Doe the V make any sort of sense?
Hybridcarblog.com
So a friend of mine called yesterday to ask my opinion about the new Toyota Prius V, particularly regarding battery life, an interesting bit of synchronicity since I covered this subject in a post yesterday. Ultimately, my friend — let’s call him Stan — is considering the Prius V and the Honda CR-V.
Now I’ve written in the past that I really like the V, but I wouldn’t pay more for it compared to a conventional Prius without a third row of seating, but my friend and his growing family, sees things a bit differently.
Stan doesn’t just need seating for 4, he needs lots of extra room for a stroller, baby bags, maybe some groceries, etc. Stan needs more than just your average trunk, and he was drawn immediately to the Honda CR-V. In fact, he probably would have bought the CR-V already, if not for one serious flaw — at least in Stan’s opinion — poor fuel economy.
Unlike most Americans whom seem to be consumed with highway fuel economy these days, at least judging by the plethora of commercials touting highway fuel efficiency, Stan is a hardcore urban driver. There are no highway miles in Stan’s daily grind, but there plenty of congested streets to counter. Consequently, Stan is looking only at city numbers when it comes to MPGs.
Due to his concern regarding fuel economy, Stan decided to give the larger Toyota Prius V a look.
According to the EPA, the Toyota Prius V comes in at 42 mpg city, while the CR-V hits 23 mpg. For average drivers, or 45 percent city and 55 percent highway, Prius V owners would save about $750 dollars per year in fuel costs compared to the CR-V, but most of Stan’s miles will be city miles — tough city miles — so I’d say the number is more like a $1000+.
But this is a large, oddly shaped hatchback versus a small SUV or crossover, and a comparison just isn’t simple. Well, that’s the comparison Stan is making, so we’re going to make it as well.
Hence, to be sure, the Honda CR-V offers both more passenger room and cargo room, about 131 cubic feet to 139 cubic feet, and CR-V starts at just a little over $22,000, while the smaller Prius V starts at little over $26,000. Advantage CR-V. However, Stan felt the base Prius offered more than the base CR-V, so that $4,000 price difference could be less. Nevertheless, even at $4,000 Stan’s hybrid premium would be recovered in about 4 years based on his driving patterns.
Still, an extra $4000 up front is a lot, and 4 years before payback is a little hard to swallow for most buyers, but Stan isn’t most buyers. His current ride is now 13 years old, and Stan plans to keep his next ride just as long. That means Stan would save a whopping $9000 in fuel costs over the lifetime of his vehicle if also kept 13 years.
And that led to Stan’s primary concern at this juncture regarding the V hybrid: Prius V battery life. According to Toyota the battery in the Prius V should last at least 150,000 miles, with an average warranty of 8 years and 100,000 miles, although some states extend this warranty even longer. At 15,000 miles per year, this could leave Stan with a dying battery after 10 years, when he’d still like to squeeze out a few more years of life.
Should Stan be worried?
The current Prius has been around for more than a decade now, and old Prius hybrids are considered a very good used car value according to Consumer Reports. In fact, CR found such a healthy supply of used, but in excellent shape batteries — because of accidents, etc. — that replacing a hybrid battery in an old Prius is actually quite economical, or as cheap as just $500. Thus, CR concluded the risk of a dying battery is not a reason to scratch a used Prius hybrid off your used car shopping list.
Plus, in ten years there will be a revolution in hybrid battery technologies, so it seems that the battery risk really isn’t much of a risk, and when you factor in all the brake replacements that won’t be needed because of the battery, risk seems a bad word to describe this concern.
So, which one wins?
Last I heard Stan was leaning towards the Prius V. Stan felt the V offered the room he needs, plus he’s extremely tempted by the fuel economy. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the V is a better ‘crossover’ choice than the CR-V. It’s not an apples to apples comparison in the battle of the Toyota Prius V versus the Honda CR-V.
Still, if you’re in the market for a small SUV, wagon, or crossover, the Prius V should definitely be on your shopping list, particularly if you live in an urban area or experience regular congestion. And if you’re a buy-and-hold kind of person, you’d be a fool to not at least use the V to increase the quality of your purchasing metrics. I mean if you’re anything like Stan and you could save $9000 in fuel costs over the life of your vehicle at today’s gasoline prices, imagine how much more you’ll save if gas prices spike in the next decade.
Of course, gasoline prices are probably headed lower into the future, right?
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