In fact, the only real excitement I’ve ever felt in one of these things is as a passenger in a taxicab driven by a gent who clearly missed his calling as a participant in Death Race 2000.
...
The days when Leo DiCaprio showed up to the Oscars in a Prius and South Park lampooned owners for being insufferably smug
God I love you, Brendan. Why won't you love me back, like Jacob?
there’s also a strong element of cheapness here, and a pretty low-tech dashboard layout. The plastic surfaces feel hard and brittle, the greenish glow of the centre-mounted instrument panel is outdated
When we bought the Corolla, we contemplated a 2010 Prius (discounts were massive at the time), but though my dad loved it for its promised economical ownership, mother dearest felt that the inside was cheap sh!t and she immediately veto-ed its purchase.
I was surprised how 'well' (relatively speaking) it handled off-ramps and quick, fast turns. It was planted. Not sporty, but planted. The usable interior space was immense, and fuel economy was without question. Some things were stupid, like the beeping inside to let you know you're in reverse? Da Fuk was Toyota thinking? The centre-dashboard was also a killer.
...but above all else, every material inside was cheap and hard plastic. At the price (something like a $6,000 premium over the Corolla), it just wasn't worth it, and we got the Corolla instead.
Which brings us to the pricing.
While Brendan is correct re: the $5k, that still takes the base model of the PHEV to ~$31k...or $11,000 more than the Corolla. Ok, so in the City I average 9L/100km (the new one with the CVT is likely better), the payback would just never show up...and where there are other savings, or other intrinsic value-offers (I dunno, the liftback, or something), the economies just don't really fit.
...but if you compare the regular Prius to the PHEV, I would think the PHEV is the better one if the gov't is picking up most of the tab.
