2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in consumer reviews

I have about 12 miles to work and just used whole EV range. I can recharge car at work so I can use EV mode again back to home. So my average MPG about 140. I fill gas once per 2 month and my driving range is over 1000 miles per tank.

I have 5,000 miles on my plug-in Prius now. I love the car for what it is designed for, transportation with high gas mileage, but it is not a sporty fun car to drive. It does not have a feel for the road, it is sort of like driving your home appliances. Turn it on and it does its job. It is hard to see when backing up, even with the camera. The EV. mode changes with driving style. If you leave your foot on the pedal you will get about 6miles. If you drive reasonably, you will get 9 to 12 miles. While driving up and down hills, if you let off the pedal going down hill, the car will revert to regular Pruis mode and your EV miles will become even higher. By doing so, I often drive 15 miles to town with hybrid and EV mode and still don't use gas. The heat is generated from the engine like any car, so if you turn it on, the engine will run for a while. The interior is larger than the Volt and the seat is hard but flat. I am 6'3 and this makes the Prius more comfortable for me. Although the center console does get in the way and the storage area below it is hard to reach. This car does not come with a spare tire and I would rather give up some cargo area for a spare. At todays gas prices, I spend about $28 every fill up and it takes 8 gallons. It does have an almost 11 gallon tank but I dont let it get that low. The worst gas mileage I have gotten in the winter is 38mpg, but I did let it sit and warm up while de-icing the windows several times. My winter average is between 40 and 50 mpg depending on snow, warmups, if I pluged it in and my driving. My summer average has been 65 mpg. I dont always plug it in, but when I do I have averaged between 85 and 110 mpg. I have not noticed an increase in my electric bill, but I did also replace all of my light bulbs with CFL's. I don't know if that is a part of the reason my electric bill stayed the same even with the Pruis. All in all, I think it is a great car for transportation, I just wish it had longer EV distance and a spare tire. If you are considering a plug-in vehicle, I recommend you drive each one as I did. Each model has benefits all its own. Good luck.

This car fits my schedule and lifestyle to a T. As a minister, I frequently make short trips to visit people, nursing homes, hospitals, etc. My car gets 11-17 miles per charge, depending on how I drive it. That covers most of my 'territory.' Even on the routine trips to the YMCA, 35 miles away, the car still gets 75-100 mpg. Plus, they let me plug it into a regular outlet in the back. After 2,500 miles, I'm getting 75 mpg. That's 50% better than my old 2009 Prius (50 mpg). And it is Winter now. Even in HV mode, the '12 is much better than my '09. The exterior is classy, sportier than the older model. No complaints there. The interior layout of the '09 was more functional, IMHO, than the '12. The seat is too hard, but the new model has much more leg room. This is extremely important for taller folks. The dash and console, as well as the steering wheel controls, are not as easy to use as the '09. I've driven the new car for 2 months, and still feel that way. The car charges in 2 1/2 hours. I haven't had a real desire to get a 'fast charger.' Many of my stops are about 2 hours, so I can usually charge up. Sometimes I charge up as many as 3 or 4 times in one day. I average about 10-12 charges per week. The rear camera, bluetooth connectivity, and HV/EV switch are especially nice to have. The car handles just like my old Prius, good - comparable to other cars in its class. I would recommend this to anyone who has easy access to electricity. I have found that even if (especially if) the trips are long, I'm saving more than 'another' model listed as a range-extended electric vehicle (rated at 37 mpg). On a couple long trips (non Interstate) I got close to 60 mpg with ambient temps around 20?F. "Your mileage may vary." The 3rd generation engine heats up faster, and retains that heat more than my old Prius. So, after cruising through town in EV mode, it returns to HV mode and achieves the mpg of a fully warmed up engine. That's very noticeable up in the northwoods. The extra cost of the extended battery may not pay for itself during the life of the car, but it's sure saving me money. I estimate that I have saved $40 in gas in the last 6 weeks. In the end, I recommend it.

I was not sure the 11 mile EV range was enough to make a difference. It turns out the plugin version of the Prius is perfect given my situation. Most of my trips are less than 10 miles r/t at 35-45 mph. So fair am averaging 120 MPGe. So far it has proven to be a comfortable and reliable car.

I like to say that the prius plug in toyota is one of the best built,reliable, dependable and gas saving car in the market today,Im very happy to have purchased one .

Vehicle is attractive - handles very well - comfortable to drive - economical with excellent gas mileage.

For those of you interested in a Prius-Plug-in to achieve what Toyota is touting as 95-100 mpg, hear this: the only way you can achieve that mileage is to charge the car, drive 11 miles, rechrage the car, drive another 11 miles, et certera, et cetera. For those of us who drive longer distances, this is clearly ridiculous. For those who drive 11 miles or less per day, you don't need this car and its hefty price tag to do that - a smaller, less expensive all-electric car would do just fine. Toyota has priced the Prius plug-in several thousand dollars higher than the non-plug-in model on the rationale that there will be comparable $$ savings from the 95+ mpg mileage. But unless you use the car just to commute to the train station or get a quart of milk, this is not going to happen. So if you want a car that can take you 11 miles without gas, get an electric car or find one of the companies that can adapt a conventional Prius to be a plug in - which can ahcieve an all-electric range of 40-50 miles. or if you want a Prius hybrid, get one of the lesser expensive convenional models. It is grossly misleading at best for Toyota to market this car as getting 95+ mpg. Plus the plug-in cord is only 20 ft. long and Toyota sternly warns not to use an extension cord. Plus there is no spare tire. Having said all that, in all other respects it is a beautiful, well-engineered car and rides like a dream. But then so is the conventional non-plug in Prius at several thousand dollars lower cost.

Absolutely incredible car that seems much more than a regular Prius, the plug-in feature aside. I also own a 2010 Prius II, and the 2012 PHV standard model feels like a luxury car in comparison. The ride alone is more precise and has a silky smoothness to it that you can't appreciate unless you've owned an earlier model Prius. The built-in GPS with internet apps and backup color video cam are really great to have. Finally, being able to drive up to 62 mph in EV mode is what sets this car apart from other Pri-ii. Sure, the range in EV mode is limited, but it all depends on how far you drive on average. I mostly drive in town, so I've already seen my MPG go to as high as 105 mpg. I recharge the car every day and it only takes 3 hours max for a complete charge, and that's using standard 120V house current, not 240V. This car is a keeper that will save tons of gas money over the years. I would also mention that the body and paint finish is impeccable - I got the Blizzard Pearl, which is absolutely gorgeous. Can you tell I love my Prius PHV? Also looking forward to the $2500 tax credit when I do my taxes later. When you take into account the federal tax credit and, if you're lucky, state tax benefits, buying the standard model Prius PHV is actually competitive with a regular Prius III-V. This car has exceeded my expectations in every way.

I wanted a Plug-In car with 36 miles electric only range, volt could have fit the bill but it is only four seater and getting in and out of the car was tight, so I leased Prius Plug-In with 12 miles EV only range hoping that by end of lease their will be more options for in the Plug-In cars.

I have had my Prius Plug-In for about 4 months and have 4000 miles on it. I averaged 63 MPG from my "B" trip counter, which I have never reset. I work 2.9 miles from home and all the normal destinations, like grocery, dentist, office supplies, hardware stores and restaraunts are very close. This is good, because it only gets 11.4 miles on a 3 hour 110VAC charge. The things I like most are how zippy this car is. I can burn rubber from a side street intersection. The cruise control really is one of the most apt and tight that I've ever had. The bluetooth, sound and Gps are a great addition. The interior is very accomodating and it is a pleasure to be in. The all 4 1-touch up & down windows are a plus and all the controls and displays are superb. I hauled about $160 of liquid refreshments in this baby; it can take a lot of weight; even with the great air conditioner running full blast. The car is definitely good looking, too. What I don't like is that it should run at least 20 miles on a charge, 11.4 is just too little. But, it transitions to the hybrid mode automatically when the battery alone reaches zero. Oh, but you have to select hybrid if you want to save 8-10 miles for when you return from a long trip; you don't have to do this, but I like to. And, while you coast down hills or brake, it charges the battery. I like the hill brake feature, too! Back to the minuses: I don't like the voice activated feature because it could use some improvements. Maybe with future software updates it will get less frustrating to use. Also, after using the Garmin Nuvi all these years, we're spoiled and don't like the GPS 100%; maybe only 95%! Overall, I love this car. If they could have made it in all wheel drive and added a full spare tire, I would buy 2 of these.