Toyota is getting set to start taking orders for the Toyota Prius Plug-in that will be available in Q1 of 2012. Here are a few key details to wet your Hybrid appetitive and give you something to think about as November approaches when orders start getting accepted.

The Prius Plug-ins will be offered in two trim levels, be come in five different colors, will have additional accessories and options available and we can expect to see them start getting delivered in March or April of next year.

What about the cost you ask? It looks like the Prius Plug-ins will start at less than $30,000. So, who is interested?

Want to celebrate Earth Day by putting yourself down for a Toyota Prius plug-in Hybrid capable of 83 – 87 miles per gallon? Well this Friday you’ll have the chance to do just that.

You will be able to use the Priority Registration Web Site for the Prius Plug-In in a couple days. As the name indicates it’s a first come first serve situation and there will be limited cars available to reserve. Getting on this list doesn’t actually get you a plug-in Prius reservation. No, it’s just the first step to this glorious moment as it will grant you first access to the online order system when it gets put up later this year.

The plug-in Prius will only be available in 15 states at launch time in spring of 2012: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Hawaii although you can’t use the online system for Hawaii for some reason.

According to a recent report by Japanese news agency, Nikkei, Toyota is planning to start producing around between 20,000 and 30,000 Plug-in versions of the Prius hybrid. The new electric plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid will cost around $48,000.

An interesting price point considering that the Chevy Volt is expected to start selling this year for $8,000 less than that. Plus, the standard Toyta Prius will be selling for less than half the cost of a plug-in Prius.

Toyota is expected to use lithium ion batteries with a 12-18 mile range although it hasn’t been revealed if that’s just on battery power alone or if the engine will need to run at all.

Test fleets of the plug-in Toyota Prius will start running this year. We’ll keep you informed on the results of those test.