What's Cheaper To Drive? Toyota Prius Plug-In or Chevy Volt?

  • volt vs prius

    CHEVROLET VOLT (left) Vs TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN. Photo Credit: MotorTrend

The battle between plug-in hybrids and electric cars with range extender has begun, and the first contenders are the Toyota Prius Plug-In and the Chevrolet Volt, two models that have been tested in terms of operation and performance, by Edmunds magazine.

They have concluded the Volt is more interesting if the route doesn't exceed 70 miles, from this point, the Toyota Prius is cheaper and cost effective.

prius vs volt

Based on the Toyota Prius, which has a cheaper price of about $2,000 dollars less than the Chevrolet Volt, and despite having a far less support from the government, you will notice, while driving it, that the Volt offers greater autonomy in electric mode than the Prius, but the cost difference is reduced as the route is getting longer as you can see in the graph, taking to cross a distance of more than 60 miles, moment when the Toyota starts to show lower operating cost.


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Keep in mind that, this comparison was done according to costs of gasoline and electricity in the United States, where a liter of fuel and the kWh of electricity is much cheaper than in other continents like Europe for example.

So, the question is, if the Volt is more profitable to drive on routes of less than 60 miles, wouldn't it be more logical buying a pure electric car? like the Nissan Leaf for example, model which has an operating and purchase cost much cheaper than the Volt, while for longer distances is more cost effective a plug-in Prius, and is also cheaper than the Chevrolet Volt.