2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In User Reviews

Pros

Plug in feature

Cons

Plug in battery does not run 15 miles as advertised, doe not have spare wheel

Purchased As New

My car is a 2012 Prius Plug in. Car is reliable since we believe that is a Toyota, hybrid mode runs less miles per gallon than regular Prius hybrid. It does not have spare wheel. Car acceleration is very slow, seems that car is very heavy.

Pros

Excellent Fuel Economy 54 mpg - 4.3 miles per kwhr in EV mode

Cons

Hard to see 6.1" touch screen, need 20-30 miles EV mode

Purchased As New

2012 Prius Plug In Hybrid (not advanced) purchased April ’12
12.5 mile achieved on test run on full battery (3.3 kwh to charge from full discharge) = 3.8 m/kwh
Long term read out from car display (30 mile commute each way and mostly just charged once per day)
EV mode 838 mile on 196 kwh = 4.3 m/kwh (saved 16.4 gallon of gas = 51 mpg)
Hybrid mode 4266 miles on 79 gallon of gas = 54 mpg
Cost to charge battery is $0.17 at $0.05 per kwh vs $1.01 at $4.2 gas (break even point where gas is save as electric is $0.30 per kwh)
Need EV mode operation up to 70 mph for normal traffic flow to be able to use the full battery charge during commute.

Plug in ($32K) vs Advanced Plug in ($39.5K)
1. 7” high resolution display vs 6.1” touch screen
2. 8 vs 6 speaker system
3. SofTex vs cloth seats
4. Power driver seat
5. LED vs projector beam headlights
6. Dynamic Cruise Control
7. Auto Dimming rearview mirror

I didn’t have the opportunity to test drive the Advanced Plug In prior to placing the order for the Normal Plug In or haven’t since taking delivery of the Plug In.
Prior to purchasing consider the Advanced Plug In for:
1. Better 7" high definition touch screen display, the 6.1” display is hard to see when sun light hits it (which is most of the time during the day)
2. Better sound system, the 6 speakers are OK but could be better
3. SofTex seats, my wife would rather have had the leather like seat, I think the cloth are OK
4. The other additional items would be nice to have but $7.5K additional cost of the Advanced Plug In is pretty steep

I would purchase the Prius again but would also consider the Volt since my commute is 30 miles and I could totally go electric which would save even more money on gas. MSRP is $39,145 but with $7500 Federal Tax Credit it would close to Base Prius Plug In price.

Freeway = 40 mpg on premium gas
Freeway electric = 38 miles on 10 kwh (ran out of power and switched to generator) = 3.8 m/kwh
Very clear 7” touch screen display
Less leg room in back seat, only 2 seats in the back
Charging at 240V in 4hrs and 120V 10-16 hrs...read morehide

Pros

53 MPG on gas, CA car pool sticker, Federal/state rebates, 3.1 KWH charge allows up to 91 MPG

Cons

Compact car ride and handling, 10 mile battery capacity range with future reduction

Purchased As New

Delivered April 2012
$36,157 out the door in CA (1.79% for 72 months @ $530/mth) with $2500 federal tax credit and $1500 state rebate (credit and rebate not deducted from total price).

30 mile one way daily commute – per tank MPG range is from 51 to 68 MPG depending on number of electric recharges (EV miles are added to gas miles divided by gallons of gas).

Individual 30 mile commute with battery usage is high 60s/low 70s MPG with highest recorded 91 MPG during Friday return home where freeway traffic is slow and I can stay in EV mode on the freeway and totally deplete the battery (due to start/stop technology, using battery even in HV mode during low speeds/low power needs and regenerative breaking the Prius will give best MPG in slow rolling freeway traffic). Use EV (electric) mode on surface streets (work to freeway 4 miles and home to freeway is 2.5 miles) and switch to HV (hybrid) mode when on freeway at speed.

During long trip with no battery charges I get 52-54 MPG just on the gas engine in HV mode.

Comments
1. Purchased the Prius Plug In for better gas mileage and ability to get the car pool sticker (40K in CA).
2. Purchased the Prius Plug in rather than the Volt due to the mature/proven technology on the Prius (except for the new larger battery), ability to hold 5 persons with good room in the backseats and higher MPG in gas mode for long trips.
3. Battery charge is 3.1 KHW as seen from Charge Point station (there is no indication from car on total KWH charged to battery) into the 4.4 KWH battery (you don’t want to totally discharge or charge the battery to battery extend life). Battery range indication was consistently at 11 miles in May but is decreasing with June at 10.5, July and Aug 10.1 and Sept 9.8 miles at initial start up after charging. The indicated vs actual miles are fairly consistent but you can go further in EV mode at slower speeds. Since I switch between EV and HV modes I can’t get good number for actual EV miles to exhaustion range during normal driving so I’m doing range tests (two laps around “block” with right hand turns) 12.6 miles @ 36 MPH avg without AC or lights on.
4. The Prius operates in Hybrid or Electric Modes. Within each mode you can select the throttle response between economy, normal and Power. I operate in economy to maximize fuel economy. The car has increasing more pep when you go to normal and then Power. You can select between HV and EV modes but there are times the car will switch automatically between the two (e.g., EV mode – engine will start if you need heat, push hard on the gas (once the engine starts there is about 2 minute run time to warm up) or go over 65 MPG. In the HV mode the engine stops and uses battery at stop or low speed/load conditions). The driving experience is acceptable but not like 2002 Mercedes Benz (MB) C320 wagon which I commuted in previously (26 MPG average). The Prius is comfortable during long trip but not as comfortable as the MB.
5. At work there are four EV recharge stations. It was OK until the 5th EV showed up. As there are more EVs you can’t count on the recharge station being available and even when it is you need to be able to dedicate the delay in the trip to recharge.
6. The Prius gets 25 – 35 MPG during the initial 4-6 minutes of engine warm up. At $4.00 gas the cost to go 10 miles @ 50 MPG is $0.80 and @ 25 MPG is $1.60. To fully charge the battery (3.1 KWH = 10 miles) @ $0.08 per KWH is $0.25, @ $0.13 per KWH is $0.40, @ $0.30 per KWH is $0.93.
7. I will be moving to the E-9A time of use electric rates (one meter for home and EV), recharging the Prius both at home and work and fully exhausting the battery during each leg of the commute. The rate between midnight and 7 AM is $0.05 KWH so there will be even more savings. Since the charging rate is 8 amps at 120V and the Prius needs only 3 hrs to fully charge I will not get a 240V home charging station....read morehide

Pros

Love everything

Cons

I wished the batteries were good for 30 miles instead of 12.

Purchased As New

This is my second Prius and now I own a Plug in. The best car I have ever own

Pros

has achieved up to 110 mpge......buy one.....

Cons

non to mention REALLY.....

Purchased As New

Owned a Prius 5 for two years....traded and then special ordered the Plug IN.or PHEV so that I could INCREASE my mpg from 56 overall to at least 95 mpeg.....well to say the LEAST I never expected to achieve more than 95 mpeg and to see the original Prius come to this point.....WELL.....I have filled up since April just once per month....I drive 60 miles per day mind you minimum to work.....get ready for these REAL DRIVEN RESULTS.....the first tankful gave me 100 mpeg...30 days.......the second tankful gave me 106 mpeg....30 days....the third tankful is at its 25 th day so far and from the Hybrid monitor to this sharing has indicated an easy 110 mpeg.....much quieter than my 2010.....an improvement from the original Prius....now called the Liftback....more electronics that are useful as well as the Heads Up display is so cool......as well as the power drivers seat.....many new upgrades on the Advanced model ALL very useful.....at least to me....the Pre collison has already worked unbelievably when a driver cut me off on the highway....car breaked on its own and the belt pulled me back as well as the headrest stopped me from getting a neck injury...its a great safety addition....I LOVE the car and I am saving the cost of electric per Kwh is like this .....a full tank of gas at 41.00 (10.6 gal.) compared to what electric is consumed comes out to out of 41.00 you will save 29.00 of the full tank to gasoline.....UNREAL......per Kwh the electric cost is what used to be 5.00 daily for gasoline down to .5157....less than 1 cent for the electric....is that unreal or what.....it is the best car I have owned.........read morehide

Pros

Great to go only in electrical mode and forget about gas!

Cons

Suggest battery upgrade using the empty space left in order to increase the EV range

Purchased As New

Love the Dynamic Radar Detector, Safety Connect, but missing the Lane Departure Assistance.
However, all-in one our rating is definitely EXCELLENT!