How come the Toyota Prius PHEV does not get SEAI Grant

Ogogo

The Toyota Prius doesnt get the SEAI grant of €5,000 but the likes of the Golf GTE does. Is this correct or am I mistaken?

Linky

TBi

I didn't think they sold the phev version in Ireland.

Ogogo

TBi wrote: »

I didn't think they sold the phev version in Ireland.

Ahhhh - I think you are correct, I for some reason assumed that they were plug-in. I should open my eyes and stop making so many assumptions.

Thanks

I'm not sure plug ins get the grant ? they don't get the full amount anyway + they don't get VRT relief afaik.

The plug in Prius is very expensive and makes the 30 Kwh Nissan Leaf look like a bargain, especially with the longer range of the 30 Kwh battery and faster fast charging.

Rafal

They do, but they have to be sold in Ireland by an Irish-registered dealership.

Ogogo

As a matter of interest, is the Grant a one off per person or can you get it on another new car in the future again?

Seesee

Ogogo wrote: »

As a matter of interest, is the Grant a one off per person or can you get it on another new car in the future again?

I've been told it goes with the car do you can get it with a subsequent new car. It's not like a first time buyer's grant.

If it's range you're worried about then you'd be far better off waiting for the 60 Kwh Nissan Leaf or Opel Ampera-E aka Chevy Bolt, and possibly more in 2018, 300 kms range.

cros13

Ogogo wrote: »

The Toyota Prius doesnt get the SEAI grant of €5,000 but the likes of the Golf GTE does. Is this correct or am I mistaken?[/URL]

I don't think the Prius PHEV would even be eligible for the grant. The EV range is very poor. 10km under the EPA cycle, not sure of the NEDC numbers but the minimum for the PHEV grant is 20km.
And the vehicle must be capable of 100km/h under EV power alone which I don't think the Prius can manage.

Both the vehicle model and dealer must be registered for the grant.

The NEDC range for the Golf GTE is over 50km.

I drove my i3 from Portlaoise to Dublin city centre at 130km/h on the motorway tonight, did a couple of 0-100 launches off the lights and had six Prius PHEVs worth of remaining range on the battery when I got home all without touching the 200km in the range extender's fuel tank. And hopefully this summer will see a battery upgrade adding an additional 50% to the range.

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm not sure plug ins get the grant ? they don't get the full amount anyway + they don't get VRT relief afaik.

half grant and full VRT relief.

Deleted User wrote: »

The plug in Prius is very expensive and makes the 30 Kwh Nissan Leaf look like a bargain, especially with the longer range of the 30 Kwh battery and faster fast charging.

+1. It's more expensive than the eGolf, GTE or BMW i3. And it's heavy with a weak motor so it's slow.... and it's a Prius.

Ogogo wrote: »

As a matter of interest, is the Grant a one off per person or can you get it on another new car in the future again?

Per car. I've claimed on three EVs.

Ogogo

So here is the thing - its probably a familiar story. I do very modest mileage about 8,000 Km / year mostly in and out of work (6.5 km) school (2 km), shop etc all short trips. Once in a while I need to do a trip say from Cork - Dublin, Cork - Waterford etc.

The regular day to day stuff would I suspect be ideal for an electric car and is probably 95% + of my requirement but I would be snookered on the occasions where I need to do a journey. I know from lurking here that many of you guys have a very strong preference for pure EV but just wondering if there are any opinions on something like the Golf GTE - For fear of being stoned I will admit that I am also considering the GTI.

Ogogo

Ogogo wrote: »

So here is the thing - its probably a familiar story. I do very modest mileage about 8,000 Km / year mostly in and out of work (6.5 km) school (2 km), shop etc all short trips. Once in a while I need to do a trip say from Cork - Dublin, Cork - Waterford etc.

The regular day to day stuff would I suspect be ideal for an electric car and is probably 95% + of my requirement but I would be snookered on the occasions where I need to do a journey. I know from lurking here that many of you guys have a very strong preference for pure EV but just wondering if there are any opinions on something like the Golf GTE - For fear of being stoned I will admit that I am also considering the GTI.

It's up to you what you want to buy, but I suggest taking the BMW I3 for a good spin before you go down the route of GTE because you will love pure EV driving so much you will wish you had more EV range.

The GTE and GTI is a stupid price in my opinion but if it's what you want then go for it.

Perhaps you are a two car household ? or maybe you can get a loan of a ICE for that odd really long trip ?

If you fear range is an issue then wait until 2018. The so called affordable Tesla Model 3 will be worth waiting for, the I3 will no doubt have a lot more range also as well as the Gen II Leaf also due around late 2017 early 2018.

If you can't wait then seriously, take an I3 for a spin before you make a final decision.

cros13

cros13 wrote: »

half grant and full VRT relief.

I thought you had to pay VRT on the I3 , so plug ins get full VRT relief of 5 K ?

Rafal

Do take the i3 and the Leaf for a test ride, just to get an idea of what to expect, even if not buying them. I'd suggest test driving the eGolf too, but it is nigh on impossible to get a dealer to corporate.

As for doing the long journeys, especially in the Leaf, which uses the popular Chademo rapid charger standard, they are perfectly doable, with just a little bit of that occasional planning. You may have seen the reports of trips some us do. Personally, I've only had the Leaf for a week, so maybe ask those more experienced, but as a beginner I found a 2-day Wicklow-Belfast return very easy, and so was Wicklow-Rosslare on our test drive, Wicklow-Dublin-Athlone and back, and Kilkenny-Waterford-Gorey-Dublin, all same-day trips.

cros13

Ogogo wrote: »

So here is the thing - its probably a familiar story. I do very modest mileage about 8,000 Km / year mostly in and out of work (6.5 km) school (2 km), shop etc all short trips. Once in a while I need to do a trip say from Cork - Dublin, Cork - Waterford etc.

I do 50,000km a year. I've done Dublin to London, Dublin to Berlin and Dublin to Amsterdam and back entirely on EV power without any issues. The only thing that matters is that your daily and frequent (i.e. more than once a week) trips are covered without resorting to rapid charging. Once those conditions are met the trade off in a bit of time and minor inconvenience is worth it for the other benefits of a longer range EV.

Ogogo wrote: »

Golf GTE

The GTE is a good car. I have a colleague who is looking at it's Audi cousin (EV range covers all his private use and he gets mileage from work for all his longer journeys). The only problem... and it's a big one is the price. It's almost €5k more than a rapid charging equipped i3 which is more fun to drive and better equipped.

The i3 is probably not suitable for anyone with kids though.

If you want to be super sensible the Leaf is a great vehicle and worth a test drive at the very least. It would be worth considering a bit of delayed gratification and putting down the €25k for a well specced SV Leaf and saving your money for an upgrade when the 60kWh cars like the Tesla Model 3 arrive in bulk in 2018/2019.

Deleted User wrote: »

I thought you had to pay VRT on the I3 , so plug ins get full VRT relief of 5 K ?

Apologies, Now that I look back on the invoices from BMW it's the other way around. I got full grant but half VRT credit (€5K). I paid €7,713.80 VRT minus the €2.5k credit on the i3 REx.

The €5k credit doesn't even cover the VRT on an fully specced SVE Leaf anymore. The 30kWh SV Leaf with 3.3kW charger I just bought had €4219.74 of VRT. If I'd gone 30kWh SVE with 6.6 about €200 of VRT would need to be paid.

Rafal wrote: »

Do take the i3 and the Leaf for a test ride, just to get an idea of what to expect, even if not buying them. I'd suggest test driving the eGolf too, but it is nigh on impossible to get a dealer to corporate.

If you want to experience a car dealer treat a cash buyer with €35k in their pocket like a leper.... ask about the eGolf.

Ogogo

cros13 wrote: »

The only problem... and it's a big one is the price. It's almost €5k more than a rapid charging equipped i3 which is more fun to drive and better equipped.

According to the websites the i3 starts at €43,590 and the GTE at €38,495 perhaps I have misunderstood something here?

I visited the local VW dealer today. Now I havent visited a dealer since I bought my last new car in 2008 so I am pretty out of practice. ( I had a pretty good relationship with that dealer and used to have a standing order for the same new car every year - but he went bust early in the recession ) . In any case I was pretty surprised that despite my best efforts I couldn't even get the attention of a salesman.

I was able to help myself to sit in and look around the Golf GTE and the Golf R but had to leave eventually.

Looks like the Tiger is roaring again.

cros13

Ogogo wrote: »

According to the websites the i3 starts at €43,590 and the GTE at €38,495 perhaps I have misunderstood something here?

Base for the i3 is €34k (was €33k but they added more standard equipment). The range extender option adds almost €10k because of tax.

23% VAT is ridiculous, it makes no sense !

Rafal

Ogogo wrote: »

According to the websites the i3 starts at €43,590 and the GTE at €38,495 perhaps I have misunderstood something here?

I visited the local VW dealer today. Now I havent visited a dealer since I bought my last new car in 2008 so I am pretty out of practice. ( I had a pretty good relationship with that dealer and used to have a standing order for the same new car every year - but he went bust early in the recession ) . In any case I was pretty surprised that despite my best efforts I couldn't even get the attention of a salesman.

I was able to help myself to sit in and look around the Golf GTE and the Golf R but had to leave eventually.

Looks like the Tiger is roaring again.

No, just VW thinking the way out of the scandal is to pretend they're BMW.

ted1

Ogogo wrote: »

So here is the thing - its probably a familiar story. I do very modest mileage about 8,000 Km / year mostly in and out of work (6.5 km) school (2 km), shop etc all short trips. Once in a while I need to do a trip say from Cork - Dublin, Cork - Waterford etc.

The regular day to day stuff would I suspect be ideal for an electric car and is probably 95% + of my requirement but I would be snookered on the occasions where I need to do a journey. I know from lurking here that many of you guys have a very strong preference for pure EV but just wondering if there are any opinions on something like the Golf GTE - For fear of being stoned I will admit that I am also considering the GTI.

Get a bike. And rent a car the days you want to do long journeys

Ogogo

ted1 wrote: »

Get a bike. And rent a car the days you want to do long journeys

Actually I used to enjoy cycling a lot when I was younger but unfortunately I suffer from a neurological illness which has me moderately disabled and I need to walk with a cane etc. My nearest public transport is 2 miles away so in order to remain independent I kinda hold onto the car with 2 hands.

I really do like the thought of a pure EV and while it appears the tech is progressing at a pace my head is telling me that maybe I should wait until these cars can do a cork - dublin trip trip without any drama.

ted1

Ogogo wrote: »

Actually I used to enjoy cycling a lot when I was younger but unfortunately I suffer from a neurological illness which has me moderately disabled and I need to walk with a cane etc. My nearest public transport is 2 miles away so in order to remain independent I kinda hold onto the car with 2 hands.

I really do like the thought of a pure EV and while it appears the tech is progressing at a pace my head is telling me that maybe I should wait until these cars can do a cork - dublin trip trip without any drama.

Sorry to hear about your disability, have you looked into grants you could get for cars?

Ogogo

ted1 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your disability, have you looked into grants you could get for cars?

Well thats life and we gotta make the most of it. The grants are reserved for people who are severely disabled (and thats fair IMO). I think the criteria are something along the lines of "completely without the use of both legs" etc.... Fortunately I am only "moderately disabled". I would rather be on here bitching about paying a few grand in taxes any day of the week than qualify for that:cool:

Rafal

Ogogo wrote: »

Actually I used to enjoy cycling a lot when I was younger but unfortunately I suffer from a neurological illness which has me moderately disabled and I need to walk with a cane etc. My nearest public transport is 2 miles away so in order to remain independent I kinda hold onto the car with 2 hands.

I really do like the thought of a pure EV and while it appears the tech is progressing at a pace my head is telling me that maybe I should wait until these cars can do a cork - dublin trip trip without any drama.

Sorry to hear, I hope you find a good mode of transport for your situation. If you are thinking of EVs, bear in mind that the Cork-Dublin route is pretty much the very best in terms of rapid charge availability of any route on this island. It beats Dublin-Belfast and Dublin-Galway, both for Chademo (Leaf) and even for CCS (i3). If you can get a test drive and have the time for it, I cannot stress how much more you would get from it than from asking others on the forum.

bk

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SUV might be a good option for you?

Large 5 seater 4x4 with tons of boot space. Perfect for taking kids plus all their luggage. Enough pure EV range for your daily commute and then good MPG (for a SUV) for doing the longer distance trips without drama.

42k for it. That is a lot of money, but at least normal price range for similar large 4x4's, you aren't paying a ridiculous premium like you would for the i3 or GTE.

To be honest I think the i3 and GTE are insane money for such small cars, massively overpriced. 38 to 43k for a compact car is frankly laughable!