I’m looking to get a lease on a PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle) to get the multitude of discounts that EVs get in order to get an affordable lease. Here are some of my options, based on all-electric range and approximate MSRP:
Do let me know if I’m missing out on any make/model?
The problem is, I can’t seem to find complete information of one or more of the above models for 2017. For instance, is it at all possible to replicate this deal anymore (on the Sonata PHEV)? I cannot find any numbers for MF/RV for 2017 Sonata Plug-In!
As I’d initially outlined in my first post here, I’m looking for a 36/10k lease that has a good LH score on a PHEV and whose monthly lease cost is about 1% of its MSRP (the choice of PHEV is due to the incentives and benefits of EVs in CA, such as ability to use HOV lane with single occupant and state rebate).
What would you recommend I do: try to replicate the 2016 deal on Sonata, or try to get an equivalent deal on the Volt or any of the other makes listed ? (I didn’t dig too deep into the other models, as I’m not sure anymore if an affordable PHEV lease is possible anymore in CA!).
I’m actually on the market for the same thing (So Cal, 36or39/10) including the chevy bolt. There is also a wild card with an Infiniti Q50 Red Sport but not relevant for this thread.
Being a current lessee of a 2014 Fusion Energi, I poked around with Ford first but their residuals on the 2017 Energi are terrible at 36/38% which make the Energi a very difficult car to lease at a stellar rate. I’ve been able to exclude that one so far.
Also, checked out the BMW 330i but didn’t like that the gas engine is always running (have a short work commute and solar so want to use EV only mode often). Reviewed the MB c350e but it is not eligible for the fed PHEV rebate so I was assuming it wouldn’t lease as well as the other plug-ins. I really liked the a3 etron sedan but it looks like they are only offering a hatchback (toaster shape) model in '17 which I am only considering for the features and efficiency of the bolt.
I haven’t looked at a Hyundai/Kia since 2014 but when I did… I remember lots of plastic on the interior, felt cheap, very cheap but the models have been updated so I’m willing to give them another look at the right price.
In summary, I’ve narrowed it down to the following:
Chevy Bolt Premier - Has to be a smoking deal
Chevy Volt Premier - Has to be a smoking deal
Hyundai/Kia Sonota/Optima Loaded - Have to check out the interior updates and must be an excellent deal as well
Infiniti Q50 RS 400 - Great deals are out there for this car, if I can get an excellent deal on a practical car then I may opt for something fun as the PHEV/EV market offerings are going to have some major improvements over the next three years and I may never buy a full gas car thereafter.
Generally, I’m more concise but being that we are in the same spot, I thought I’d share exactly where I’m at… combined with the help in the forum, we should be able to share some deals and improve our final landing spot.
If you can deal with a hatchback, the cmax energi leases better than the fusion, but not as well as it did several years ago since Ford became more realistic with residuals in the $2/gallon gas world we live in.
Seems like DSR Leasing has a leasing special on the Hyundai PHEV:
YEAR: 2017
MAKE: Hyundai
MODEL: Sonata
TRIM: PHEV
TRANSMISSION: Automatic
BODY STYLE: Sedan
SEATS: 5
DRIVETRAIN: Front Wheel Drive
MILES PER YEAR: 10,000
PAYMENT: $189
DUE AT SIGNING: $3,378
REBATE: $7,919
LISTING ID: 726066
The bad thing is they have a whopping down payment of almost $3.5K, which is a strict no-no as per LH. Wondering what the MF is, and what is the breakdown on the down payment (does it include registration/acquisition fee/other bank charges/DSR fee etc)?
CCing @Anthony_Lopez if he might be willing to help us know what the numbers mean (not asking for dealer info, just whether its a good deal to pull the trigger on using DSR lease!)
EDIT: For reference, I’ll be editing this post to include similar lease specials by DSR. Here’s one by for the Volt LT Trim:
YEAR: 2017
MAKE: Chevrolet
MODEL: Volt
TRIM: 5dr HB LT
TRANSMISSION: Automatic
BODY STYLE: Hatchback
SEATS: 5
DRIVETRAIN: Front Wheel Drive
MILES PER YEAR: 10,000
PAYMENT: $179
DUE AT SIGNING: $2,368
REBATE: $7,150
LISTING ID: 726010
YEAR: 2017
MAKE: Chevrolet
MODEL: Volt
TRIM: 5dr HB Premier
TRANSMISSION: Automatic
BODY STYLE: Hatchback
SEATS: 5
DRIVETRAIN: 2WD
LEASE TERM: 36
MILES PER YEAR: 10,000
PAYMENT: $259
DUE AT SIGNING: $2,448
REBATE: $6,775
LISTING ID: 201016
Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid (27m range, $35,400)
Ford Fusion Hybrid (19m, $33,900)
Chevrolet Volt (53m range, $33,200)
Kia Optima Plug-In Hybrid (29m range, $35,200)
What about the Audi A3 e-tron PHEV? (25-30m range, $38kish)
or the Hyundai Ioniq PHEV is coming in a few months.
There’s also the BMW 330e, 550e, 550xe, 740e, X5 40e, as well as the Mercedes-Benz C350e, GLE550e, and S550e. In addition, the MINI Countryman PHEV is supposed to be released in the near future.
You might think the list above might be expensive, but considering these are low-volume compliance cars you might be able to score a deal if the stars are aligned right.
Also, this site consolidates all the EV and PHEV lease deals each month, so you can use that as a starting point for negotiations.
If the 330e is anything like the X5 40e, you can change the drive settings so it only uses the battery until the battery is out then it goes into the hybrid mode.
Yeah pretty sure you can use the 330e in EV-only mode. As for the A3 e-tron, that car always starts in EV mode by default unless you’re out of battery (I have both an Audi A3 e-tron and a BMW i3).
No matter which PHEV you pick, there are very active Facebook Pages and online forums for the car discussing how you can squeeze out every last electric mile.
I had a 2013 cmax energi and absolutely loved it. Ended up over 200mpg before I took a road trip with it prior to turning it in. I was able to get in and out of it easy as it was a taller hatchback. I’m looking for a used one now under $10k.
I test drove a C MAX and while not pretty seems functional. Has the electric get up and go and I like the raised entry height. Also has a decent amount of lease cash on it through July 4. I have the luxury of waiting to fall and with the retirement of the model in the US am expecting some killer deals.
@reedog117 Since you have both, what’s your opinion on the performance and handling compared to each other? Which one would you say is more fun? Which one would you go with if you occasionally had to make a sprint to highway speeds?
I live in socal and looked at most of the cars mentioned.
Bolt: hated the driver seat
Volt: trunk space is small and it’s not a good looking car.
Sonata: felt heavy and didn’t feel nice.
Prius prime: didn’t want to get made fun of.
530e: loved but too pricey at the moment for me to drive on the weekends.
6.330e: best looking but probably terrible value since you don’t get clean air rebate, hov sticker, or a long range.
I ended up with the 330e because I got a great deal and I basically only use it to go to Disneyland to park close.
The C Max has the same exact turn radius as my F-150. Which affects the handling too. it handles like a tiny mini-van. my dad curbed the wheels on one side doing a u-turn.
The seat position also feels like a mini-van. The seats are leather, but super uncomfortable. The center console is a little ugly but similar to a few other fords so i guess some people can live with that.
the plugin range makes plugging it in worthless. It doesn’t have a hold mode either. that means you can’t save the charge. there is no paddle regen. you have to pump the drive selector to L when you go down a steep hill if you want to use regen instead of brakes.
It was just issued a recall because the telematics software was draining the battery. so if you are concerned about your privacy… It was fun jumping the car. I found out that if you put it in neutral and gas it, the engine doesn’t rev. so i had to drive it around for 15 minutes and gunning it every time the engine turned off, just to make sure my wife could use it the next day.
of course, there is no room in the back because the battery is located there. not enough room for a trip to costco. not a big problem if you shop at whole foods though;)
it averages under 40 MPG’s so it isn’t saving money there. Ford had advertised a much better MPG number and got so many complaints, they adjusted the MPG rating. Twice. Then, they ran a campaign about how it is more fun to drive than a Prius. but they kept the eco tires, that squeal very easily so it really isn’t that much fun.
so it has more acceleration than a Prius, but with a dash full of efficiency data, you probably will focus on that instead.
She was thinking of keeping the car at the end of her lease, but i talked her out of it.
Sorry for the rant but the car sucks. I leased a 3rd car just to avoid her C Max.
Too many ppl shopping based only on MPG. Poor way to buy a car. Every PHEV is better. The 2017 Fusion Energi has a way better interior than the C Max. and it is a proper car.
My mpg was because I used it to drive back and forth to work, 10 miles each way, free charging and preferred parking at work. The other plugin cars at the time were either too short (fusion, volt) for me to get in and out of without bumping my head, hurting my back or ripping my pants. I liked the seating position.
They must have changed the features from the 2013 model because it had an EV Later feature where I could save the battery charge for city driving. At the time they only had one trim which had leather seats, now they have split that up.
