Hybrid or Plug-in-hybrid?

Discussion in 'General' started by Lars, Jul 21, 2018.

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  1. Depending on your personal/family needs it may not worth to shell out extra money for a PHEV. Here is a quick study. A Honda Clarity or Chevy Volt PHEV sells in Canada in the range of C$39.9k and C$43.9k. A Prius is about $10-15k less. (With our new Ontario government - no more incentives to narrow the price difference.)
    I have on my 2016 Prius around 39,000km. The according to the car's computer I used 4.1l/100km. Pretty mixed city/hwy driving, mostly hwy between April and mid December. During the summer it is quite easy to get under 4l/100km on most of our trips. During the Canadian winter, with the heater on, the consumption is between 4.2-4.5l/100km.
    My Prius is reasonably sized, has a comfortable ride and a bunch of Toyota's safety features, and with the tank full around 980km of range!
    So what do you get for the extra 10 grand? With the Ontario EV incentive gone, not much if anything. Unless you can make most of your trips in EV mode spending the extra money may not make sense. Before I traded my 2008 Prius for a new one, I also looked at the Chevy Volt. That car really fascinated me at the time. It drove nice, but my God was it ever cozy (too cozy!) inside. Just like the cockpit of an F16! So I opted for a Prius the second time. For me it was the right choice.

    Our second car is a 2012 Mitsubishi iMiEV. Based on our usage pattern I guess 70% of the two car familes could do well with this little creature, or with any other second hand EV as a second car.
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2018
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  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    That is exactly how a requirements analysis should be done!

    In our case, we replaced our 2003 and 2016 Prius with a used, plug-in 2014 BMW i3-REx and 2017 Prius Prime. We are doing 90% of our miles in EV mode at half the price of gas miles. Retired, this helps a lot with our budget.

    Regardless, if we didn't have plug-in hybrids, today's Prius would be an excellent choice . . . or next year's Tesla.

    Bob Wilson
     
  4. You are right! People do not understand "user profile" and "requirement analysis". These concepts should be part of standard high school curriculum!
     
  5. Martik

    Martik New Member

    Here in BC, we have a 5k rebate plus a 6k scrap-it rebate on EV's and PHEV's over 15kw. The Prius prime only qualified for 2.5k with it's smaller battery so the volt was a no brainer.
     
  6. As you can see yourself, there are many ways to look at the possibilities. Your choice was the best for you. After driving a Prius for eight years, we got used to its inside space, as a result I found the Volt too cozy (small) inside - for us!
    Enjoy your new Volt. I am sure it is a very nice car and its reliabilty also seems very good.
     
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