Our ancient station wagon was dying and husband and I couldn't agree on a replacement. We were tempted by electric, but the long-range electrics were all new and all very expensive. Used short-range electrics (like the Leaf) couldn't get us to the grandparents (all live nearby and we've got their only grandkids, so visits happen frequently) or complete a yearly vacation drive.
A used plug-in Prius has been the perfect sweet spot. It's like a baby electric car for in-town driving, with a 10-mile battery range getting us to Target/Costco and back. The gas engine is still very efficient for long drives. The display gives you a "score" in the form of MPG every time you turn off the car, you can watch your battery capacity wind down (or charge up on downhills), and it keeps track of your long-term electrical vs. gas use, all of which has been great for gamifying driving. We sigh with disappointment every time the gas engine kicks in and jostles the car a bit. Is it slow to accelerate? Boy howdy. Is it missing a spare tire? Yes it is. But all of the drawbacks are easily offset by watching those electric miles tick up when we would have been burning gas.
Why didn't we buy a new one? The Gen 4 Priuses do have longer battery ranges, but they look ridiculous, and the swoopier back has improved the MPG but cut down on passenger and storage space. They've also added a bunch of tech we didn't want. Plus, buying used had a price advantage: when the Gen 3 Plug Ins were new, the larger battery came at a $3,000 premium, but now? In our area, the price of used Priuses and Plug In Priuses were *identical*.
We've owned it for a few months now and I can't recommend the car enough. If ours got totalled in an accident I'd buy the exact same car again.
