When we were on the verge of relocating to MA from PA a few years ago, my wife needed to replace her old car. At that time a pure EV was not a satisfactory option, because we’d be renting an apartment without a charging station nearby.
A Prius hybrid was a strong consideration, as I loved my Prius-v hybrid.
But Toyota had just introduced a new Plug-in version of the Prius, the Prius Prime, which gets 25 to 30 miles per charge on electricity, before seemlessly switching over to gas. This versatility seemed perfect for our situation.
What really made the decision to purchase the Prime easy was the federal tax credit of about $4500 for this “electric vehicle”. Factoring in this credit, the net price of the Prius Prime was just about the same as a similarly equipped standard Prius!!!
During our 1st year in MA we ran the new Prius Prime almost exclusively on gasoline, and it gave super gas mileage, over 50 mpg, just like a standard Prius.
Upon purchasing a townhouse a year later, we were finally able to plug it in on a regular basis.
No new charging equipment was needed. Using the preexisting 110v outlet in the garage, the car charges fully in just 5 hours. Every morning we’re set to drive at least 25 miles on electricity. Since it only takes 5 hours to fully re-charge, some days we can drive as far as 50 miles on electricity, taking one trip in the morning, then after a recharge a second trip in the afternoon or evening.
In summary, except when we do a local errand over 15 miles away from home or go on a road trip, this car is running almost exclusively on electricity. It only rarely stops at a gas station. And since the range on a full tank of gas is well over 400 miles, there is absolutely no range anxiety ever, even if we go some place with no access to a charger.
Finally, since our home is supplied with 100% renewable electricity through Winchester’s community aggregation plan, most of the time we are driving fossil-free!