Looking to purchase a used hybrid or plugin hybrid. Which is better. Getting only positive inputs on Prius. Saw this Volt the other day. Is is comparable. My intention is to have minimum carbon footprint. Have been walking and on public transport for 5 months now. Which is better buy with this reference. Please guide purely on the car performance, not much interested in the politics part of things.
Prius has the advantage of a longer proof of performance and reliability. That said, how you plan to use the car will affect your decision. For a long commute, Prius or Prius plug in. Short city trips or short commute Volt. In that scenario a Volt may go weeks without starting the gas engine. Choosing a plug in assumes you have plug in capability either at home or at work. If you care about the dollars, beware that electricity can be very expensive, more expensive than gas for a regular Prius. For example my electricity costs 29c a kwh. That is the tier 4 Southern California Edison rate, check your electric bill.
Prius has advantage of practical car with plenty of cargo and passenger room including rear seat. It is just a regular drive gets you to Point A to Point B with amazingly little gas, and is very flexible, and some would say, boring. Volt is the spiffier drive and if its just single driver commute you may want to consider but much less rear seat and cargo space. Carbon footprint I'd say is a wash in TX. You could consider Plug-In Prius as in-between choice. Plug-In owners are normally highly committed and happy to plug in often to lessen their gasoline use. If you are not sure you are committed to that lifestyle, get the Prius or Plug-in Prius, which is a plug-in "lite".
