The Silicon Valley Leadership Group in San Jose is one of the lucky companies that received a prototype of the hybrid vehicle.  The president of the group, Carl Guardino announced at a news conference that he intends to sell his Volvo on Craigslist and buy a plug-in Prius when they hit the market in 2012 at New and Pre-Owned Prius Champaign dealerships.

Coulomb Technologies, who was recently awarded a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to install public charging stations in metropolitan areas across the nation, will supply the charging stations to be used by the leadership group.

The new hybrid still combines a gasoline engine with a lithium-ion battery pack that is able to be recharged at home or work.  Supposedly the car will be able to drive exclusively via electricity for 13 miles before the gas motor kicks in.  The new hybrid utilizes the same Hybrid Synergy Drive seen in the 2010 Prius.  Indeed, as GreenCarReports.com points out, the 2012 Plug-In Prius is essentially a Prius with a larger lithium–battery pack and the ability to plug into the wall to recharge.

The Inside Line team at Autoblog.com noted the similarity between the original Prius and the Plug-In and went on to say that it was a bit of a let down.  They had accumulated approximately 500 miles on their prototype and were averaging about 62 mpg, which is very impressive, but no different from what drivers were averaging on the original Prius.  They did observe that the added weight of the batteries allowed the car to handle better.

Before investing in a new Plug-In Prius, you may want to visit your local Pre-Owned Prius Champaign dealer and consider the 2010 Prius.  Inside Line tracked the cost for charging the Plug-In Prius and came back with an average of 65 cents per fill.  Champaign Toyota dealers estimate a base price of around $27,550 for the 2012 Plug-In model, a $4,000 premium over a traditional Prius.

According to Champaign Toyota dealers, the 2012 Plug-In Prius is expected to be just one in a fleet of Prius-badged cars in a move meant to solidify the Japanese auto-giant’s place as one of the greenest automakers.