2002
Well-Known Member
I had seriously thought about replacing my Prius with the plug-in model that came out in 2012 but it was expensive and only went about fifteen miles on EV if you were lucky. When the Prius Prime came out I was very interested in it, until I saw one at the Detroit auto show in January 2017 and did not like the interior at all. And the raised cargo floor because of the battery was even worse in person than I thought. The lack of Android Auto was pretty much the deal breaker.
At the 2017 Detroit show they also were debuting the Ioniq plug-in. I found the interior dimensions of the Ioniq to be nearly identical to the Prius and much less objectionable. They also had a Sonata plug-in which was really comfortable and had a lot of nice features so I started looking at those as well as the companion Kia Optima plug in. But very expensive and not very much electric range. And no trunk pass through at all, just an impenetrable mound of battery back there between the trunk and rear seat.
In the fall of 2017 and into 2018 Toyota started having massive incentives on Prius Prime on the east coast, like $5,000 at one point, and you didn't have to be a resident to qualify. Combined with additional dealer discounts and $4,500 federal tax break, it was really a bargain price for a quality built plug-in hybrid, and in spite of the things I didn't like about it, for that price I wondered if I was being too picky.
I was interested in Clarity but it had just come out and wasn't around and seemed out of my price range especially for touring. Then I saw one at the Atlanta Auto show in March 2018 and really liked it when I sat in it. And feature wise it had pretty much everything I ever wanted. And great EV range. But pricey.
Finally a year later in April of this year there were suddenly massive discounts of 2018's in Georgia and a few surrounding states and I got a brand new 2018 touring for $7,500 off MSRP and then will be getting the $7,500 federal credit. Not bad for the middle of flyover country. I didn't test drive all of the other PHEV's but having researched heavily, Clarity seems by far the best overall. Volt will stay in EV mode if you mash the pedal, which is the only advantage I saw, the price difference at least for me was huge between the Clarity and Volt, and to me having a comfortable roomy car with all the great features is a huge upgrade from my years driving a Prius. And the EV range has exceeded what I expected, to the point that I have to manage charging just to avoid charging to full when I don't need to.
At the 2017 Detroit show they also were debuting the Ioniq plug-in. I found the interior dimensions of the Ioniq to be nearly identical to the Prius and much less objectionable. They also had a Sonata plug-in which was really comfortable and had a lot of nice features so I started looking at those as well as the companion Kia Optima plug in. But very expensive and not very much electric range. And no trunk pass through at all, just an impenetrable mound of battery back there between the trunk and rear seat.
In the fall of 2017 and into 2018 Toyota started having massive incentives on Prius Prime on the east coast, like $5,000 at one point, and you didn't have to be a resident to qualify. Combined with additional dealer discounts and $4,500 federal tax break, it was really a bargain price for a quality built plug-in hybrid, and in spite of the things I didn't like about it, for that price I wondered if I was being too picky.
I was interested in Clarity but it had just come out and wasn't around and seemed out of my price range especially for touring. Then I saw one at the Atlanta Auto show in March 2018 and really liked it when I sat in it. And feature wise it had pretty much everything I ever wanted. And great EV range. But pricey.
Finally a year later in April of this year there were suddenly massive discounts of 2018's in Georgia and a few surrounding states and I got a brand new 2018 touring for $7,500 off MSRP and then will be getting the $7,500 federal credit. Not bad for the middle of flyover country. I didn't test drive all of the other PHEV's but having researched heavily, Clarity seems by far the best overall. Volt will stay in EV mode if you mash the pedal, which is the only advantage I saw, the price difference at least for me was huge between the Clarity and Volt, and to me having a comfortable roomy car with all the great features is a huge upgrade from my years driving a Prius. And the EV range has exceeded what I expected, to the point that I have to manage charging just to avoid charging to full when I don't need to.
