Can't afford a Tesla. need 5 seater and max EV range 2020 Prime?

Considered a Tesla but too problematic. 2020 Prime gets 25 miles in winter, more like 33-35 in warmer months. 240v charge in 2 hours 15 minutes max. It’s all I need, and trouble-free. Didn’t want Tesla nightmare fit and finish and sketchy service.

 

It's a terrible time to buy, anything. When you do, don't let your ego make the decisions; get something practical, maybe used. 200 mile EV range is not mandatory for most.

 

Didn't Colorado offer a big state incentive on EVs? When doing math, make sure to include applicable tax credits and incentives. New Tesla has no tax credit, but the new PP right now still qualifies for a $4502 tax credit while the used PP does not. As commented already, it is not a good time to buy any car unless you do the math carefully.

For your reference, I purchased two new PPs (2017 PP Premium and 2020 PP LE) for under $20K. The last one 2021 PP Ltd cost me $23K. I am thinking of selling the 2021 PP for a gain of ~$6K and purchasing a BEV. But right now, the only BEV that can be even traded for my 6 mo old 2021 PP is a LEAF. For anything fancier, I would have to pay substantially more than just trade-in.

 

You may also want to look at used Prius V. They're in the low to mid 40mpg; but you can drag a lot of junk in them.
I'm not sure how much of an advantage your going to get with a plug-in vs a standard Prius; based on your long commutes.
Most of us who bought the plug-in new, bought it because the tax incentives and rebates, offset the prices enough for us to justify it.

Hope this helps...

 

^ This.

 

I think I'd get a 4th gen Prius.

Tesla is no longer the only game in the EV world. They are facing some serious competition now from VW, Hyundai, and soon Kia, Subaru and Toyota. The Mustang MachE is no slouch either. For winter driving in an EV, you'd want at least a 200 mile range to have a safety margin.

But thos would be new cars. If you're limited to the used car price range, the gen 4 is probably best. The range available on a Prime, much less a PiP, will not make a very large dent in your gas consumption. I would look for the lowest miles Gen 4 I could afford. The other drawback to the PiP is that, once the miles pile up, it's susceptible to clogged EGR circuits and blown head gaskets just like all the gen 3 Prii. That's not a show stopped since the EGR can be cleaned, but it's one more thing to maintain. We don't know if Gen 4 is immune, but so far it looks good.

 

Or Rav4 Prime if you can find & afford one. Those are amazing. But can’t find any.

 

Toyota's tax credit may be going away soon. I have a commute similar to your wife. An alternative is a LEAF SV Plus. I prefer it over the Prime because it's all electric, better adaptive cruise and lane centering, faster, and bigger cargo area. I have put over 75k miles on LEAFs and the only problem was a dead 12v battery.

I'm not a CO resident, but I think you can apply the $2500 state incentive at the time of purchase. I'm not sure if there are any stipulations on the terms of that since you might move.