asked and always got their agreement, and usually had a small crowd with eager questions by the time I got back from eating etc. These convenience store / gas stations were the one reliable types of place to charge up, in every town in every state I visited.

 

The coffeeshop I used to hang out at had outlets available out in the lot itself... 8 parking spots, 4 seperate places (2 outlets per) to plug in. It was pretty sweet seeing the strip-mall owner having planned so far ahead.

 

yeah, i mean, the car comes with a cable to plug into a 110 V outlet. it's in the trunk