I am just about ready to make a new car purchase my 1996 Nissan 200sx has about 220,000 miles and is starting to show its age. I have a 130 mile highway commute and really want something that has good mpgs, is quiet and has enough room for the family. I really love the GenIII Prius have driven it 3 times and think it is a great car. I just want some other options, I am considering the Jetta TDI but have heard terrible things about VW realibility. The Mazada 3 seems like it might be good but saw they weren't rated highly on JD Power ratings. I also am considering the Fusion hybrid, or maybe the Insight. I really would like to find out what cars everyone considered and why they choose Prius. thanks
Originally we were just going to replace our 97 Camry with a new Camry. But I got to reading PC here and when we went to the dealer and drove the Prius, we were sold. Why not get the best fuel economy and have great room at the same time. Just made sense.
TDI jetta sportwagon. My reasons, (although I have not yet purchased a prius yet): (1)Prius has better gas mileage and diesel fuel is more expensive where I live widening the fuel savings difference between the two. (2)I like the look of the prius inside and out a bit more than the TDI, a little more futuristic. TDI looks are bit old and too similar to my sold volvo wagon and I wanted something new. (3)Desire not to lug such a big hunk of metal around where ever I go for a single person made prius more attractive over the tdi. (4) Prius purchase encourages new technology, whereas TDI is old tech and the car industry desperately needs to deliver new tech. (5) I like the solar roof when I saw it in action. Although I like TDI large moonroof, it is covered by a screen through which sun can still get through and not completely shuttered. (6) In a test drive, I noticed the jetta "rocks" back and forth at start and stop more than the prius. This rocking motion of the jetta is a bit annoying to me. (7)jetta does not have a fuel economy display on the dash and if i'm driving a green car, I want to see what i paid for and be reminded why I got the car
I looked at the Honda Civic Hybrid before I purchased my Prius. It is a bit cheaper than a Prius and you can get the USB connection standard, but I liked the styling of the Prius better, as well as both the backseat leg room and the cargo space. If I didn't have a two-year old and two dogs, plus future plans for another child in a couple of years, I may have taken the Civic, which averages about 40 MPG.
I'm looking at a bunch of other cars which cost about the same: Accura: I don't like the rear end styling. Honda Accord: Pretty nice, but it's a little larger than I want Camry: A lot like the Accord. The zero percent financing saves about $3,000 or more. But it's duller than the Prius Honda Insight: No leather seat option; strictly a low-cost economy car Mercedes 300 series: Boring and expensive Mini Cooper: Too small, especially in the rear seat, and I don't trust its dependability. But it has high mileage, it's fun... but a poor freeway cruiser. I drive 80 miles round trip to work each day, and most of these cars get poor gas mileage, with the mid-size Accord and Camry getting 31 and 33 MPG respectively. I think, at this point, if I don't buy a Prius, I will most likely buy a 4-cylinder Honda Accord. The two cars cost roughly the same, but I'm more emotionally attached to the Prius right now. Maybe I'll go test drive it again.
I really like the look of the Mazda 3 and the Jetta TDI. I love the tech in the Prius and the great reliability of Toyota, the interior is pretty quiet and has great quality interior but it just seems kinda bland and boring compared to the Mazda 3 and Jetta TDI interior. I really want a hybrid but would consider any car that is quiet, comfortable and in the Prius price range.
I looked at the following before purchasing my 2010 Prius III: 1) Honda Insight - Negatives were not full hybrid technology and lack of room in the back seat. 2) Honda Civic Hybrid - Same negative for technology as above plus no trunk space 3) For Fusion Hybrid - Negatives were higher price plus lower MPG
If the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt where out, I would look at those, but the Leaf won't evenbe sold in large numbers for another 18 months (end of the year they are releasing a small number in 5 or 6 markets, my state is not one of them). I really want a real EV, but that is not too be - yet. The only choice was another Prius [3rd time is the charm ]
I considered the same 3. Same rationale for rejecting #'s 1 & 2. #3 had a much lower price and was fairly attractive but the seats felt like orange crates. Also no option for sunroof and leather; dealer did offer to install aftermarket products though.
I hadn't looked at new cars in 11 years, so I really didn't know what was out there. I knew I wanted a hybrid and it needed to be either a hatchback or a small crossover or SUV--not a sedan. By the time I'd done online research and compared everything available, the Prius was clearly the car I wanted, so it's the only one I actually test drove. There's not a similar vehicle, with the possible exception of the Insight, which I never checked out, because it was clear that the Prius would far better meet my needs.
