Rented a Prius

[supton]

I go back and forth these days. I've long liked my Jetta, great road manners, etc. But after a few long trips in our Camry, and some medium ones in my truck, I'm starting to think it's a bit oversold. The truck, unloaded, would kinda suck on long drives; but outside of lousy steering feel and perhaps unsupportive seats (which didn't bother my back) the plain-jane Camry I have was fine. For 14 hours of driving once. I've done enough 3-4 hour trips to find the same story.

So I suspect a "boring" Prius would suit me just fine. ROI/TCO is a different story.

I don't know about too stripped down, like that Mirage. I'd rather have reasonable amount of noise insulation. I'd say I do half my drive at 60mph on back roads, the other half at >60mph on the highway. I'm sure it'd do just fine for running back and forth to work, but I might prefer to trade power steering / electric windows / power brakes (none of which a cheapo econobox needs anyhow) for NVH reductions.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Call me crazy, but I'd take one of these over a prius any day:

Cheap, basic, simple transportation. Capable of prius like mileage in the real world.

If that car was $8-9k new, it might sort of compete with a 6-7 year old Prius for some buyers who just want an efficient car at a cheap price. The Prius is capable of going across the country at 75mph in midsize car comfort for a family of 4 though. Also I think the drivetrain on the Prius has proven pretty solid over the years, more so than a cheap CVT that would be stuffed into an $8-10k new car.
When the Focus dies, I will look hard at a Prius if I still have my commute, saving 1/3 on gas easily pays for a potential battery replacement in a few years.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Call me crazy, but I'd take one of these over a prius any day:

Cheap, basic, simple transportation. Capable of prius like mileage in the real world.

If that car was $8-9k new, it might sort of compete with a 6-7 year old Prius for some buyers who just want an efficient car at a cheap price. The Prius is capable of going across the country at 75mph in midsize car comfort for a family of 4 though. Also I think the drivetrain on the Prius has proven pretty solid over the years, more so than a cheap CVT that would be stuffed into an $8-10k new car.
When the Focus dies, I will look hard at a Prius if I still have my commute, saving 1/3 on gas easily pays for a potential battery replacement in a few years.


It's a bit expensive for what it is.

There is a 5 speed manual available that, in real world testing, can get > 50MPG relatively easily.

 

[Thermo1223]

I've sat in the back/front/drove a Prius and I still don't get how the heck people think it is midsized. Overall EPA may consider it as such but in the real world it is a small compact car. I've rode in the back of a true midsize car. The two do not compare.

Overall driving aside I'd rather own something else rather than fall asleep at the wheel.

Rjundi:

No diesel in this day belches smoke, heck the last 10 years...so please don't infer intellect on something you clearly don't know. I get gasoline on my hand at those pumps all the time. People are messy doesn't matter...what fuel.

 

[jeepman3071]

I don't think the Prius is a bad car, I just don't like the attitude some of the drivers have.

Being a college student, I find that the drivers who are my age are the worst. Its actually embarrassing how ignorant some of the green movement hippies are. I was an environmental science major for a while, and that major was packed full of them. Many of them were just in it for the "image". Like just today I saw a girl who was in a Prius that had a "down with Corporations" bumper sticker on it. She was texting on an iphone.

There was a debate in one of my classes about renewable energy. This one girl claimed that oil was evil, yet she didn't want solar panels in her back yard and thought biodiesel was a waste of time. What planet are some of these people from?

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
There was a debate in one of my classes about renewable energy. This one girl claimed that oil was evil, yet she didn't want solar panels in her back yard and thought biodiesel was a waste of time. What planet are some of these people from?

I have to wonder just where she thought energy should come from.

 

[glock19]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Like just today I saw a girl who was in a Prius that had a "down with Corporations" bumper sticker on it. She was texting on an iphone.

Haha, down with corporations on a car made by the largest car maker in the world...

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I don't think the Prius is a bad car, I just don't like the attitude some of the drivers have.


I think the same can be said for the drivers of many vehicles. But "attitude" is certainly relative to where you stand on any particular issue. BMW drivers and Jeep/pickup truck drivers are some examples of folks who, around here, seem to have an attitude that is far enough away from mainstream to make them stand out. But that's just relative to my own tastes and feelings. They probably think nothing of it, just as "greenies" feel they're doing the right thing.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I don't think the Prius is a bad car, I just don't like the attitude some of the drivers have.

Being a college student, I find that the drivers who are my age are the worst. Its actually embarrassing how ignorant some of the green movement hippies are. I was an environmental science major for a while, and that major was packed full of them. Many of them were just in it for the "image". Like just today I saw a girl who was in a Prius that had a "down with Corporations" bumper sticker on it. She was texting on an iphone.

There was a debate in one of my classes about renewable energy. This one girl claimed that oil was evil, yet she didn't want solar panels in her back yard and thought biodiesel was a waste of time. What planet are some of these people from?

That's relatively typical. "I support the cause, so I don't need to live by it".

Like those Occupy Wall Street jokers. "I hate rich people" ... "I go to an Ivy Leage school paid for by my investment banker father, I wear designer clothes and I drive a brand new Lexus".

"It's bad to have nice things and make money, but it's okay that I have these nice things because my daddy bought them for me! I have a degree in left handed literature and I'll never have a job - that's the fault of people like my daddy"

 

[jrustles]

The Prius has come a long, long way from this electrified shopping cart, that's for sure!

 

[IndyIan]

The couple of Prius owners that I know are mostly just practical, the one guy used to race motocross even. They both live in the country and do lots of miles and were tired of wasting money on gas... They won't talk about the cars unless you ask.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
I don't think the Prius is a bad car, I just don't like the attitude some of the drivers have.

Being a college student, I find that the drivers who are my age are the worst. Its actually embarrassing how ignorant some of the green movement hippies are. I was an environmental science major for a while, and that major was packed full of them. Many of them were just in it for the "image". Like just today I saw a girl who was in a Prius that had a "down with Corporations" bumper sticker on it. She was texting on an iphone.

There was a debate in one of my classes about renewable energy. This one girl claimed that oil was evil, yet she didn't want solar panels in her back yard and thought biodiesel was a waste of time. What planet are some of these people from?

I agree with you 100% jeepman. Most older people who drive them just have a lot of driving for their jobs whereas the younger drivers just use them as a status symbol. I find the older Prius models to be pretty ugly, but the newer ones aren't too bad. HID lights, gun metal grey rims etc.

A bit OT, but there was an anti corporation get together at my college a few years back during the whole protesting Wall Street thing. Me being the little cuss that I am, I politely talked to them about their possessions and who made them. The phones in their hands, the name brand clothes on their backs, the signs in their hands, their jobs. Etc. They probably didn't even know the true value of a hard earned dollar. None of them were smart enough for an educated reply.. One of which was one of history professors son. College is ridiculous at times. Engineering/ computer science has less politics involved thankfully.

 

[ALS]

I've owned my 2010 since July 09 and have 41K on the clock. Always owned Turbo Volvo's since 1981 and I can say this is best car I have ever owned. ROI is out standing if you want to sell it out right. I played with the numbers a few months ago and the depreciation is excellent according to KBB they say it is worth $16,100 and I paid $20,000 with sales tax for mine. So $780 a year and no one can complain about that number.

Maintenance is a joke compared to other vehicles. 10K mile oil changes and 5K mile tire rotations to start. Change out the cabin and engine air filters every 30K. Spark plugs at 110K miles and change the inverter fluid at 100K miles. No belts to change and the average Prius owner changes out the brake pads every 60K.

Fuel mileage mostly depends on the driver and weather conditions. Winter sucks and I'm lucky to see 35 mpg when the temperatures drop below 30 degrees. Temperatures at 50 plus then we're talking about getting good mileage out of the car.

55 mph easy 60-62 mpg, 60 mph you drop to 57-58 mpg, 65 it drops again to around 52-53 mph. To get EPA 48 mpg highway you have to be doing over 70 mph with the A/C on.

Most cars the window for the best fuel mileage is 45-50 mph in the Prius it's 35-45 mph. I run up to the local Walmart a seven mile round trip with speeds in the 25-35 mph range, 65 to 70 mpg is the norm for the trip according to my Scan Gauge.

My only real complaint with the car is the seats are no where close to Volvo seats when it comes to comfort.

Best feature of the car is the fuel mileage $40 worth of gas gets me north of 450 miles around town and an easy 500 plus miles on the highway.

Again back to ROI, my Prius is depreciating $780 a year and I'm saving $1000 a year in gas over my old 2.3L Turbo Volvo (Premium Gas) please show me a car that is a better buy?

Would I buy another, oh [censored] yes.

BTW I'm not the normal Prius owner I'm a Republican, heterosexual, Christian, and NRA member.

 

[Andy636]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Call me crazy, but I'd take one of these over a prius any day:

Cheap, basic, simple transportation. Capable of prius like mileage in the real world.



You might like this then: Hyundai I20 1.1 Crdi engine 75 BHP and with an MPG of:

City: 51.13
Highway: 69.17
Mixt: 61.89
About 11,400 USD

 

[Benzadmiral]

I'd LOVE to save a boatload on gas. I've never cared for the Prius's styling, though. Back when Honda had its hybrid Accord, now those were attractive cars, and since they looked exactly like the regular gas-engined Accords, I wouldn't feel I was making a statement (more like saying, "Hey, look at me! I'm a Greenie!!!").

 

[cutter]

47 mpg. Meh. My 14 year old Celica 1.8 touches 40 mpg all highway.

If it's anything like the previous gen, it also handles and feels like a sponge.

 

[Merkava_4]

I've seen some Priuses take off like rockets on the on-ramp.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Andy636
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Call me crazy, but I'd take one of these over a prius any day:

Cheap, basic, simple transportation. Capable of prius like mileage in the real world.



You might like this then: Hyundai I20 1.1 Crdi engine 75 BHP and with an MPG of:

City: 51.13
Highway: 69.17
Mixt: 61.89
About 11,400 USD

If I could get that here in the US I would in an instant!

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: Miller88


"It's bad to have nice things and make money, but it's okay that I have these nice things because my daddy bought them for me! I have a degree in left handed literature and I'll never have a job - that's the fault of people like my daddy"



As long as Daddy is paying for such degrees, I'd have to agree with her. Daddy pays for a useless degree instead of letting her pay for that degree and learn a valuable lesson, that it pays to be a sharp consumer. That includes your choices in the education marketplace.

 

[PandaBear]

Prius battery cost is way overblown. There are rebuild batteries with new cells these days for only $2k (need to return your old one as core) on the older hybrids. For something with 150k warranty (and likely last you 200k miles, it saves so much fuel cost that it is barely anything in the long run.