The Scoop on Medford's Plug-in Prius

Earlier this summer Toyota lent the City of Medford a Plug-in Prius.  While the Prius has been out for several years, this is the first plug-in car that Toyota is offering to the public.  In order to increase interest in the car and to provide Toyota with real usage data, they have a fleet of 125 prototype Plug-in Priuses that they lend to companies, governments and other organizations that have fleets.

Medford decided to have the City's Code Enforcement Officer use the car primarily because he drives 25-30 miles a day doing his job.  The car has also been available to other City employees to try out.  In my position of Energy Efficiency Coordinator I drove the car several times, including (so far) to two festivals to show off the car and promote the green things that Medford has been doing. 

I found the car to be fun to drive, and very similar to driving my parents' regular Prius (a hybrid, but not a plug-in). 

We received the Prius with a full tank of gas, and City Employees plug it in every day before using it.  It was driven a little over 800 miles before it became necessary to refill the gas tank.  It's about a 10 gallon tank, so we got about 80MPG. 

While the City doesn't have cars in its fleet other than Police Cars anymore,  this has been a great opportunity to get experience with an electric vehicle.  We have been keeping an eye out for opportunities to get free charging stations, and this has helped us have a better understanding of the needs of electric car users. 

For more information on comparing this Prius to a regular one, pricing, availability and the pros and cons of buying one,  you can read more at my blog post Review: My Experiences With the Plug-in Prius.