Hello everyone...seeking clear differentiators on ...

Yeah, same here: It’s an unfortunate trunk-space reduction, but usually still sufficient. We do use the back-seat floor more than on our 2009, but that’s OK.

 

Buying a car isn't an exercise in engineering or financial planning once you use key words and tricky phrases like:

Here's the thing.
Cars cost money.....money that can be used for stuff like:
Retirement.
Houses.
College.
Eating and Sleeping indoors.

In the almost nine years that I've been here, I've seen people justify (to themselves) spending $40,000 for the Pip.....or $30,000 for a base Prius. When the '16's came out, you could get a brand-spanking-new 2015 G3 for less than $20,000 out the door, and the last of the pips can still be had in good shape for the low teens.
So....
The way I've got it figured, a Prime can save you perhaps 3-4 thousand dollars real-world if you dedicate your life to getting "free" electricity (charging at work, shopping at the Food Whole, etc....)
This tells me that if you're committed to buying a new car, and you don't have to pay more than a few thousand extra over the price of a wireless car, then you're not really wasting money with the Prime more than you're already doing by buying a new car in general.

Other than that....
Why bother with the math?

Most people have to have a car.
Most people spend a lot of time in their car.
A Prime OR a wireless Prius isn't a bad car to spend money on, as long as you understand that it's NOT an investment and it's ALWAYS better financially to buy a used car over a new one, and if the 2012 is your newest car then it's pretty clear that you're not buying new cars every 3-4 years like many people do these days.

Just remember....
25 miles battery only?
That's still very VERY limited.
If you can get by with that battery range satisfying most of your daily driving, then you're not going to drive enough to cost-justify the PHEV premium, and if you drive significantly more than that then you need to be buying a used car ANYWAY because of the higher mileage depreciation factor.
Math, you see, is neutral.
Figures don't lie, but liars DO figure.


If EV driving is a high priority then you may want to consider casting a wider net and consider some other budget PHEVs.
If you're a Prius fan?
You already own two pretty good ones.


Good Luck!!
Let us know what you pick (even if you pick what you're already driving....)