Best Used Plug In Hybrid

[broski499]

Hello,

I'm looking at a few options for my next vehicle. Want to get a plug in hybrid. Currently driving a 2008 prius.

Top contender is a Ford C-Max Energi 2015. I've been able to find these locally for under 15k with low mileage. I check with my mechanic and he said they use the toyota hybrid technology inside so reliability is solid. Anyone have experience with these?

Kia Niro Plugin - these are a bit newer so the lowest I've seen is around 20k, these are also a bit bigger. Anyone have any experience with Kia Niro's, either the hybrid or the plugin?

The old hard, the prius plugin. These hold their value a lot more so its not my top contender. Is it worth the prius premium?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[oil pan 4]

I was looking at the Hyundai sonata plug in hybrid.
They loose value fast. Most of your import hybrids that aren't Toyota loose value fast for some reason.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by broski499

Hello,

I'm looking at a few options for my next vehicle. Want to get a plug in hybrid. Currently driving a 2008 prius.

Top contender is a Ford C-Max Energi 2015. I've been able to find these locally for under 15k with low mileage. I check with my mechanic and he said they use the toyota hybrid technology inside so reliability is solid. Anyone have experience with these?

Kia Niro Plugin - these are a bit newer so the lowest I've seen is around 20k, these are also a bit bigger. Anyone have any experience with Kia Niro's, either the hybrid or the plugin?

The old hard, the prius plugin. These hold their value a lot more so its not my top contender. Is it worth the prius premium?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

I bought a regular hybrid C-Max for a friend, and she's horrible on cars and it hasn't had any issues in the past couple years. It would be among my first picks for a plug-in.

I owned a 2012 plug-in Prius and wouldn't recommend it because the range is too short, at an average of about 13 miles. Plus, turning the heat on or wanting more than half the acceleration power, or exceeding 61 MPH, or prolonged regen down a hill all kicks on the engine.

Any of the Ford Energi models would be on my radar; especially the Fusion. It's a fantastic car with plenty of acceleration, smooth quiet ride, and 45 MPG... I've only ever driven the hybrid, not the plug-in. The trunk will be smallish.

Don't know anything about the Korean plug-ins, but I'm sure they are excellent.

Decide how much you want to spend, what utility you prefer, and what all electric range you'd like and decide from there.

Whenever I'm trying to decide something, I list all the criteria to be considered in a spreadsheet, then I weight each of those criteria from 1-10 on importance to me, then I rate how well each of the things I'm considering fulfills that criteria from 1-10. Multiply the weighting and the score to derive a value, then add all values together to see which of the options comes out ahead.

[cowmeat]

You should be able to pick up a G2 Volt for less than 15k unless car prices are way higher in your area

I looked in area code 94122 on Cargurus and there were at least a dozen 2017 and 2018 Volts under 15k

My 2018 G2 Volt gets over 53 miles of EV range out of the box, more if you hypermile (or at least don't drive in sport mode all the time)
The ICE will take it another 350 - 400 miles depending on your driving habits and the G2 uses regular unleaded. The tank is pressurized so you can let the gas sit a long time if necessary

[rmay635703]

My experience is that the CMAX like a volt is best used mostly within its EV range
The CMAX is liked by some due to its layout but it likely has less usable space than your Prius and gets lower MPGs than expected meaning you might burn more fuel than a Prius if you drive mostly longer gas powered trips
Add that you may have to pay a lot more on registration means you need to carefully figure if it’s worth it for your use
The CMAX also has battery degradation issues which means as they age your EV range drops


The Niro and Kona twins are mostly OK and too new to really judge
But some have jerky shifting and transmission issues

They are much larger and less efficient than a Prius

https://www.kianiroforum.com/threads...-hybrids.8840/


The PIP I wouldn’t consider since a used Prime isn’t much more than a PIP with its very limited range


The Prime or Volt would be my go to for a plug in hybrid.
But it depends on how far and where you drive along with the taxes in your area
As suggested I would map out how much each will cost alongside a list of good and bad, if you need the space of a Prius there is nothing else like it
YMMV

[JSH]

I've driven the Fusion Hybrid and Sonata Hybrid as rentals (regular hybrid not PHEV) and they drive about the same. Both are very large cars for the limited interior room. I would personally go for the C-Max for a more useful vehicle with the same tech.

The Volt would also be on my list if I only needed a car for 1 or 2 people. It is basically a plug-in Cruze with the same tiny back seat and no cargo room.

I'm personally not hung up on EV only range for an PHEV. If the engine comes on a few times on my drive to work I don't really care. My regular Prius did 45 - 50 mpg and the plug-in should do much better. At that point the fuel cost is low enough to make fuel economy move down the priority list. The fuel economy would still be great and gas starts going bad in 3 to 6 months.

[redpoint5]

With only 13 miles of EV range, I still managed 70% EV miles in the Prius plug-in.

The idea of that vehicle was to maximize the use of the most expensive part of the car; the battery. With only 13 miles of range, you're likely to fully utilize the capacity on each trip.

[Hersbird]

I think the success of the Rav4 Prime shows Toyota should have been doing more plug in hybrids all along. There should definitely have been a Highlander Prime and there should be a Sienna Prime at the minimum. Now with a possible $10,000 point of sale credit on the radar they wouldn't even have to make non-plug in versions or in the case of the Highlander, a non-hybrid version at all.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I think the success of the Rav4 Prime shows Toyota should have been doing more plug in hybrids all along. There should definitely have been a Highlander Prime and there should be a Sienna Prime at the minimum. Now with a possible $10,000 point of sale credit on the radar they wouldn't even have to make non-plug in versions or in the case of the Highlander, a non-hybrid version at all.

The RAV4 Prime is still a compliance vehicle

Toyota has zero interest in producing more Primes than they need to

That said it makes the Primes in Rhode Island $10,000 less than other areas due to mandatory sales volumes

[redpoint5]

The Prius Prime has been the #2 highest selling plug-in vehicle, behind only the Tesla Model 3. As Hersbird points out, if Toyota had focused on hybridizing all vehicles and having a Prime version (plug-in), they would be making a killing by offering the smallest size battery that qualifies for the maximum subsidies.

Toyota screwed up offering the Prius Prime with an 8 kWh battery because it eats away their federal tax credits yet doesn't yield the full credit amount. They should have made it twice the capacity, with a 50+ mile EV range and received the full subsidy amount. With the Volt discontinued, there is no vehicle in that class to compete with.

The RAV4 Prime should not have been a compliance vehicle, but marketed and sold as a flagship product.