Looking to get my first hybrid

Eric- the other thing you might want to consider is PiP Plug-In Prius as there have been some great deals out there and MD has among the best rebates (no excise tax saves ~$1800) and Federal $2500 credit. You could possibly be $25k after Fed tax credit, no state tax to further increase that.

 

Note its only 8-10 hours on 120v to recharge not 20.

ALso if you are talking about long commutes its probably more reasonable to use Highway numbers, not average..
which are 40MPG for Volt, 48 for Prius and 47 for C-Max. And one could also consider the eletricity costs for fuel. But, I think the point was that the break-even is about 150 miles. And if one is going that far per day, comfort and other criterion should be considered.

Fuelly is useless for Volts.. my data there is horribly wrong since it refuses to register MPG if the tank is over 200MPG, so it has ignored most of my tanks/miles..


To the OP, you should drive a few and see what you like. If cost is critical, a used car is more likely to deliver better value for your dollar.

 

Since OP has a 6 months old, a compact 4 seater plugin can be ruled out. You want the rear middle seat for the safest location.

PiP would be the best choice. Use gasoline (regular) on the highway and use the EV miles when going through towns. With the on-going promotion, you can get a Base PiP for less than Prius Three. PiP has the heated seats and remote A/C on top of the Three package.

The real world highway MPG for C-Max hybrid is reported to be under 40 MPG so make sure you rent one before deciding. At least, do some research on what other owners are getting (disappointed).

 

just for clarity. the Volt is 38 miles electric (epa) and 40 mpg hwy (epa) and 10 hours recharge on 110V (4 hours on 240V). 158 total.

So it seems that the plug-ins have an edge at anything under 150 miles.

Btw, the PiP and Volt can "recharge" on gas in 5 minutes as well.

 

Na, Volt will use 3 gallons (premium gas) with additional 13 kWh of electricity. A regular Prius won't need electricity and you don't need to plug it in, just 3 gallons of regular gas.

PiP is pretty much a 50 MPG Prius if you don't charge it. If he does charge it, he can use the EV miles in the "between towns" to further boost the MPG.

 

My point was that the tipping point isn't 70 miles, more like 150 miles.

Now let's take into consideration all those weekends with 40 miles of errands each day.

And then let's consider the impact of a charge at the Philidephia Airport employee parking lot during the shift.

Again, if you want to stick with the old "mature" tech, a hybrid isn't bad, but if you want to move forward, check out a plug-in

 

Has OP considered the Prius c? It is a compact car but it still has 5 seats.

 

I'd love a PIP or a Volt but I simply cannot afford one.

I bought my 2007 Prius this past September. Its 5 years old and that was my budget ($13k). I cannot afford a monthly payment for any more than I have now. I cannot afford a new hybrid, EV, period.

I suspect thats probably the reason other drivers seek out hybrids as well. The budget it tight, lessen gas expense yet balance the cost of a new car carefully. I.e. A new or even used Volt (at least right now) is too expensive and a PIP as well.

I plan on keeping my 07 Prius for 3 years or so and hopefully by then used Volts and PIP's will have hit the used market.

 

The OP started this thread with the consideration of purchasing a new 2012/13 Prius, so I think we can assume that he can afford one.

 

Yeah, I was just reminding everybody about the rest of us peons who are on a leaner budget

 

Perhaps you should consider leasing. It can be a very affordable approach.

In my particular case, I was spending $15/day on gasoline, now I spend $12/day on a lease, $0.14/day for electricity, and less than $1/day for gasoline. I know some folks paying less than $10/day on their lease but I needed more miles.

 

The impact of showing off that you are wasting electricity on top of using 3 gallons?

One can save gas without using any electricity. That would make a more meaningful impact.

Let's consider those extra after work miles as well.

 

two 75 miles trips, each able to start with a full charge.

38 ev miles, 37 hv miles.

who is using 3 gallons ?

I know a lot of PiP drivers discount the use of EV, perhaps because it is fairly limited, but with 38+ it becomes a substantial game changer for most.

 

Not gonna lie but local Chevy dealers were running some very impressive lease specials on the Volt this past September, I mean WOW lease specials, and they did catch my eye. A dealer around my house was blowing out 2012's for $199/month with very little down payment.

Sorry to go OT but since we are on the Volt topic, there are a lot on the roads around here (Metro Detroit).

 

the $199/month deals were typically 10,000 miles/year and 24 months. Not bad at all. I needed 15K/yr and didn't do any cash upfront.

 

Real-World has proven that on-paper estimate is rather arbitrary. The variety of driving conditions people encounter don't fit any type of generalization... hence the beauty of the flexibility Prius offers.

 

What flexability? You can only put gasoline in it right ?

 

Volt goes to extremes to not be a hybrid, sacrificing some efficiency opportunities in favor of EV.

The plug-in Prius seeks them out.