Which Prius for me?

Your son would grow into a Liftback/PIP, not grow out of a c. (This assumes you keep cars for decades, like me. Someday he will be 6 foot as well)

The c will have better mileage on streets, the liftback on freeways and the pip best on both. If this was December, the PIP would be a no brainer, but now it will be eleven months for those rebates. (I am unsure what state rebates you get if you move during the year)

 

pip is a blast. you should try to get them to charge one up so you can take it for a long ev drive and see if that beats the thrill of a moonroof. how much will electricity cost in nm? is it free at work? all the best!

 

There isn't too much logic to this, it's a purely emotional or subjective opinion.

I can really only afford to maintain one vehicle at a time. So my previous vehicle WAS a Honda Fit. Great little compact, great little car. But when it came time to get "A Prius" I specifically did NOT choose the Prius c because it was so similar in size and layout to the Honda Fit. I personally like a little change between vehicles, and I thought I'd constantly be comparing the Prius c to the Honda Fit.

So just to get a little more size, and a little more difference, I'd go with a regular Prius.

Your driving habits would really favor a PiP. But either would be the direction I would go in.

Also if you are keeping The Fit.....nice idea, you might not think you need it today, but with a son? A vehicle with a little more room might be nice to have. I don't know how old your son is, but eventually or now, there will be transporting friends, sports equipment etc.

So even though there is not too much logic to it, that's why I would recommend either the PiP or a "Standard" Prius.

 

i live 7.2 miles from work and charge there free. my kwh rate is .16, so i pay .50 for a charge at home and nothing at work. if you figure 56 mpg with the liftback, that's four round trips/gallon or around $3.50. at 12 miles per charge, (i get 15-16 in summer, but ymmv) you can save about $1.50 or 37 cents per day. that's about $100. per year just for commuting plus whatever other charging you do to throw into the equation.

 

If it was me, I would drop the C from the list as while it looks cute, I would want the 2nd car to provide some different functionality and the C is too close in size and function to the Fit.

I would look hard at a Prius v as I end up wanting to carry a lot of big stuff in the vehicle for quite some time after any move.

When you move that kind of distance you often find that a lot of trips back to see family and friends. I'd rather be doing such trips in the Liftback, Plug in or v rather than the C or the Fit.

I would also look at how much the Plug in would save me in running costs, particularly if you get free charging at work.

Finally I would look at whether one car is an option. That's the real money saver if you can make it work for you.

 

IIRC, heated seats only on the four and above.

VS980 4G ?

 

Remember the Federal rebate is not a rebate, it's a tax deduction of $2500 off your federal tax bill. So you don't get money back, you just pay less in Federal tax.
If it were me, I would get a regular Prius 4, the power seat will make for a more comfortable drive.

 

Federal tax credit, not a deduction, which may be what Munpot42 meant. So you will pay $2.5k less in federal taxes (a tax credit), not have $2.5k less taxable income (a tax deduction). Of course, you have to have at least $2.5k in federal tax liability, which for me is not a problem.

 

of course, if you've already paid the tax, you get a rebate.

 

cash is king.

 

The cheapest car would be the best option. Then you could spend the 10 or 15,000 saved on a new TV + surround sound stereo + still have some left over for the 401K or college fund.

That said I would buy a Versa Note hatchback for 13,000 or Ford Fiesta hatch for 15,000 or Prius c for 20,000. (NO WAY would I spend $30,000 for the plugin... overpriced.)