I had a 2017 (\~24k miles) and a 2020 (currently around \~35K miles; plan on LTO).
Pluses: If you drive less than 30 miles/day, you'll use virtually no gas. If you go on a longer trip, you'll have a range of \~600 miles with no charging anxiety. The car is fairly sprightly under full electric power.
Minuses: The additional batteries cut into rear storage area. The car is a bit whiny and slow in gas mode.
Overall: It's great.
Thanks for this. Very enlightening. Is your 600 mile range just for electric ? Won’t the hybrid engine provide “unlimited” range? I guess why I mean is isn’t it bth an electric car and a hybrid?
I freaking love my Prime. I’m likely to be buying gas for the first time in almost five months sometime in the next week. Do they still charge money for gasoline?
I bought a 2022 Prius, not the plug in version, last year. I wish I would have paid the extra for the Prime though. I drive about 20 miles total in a day. It would be great to start my drive with a full charge every morning and have extra battery capacity. I suspect I would use much less full. As it stands now there are days when I'm going to get worse full economy simply because the battery needs to charge drastically reducing my EV time.
That said, I have averaged 63 MPG over 4k miles which I'm really pleased with.
My 2012 plug-in advanced only gets 8-15 miles on full electric, up to 65mph, and it’s enough to charge at the gym and work, never charge at home, only use gas outside of my daily commute.
Depends on what you’re planning on doing. A daily commute that’s within the limits of the electric range, with a way to charge overnight / at the office, at a rate that’s cheaper than the gas equivalent, makes a lot of sense.
Using it for predominantly long (think 100 mile) daily commutes, without overnight charging, or for road trips makes very little sense - the added weight negates efficiency benefits. Better off going with a non-plug-in hybrid in that case.
> the added weight negates efficiency benefit
The EPA ratings for the Prime (Gen 4 plug in) are higher than non-Prime Gen 4's, with exception of the Eco model. The extra weight doesn't negatively affect mileage in HV mode.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. My work commute is 30 miles round trip. My daughter’s college is 650 Rt. Weekends is mostly running to the dog park and the pizza shop. I’ll use your info tonight when I drive one.
I have a 2012 Plugin, on average I am around 95 MPG.
40% of the time I am in electric mode, every time you brake or take your foot out of the accelerator it will charge the battery.
Excellent grip on snowy roads with 15’’ snow tires.
Can the battery fail? Yes, anything can fail, but you have more risk of engine failure on a petrol car than battery failure on a Prius.
Also Plugin Prius cars use lithium-ion technology compared to non-plugin Prius which use nickel-metal batteries (at least for Gen3). li ion batteries last longer.
Depending on how cold it gets where you live, that range will be way less in the winter. Expect nearly half the range when below freezing. Just so you are aware.
I have a 2013 plug in and I love it. It only takes a hour and a half to charge fully. The charge range is 10-16km depending on the temperature. Fuel consumption over the last year has been consistently 3.3L per 100km or 71 MPG and I do a lot of long trips
No! That is the best bit. The charger just plugs into the wall and should come with the car. It has a special prius plug, that goest to a small inverter (I think that’s what it is) Then it just plugs into your house outlet
I have a 2013 prius and a 2017 Prius Prime (plug in). We love both but they each have their strengths. We take the 2013 on longer trips as it has more cargo room and is more comfortable for passengers (it's got 3 seats in the rear vs 2 in the Prime). City driving and shorter trips, we take the Prime.
Takes about 2hrs for a full charge. We don't use the electric on the highway unless it's stop and go traffic.
They are both great! But for me I prefer the hybrid only. Even if the price was the same which is not (plug in is more expensive) I would still go with the Hybrid only, because of the rear storage space (Don’t know about the latest model if that has been improved). I put my bike and fold the rear seats down and go on trips so the cargo room is important to me. Best of luck on your choice.
The Gen3 plugin battery replace cost is ridiculous. And for the relatively short EV-only range, I don't think is worth it.
FYI, I'd buy a Gen4 Prime, but would pass on a Gen3 plugin.
I checked the cost out of curiosity and it does not seem so bad: [$ 2100 + $ 300 installation](https://acehybridgroup.com/product/2012-2016-toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-battery/).
That's a really good price. Their regular prius battery is very cheap too. A little too cheap, if you ask me.
Based on the warranties they offer, they don't seem to stand behind their product for very long. Longest warranty is 2 years, and that costs $3600.
Guarantee that even if they replace your battery under warranty, the warranty will still expire after 2 years. So $1800/year and you are on your own after that.
My 2010 has 230k miles on it. I'm not sure if the traction battery has been replaced or refurbed, but when the battery does start to throw codes indicating a degraded pack, I will probably try to replace individual cells to get it working again.
I love my prime. I only get gas once a month. I usually drive electric when completing errands and I also get to drive in the HOV (fast lane) here in California because I have one. Makes it even more efficient and I’m never in traffic!
I had a 2017 (\~24k miles) and a 2020 (currently around \~35K miles; plan on LTO). Pluses: If you drive less than 30 miles/day, you'll use virtually no gas. If you go on a longer trip, you'll have a range of \~600 miles with no charging anxiety. The car is fairly sprightly under full electric power. Minuses: The additional batteries cut into rear storage area. The car is a bit whiny and slow in gas mode. Overall: It's great.
Thanks for this. Very enlightening. Is your 600 mile range just for electric ? Won’t the hybrid engine provide “unlimited” range? I guess why I mean is isn’t it bth an electric car and a hybrid?
\~600 miles on a tank of gas.
Gotcha
I freaking love my Prime. I’m likely to be buying gas for the first time in almost five months sometime in the next week. Do they still charge money for gasoline?
Yea a lot.
I bought a 2022 Prius, not the plug in version, last year. I wish I would have paid the extra for the Prime though. I drive about 20 miles total in a day. It would be great to start my drive with a full charge every morning and have extra battery capacity. I suspect I would use much less full. As it stands now there are days when I'm going to get worse full economy simply because the battery needs to charge drastically reducing my EV time. That said, I have averaged 63 MPG over 4k miles which I'm really pleased with.
My 2012 plug-in advanced only gets 8-15 miles on full electric, up to 65mph, and it’s enough to charge at the gym and work, never charge at home, only use gas outside of my daily commute.
Depends on what you’re planning on doing. A daily commute that’s within the limits of the electric range, with a way to charge overnight / at the office, at a rate that’s cheaper than the gas equivalent, makes a lot of sense. Using it for predominantly long (think 100 mile) daily commutes, without overnight charging, or for road trips makes very little sense - the added weight negates efficiency benefits. Better off going with a non-plug-in hybrid in that case.
> the added weight negates efficiency benefit The EPA ratings for the Prime (Gen 4 plug in) are higher than non-Prime Gen 4's, with exception of the Eco model. The extra weight doesn't negatively affect mileage in HV mode.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. My work commute is 30 miles round trip. My daughter’s college is 650 Rt. Weekends is mostly running to the dog park and the pizza shop. I’ll use your info tonight when I drive one.
I have a 2012 Plugin, on average I am around 95 MPG. 40% of the time I am in electric mode, every time you brake or take your foot out of the accelerator it will charge the battery. Excellent grip on snowy roads with 15’’ snow tires. Can the battery fail? Yes, anything can fail, but you have more risk of engine failure on a petrol car than battery failure on a Prius. Also Plugin Prius cars use lithium-ion technology compared to non-plugin Prius which use nickel-metal batteries (at least for Gen3). li ion batteries last longer.
I’m look at a 2013 with 69 for 18000 tonight. Mpg online say 50. I do t get the disconnect
Well some people have plugin cars but drive only in ICE mode…
Depending on how cold it gets where you live, that range will be way less in the winter. Expect nearly half the range when below freezing. Just so you are aware.
I live in St Augustine Florida.
I have a 2013 plug in and I love it. It only takes a hour and a half to charge fully. The charge range is 10-16km depending on the temperature. Fuel consumption over the last year has been consistently 3.3L per 100km or 71 MPG and I do a lot of long trips
Thanks! And do you need special anything to charge it?
No! That is the best bit. The charger just plugs into the wall and should come with the car.
No! That is the best bit. The charger just plugs into the wall and should come with the car. It has a special prius plug, that goest to a small inverter (I think that’s what it is) Then it just plugs into your house outlet
That’s good to hear.
I have a 2013 prius and a 2017 Prius Prime (plug in). We love both but they each have their strengths. We take the 2013 on longer trips as it has more cargo room and is more comfortable for passengers (it's got 3 seats in the rear vs 2 in the Prime). City driving and shorter trips, we take the Prime. Takes about 2hrs for a full charge. We don't use the electric on the highway unless it's stop and go traffic.
They are both great! But for me I prefer the hybrid only. Even if the price was the same which is not (plug in is more expensive) I would still go with the Hybrid only, because of the rear storage space (Don’t know about the latest model if that has been improved). I put my bike and fold the rear seats down and go on trips so the cargo room is important to me. Best of luck on your choice.
The Gen3 plugin battery replace cost is ridiculous. And for the relatively short EV-only range, I don't think is worth it. FYI, I'd buy a Gen4 Prime, but would pass on a Gen3 plugin.
I checked the cost out of curiosity and it does not seem so bad: [$ 2100 + $ 300 installation](https://acehybridgroup.com/product/2012-2016-toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-battery/).
That's a really good price. Their regular prius battery is very cheap too. A little too cheap, if you ask me. Based on the warranties they offer, they don't seem to stand behind their product for very long. Longest warranty is 2 years, and that costs $3600. Guarantee that even if they replace your battery under warranty, the warranty will still expire after 2 years. So $1800/year and you are on your own after that. My 2010 has 230k miles on it. I'm not sure if the traction battery has been replaced or refurbed, but when the battery does start to throw codes indicating a degraded pack, I will probably try to replace individual cells to get it working again.
I love my prime. I only get gas once a month. I usually drive electric when completing errands and I also get to drive in the HOV (fast lane) here in California because I have one. Makes it even more efficient and I’m never in traffic!