1 data point - my wife had her beloved 2001 MBZ CLK totaled by an inattentive Chevy Silverado driver who rolled into her at a stop sign (German iron is expensive to repair, as I'm sure you know.) She bought a Prius Prime PHEV, puts about 7500 miles/yr on it.
We have expensive electricity in San Diego (that's about all people bitch about on Nextdoor.com, except the La Jolla crowd bitches about dog poop, either not picked up, or dropped into their garbage cans on the street.)
Anyway, I have a spreadsheet of our utility bills going back several years, so it was easy to see the effect of her plugging in the Prius overnight for the last 2 years. The last year of the MBZ she spent $2400 on gas. Since then our SDG&E electricity charges have averaged about $100/month more than before. So it's costing $1200/yr for the charging vs. $2400/yr when she ran on gas.
Yes, the Prius uses some gas when the battery charge runs out, but in 2 years she has filled the tiny gas tank twice for trips to LA.
Anecdotal evidence, I know (I hate to use that to "prove" anything) but in this case the PHEV costs less to operate than the ICE it replaced. I expect maintenance will be much cheaper if/when it needs any.
BTW, friends ask if she's disappointed in driving a Prius vs. the MBZ (it was a great road trip car), but no, she loves it. |
