Prius Prime Rocks

User: dsritt@gmail.com

Vendor: Drive Green - Green Energy Consumers Alliance

Action: 3344 - Buy/Lease an Electric or Hybrid Vehicle

In late 2019, I decided getting a greener car would be a good idea. For many years I’ve been driving Honda Odysseys. They’ve been very reliable but get about 20 MPG. Most often, it was just me in the 8 passenger vehicle. I liked the idea of a PHEV that would use both gas and electricity. Over the years, I lost patience for unreliable cars. I rely on Consumer Reports for advice as they don’t accept advertising revenue and they poll their readers for feedback which they accumulate and publish in a monthly magazine and an easy to use website. Prius & Prius Prime have been on their Top Ten car lists for several years. I drove my 2019 Prius Prime for 3 years and 30,000 miles. Over that time I averaged over 80 MPG. In November 2022, I traded my base LE trim 2019 for the mid level XLE trim 2022. It’s nice having the power driver seat, more comfortable non fabric upholstery and a larger touch screen. The car comes with a 120v charging cable which charges the car in less than 6 hours. My house has the panel at the opposite end of the house so it’s nice not having to have an electrician run a 240v line. Bottom Line: Prius Prime is a reliable & reasonably inexpensive option that allows you the convenience of only home charging. On long road trips, you still get 54 MPG. And recently I was able to lay the seats down, insert an 8ft step ladder and close the hatchback. Seating for 5 now works just fine. Many days a week now I’m driving less than 25 miles and using no gasoline! Update after 9 months: Currently getting 90 MPG after 12,000 miles. Increase due to charging with electricity more often and using "CHARGE MODE" less. Charge Mode allows you to charge the battery to 80% while driving. When you plug in you charge to 100%.