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2016 Prius or 2016 Volt...Which should I buy?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by westy72658, Sep 24, 2015.

  1. westy72658

    westy72658 Jim Coleman Toyota in Bethesda, Maryland

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    I have been waiting for the new Prius to come out to replace my 2007 Prius with 205,000 miles ,but have been kinda looking at the new 2016 Chevy Volt. My decision was a slam dunk, buy the Prius, but the Chevy Volt has made some drastic improvements. Let me know your opinion. Which would you buy if given the choice and what would be your deciding factors?




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    #1 westy72658, Sep 24, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2015
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  2. nwprius

    nwprius Member

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    I have had the same ??? on the replacement of my Prius. I think it depends on the use of the vehicle. Until now I have been doing a lot of long distance driving (I am retired) and I think the Prius is the proper choice. Now I am preparing to move to a retirement village and will not be driving between two homes. So, now I have decided on the Volt because I will be able to do 90+ percent of my driving on electric and it is cheap in my area, Washington state. I hesitated when I received the info on the 2016 Volt as it did not have Adaptive Cruise Control which I really use with my Prius but now GM says they will have a 2017 Volt in Spring 2016 with Adaptive Cruise Control and a couple other things I desire so I must contain my urges and wait until Spring. Also it will be a 2017. Good luck on your decision. Of course there is also the 7500 tax break.
     
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  3. westy72658

    westy72658 Jim Coleman Toyota in Bethesda, Maryland

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    I will research the tax break. Is that a Federal or State tax break? Right now my commute is 55 miles one way. My current Prius has performed remarkably well with only routine maintenance. I wonder if the Chevy Volt will hold up over 200,000 miles with the same track record? The Volt looks really good and the new Prius, from the pictures recently posted, does not look as good as I anticipated.
     
  4. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    last I saw the volt is not being released nation wide until 2017. stick with Toyota, you know its a quality product
     
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  5. nwprius

    nwprius Member

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    The tax break is federal but depends on your paying more than that amount in taxes and some states are also giving tax breaks to plugins. I think your commute would pay off in total miles per gallon with a charge at home and then gas return. If you can charge at work then you have a very big plus. The reliability of the Volt appears to be excellent and the ownership satisfaction also appears excellent. The 2017 is being released starting in February 2016.
     
    #5 nwprius, Sep 24, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2015
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  6. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Having owned both I would suggest a test drive of the 2015 Volt right now. If you like the drive quality, then you'll most likely like the '16/17 as it will be even stronger. The interior size will also be about the same between generations.

    The '16 Prius is an unknown quantity at the moment. Should be plenty of reviews by the time you're ready to buy.
     
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  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    My rule of thumb on the tax incentive: if you can comfortably afford the price range of these cars, you qualify. ;)
     
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  8. E46Prius

    E46Prius Active Member

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    I'd go for the Prius if long-term ownership is your goal. Short to medium, i'd still go for the Prius unless there's something about the Volt you like. To me, the Prius is the standard. Kind of like the iPhone. People who go for the Volt, to me, are just trying to *not be* Prius owners. Like people who get Androids purely for the sake of being anti-iPhone. I like to buy what works and what works well and don't stray unless there's a really compelling reason to.
     
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  9. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    I didn't like the rear seat of the Volt I was in. It was about a foot worse than my Prius.

    And, yes, I buy Android because I'm anti-Apple and because they are just better.
     
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  10. E46Prius

    E46Prius Active Member

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    "Android" is not a phone. It's an operating system. And no, "Android" is not better. Been there done that. I used to hack and tweak Android-powered phones when I was younger. I've grown up now and have no time to jerk my phones off. I need them to work. Hahah to each his own I guess..
     
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  11. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    A 50 mile EV range is a darn good reason to stray.
     
  12. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Well, I upgraded my storage twice on my previous phone, I can swap batteries, and my phone from three years ago had sensors (i.e. a barometer) that I used and still use regularly that iPhone's don't. Further, iPhone touch screens (all of them) regularly don't work *at all* for me because my skin surface is pretty dry much of the time. I often have to lick my fingers to make an iPhone work. Ick. Never had any trouble with any touch screens other than Apple's, including the one in my Prius or on my pocket camera.
     
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  13. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Not for $10k more, it's not. Not to me, especially with that disastrous back seat.
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Consider the 2015 Prius too.
     
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  15. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    You should do a few things, for now you should test drive a 2015 Prius and a 2015 Volt (with no intention of buying either). Get a feel for the difference of this generation. Then wait until the 2016 Prius and 2016 Volt are released and test drive both. I bought my PiP because on paper it made more sense for my commute, but much later on I test drove a Volt and kind of wish I had looked into it more when buying my PiP.
     
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  16. Tracksyde

    Tracksyde Member

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    With the federal tax credit of $7500 and what seems to be an absurd amount of Colorado state tax credit for a Volt, you may want to rethink that "$10k more" statement.

    wjtracy is the resident state tax credit expert.. here's what he has down for Colorado:

    COLORADO SUMMARY
    Colorado has some of the best Plug-In and conversion tax credits. Credits for EVs and PHEVs are equal to the actual cost incurred to purchase or lease the vehicle, multiplied by the battery capacity, and divided by 100. That amount must be multiplied by a factor to determine the credit amount, as follows: 1.0 for 2013-2018, 0.75 for 2019, 0.50 for 2020, and 0.25 for 2021. There is a cap of $6000. For a PiP costing $32000, with a 4.4kWh battery the rebate is about $1400.

    Federal and State Incentives for Plug-Ins, EV's | PriusChat

    Off the top of my head, the Volt is, what, $35k? 35,000 x 18kwh of battery, divided by 100 = $6,300, or $6,000 since that is the cap.

    $35,000 MSRP - $6,000 CO tax credit - $7.500 federal tax credit.. hmm

    With respect to this thread, having driven 85% of my commute miles (26 per day) in EV over the past 3.5 years in a Plug-in Prius, I would kill for 50 miles of all electric driving. I dont like Chevy and I do think the Prius (and Toyota) is a solid car, but I would drive a Volt and probably be really happy doing it.
     
    #16 Tracksyde, Sep 24, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2015
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  17. finman

    finman Senior Member

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  18. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Tax credits are not a lower cost, just a cost paid for by someone else. A huge tax credit for these cars is, frankly, stupid. Also, the cost savings is almost nothing relative to a car that gets 50+MPG on gas alone. I pay $0.128 per kWh at home, we don't have a charging station at work nor are we likely to get one (well, we have one single 120V outlet for all of us to share), so 250Wh/mile would cost me about 3.2 cents per mile in electricity, while at $2.50 per gallon of gasoline I'm paying a little under 5 cents per mile. For my commute, I'd save about $70 a year by having a Volt over my 2004 Prius, but I'd lose more than that when I had to go on gas.

    It doesn't make a lot of sense ecologically either, in a state that's still well over 50% on coal-generated electricity.
     
  19. Tracksyde

    Tracksyde Member

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    Hahaha.. ok.
     
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  20. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    Hence I suggest the OP test drives both cars in both the current and next gen models to see which one is more preferable, as they are both great cars.