On The Fence - Help me!

Sounds like your one of those crazy NY drivers that comes over to Jersey every now and then to shop and save the tax money on clothes at the Malls. If you are an aggressive NY driver, the Priius is not for you.

 

Please post the car's color and tag number before Friday so we can all look out for you.

 

I'm 6'4" and if I went on a diet I could get another 2 mpg out my 2010 Prius. The car is very comfortable for me to drive. I have a Volvo 960 I use for the highway and my 2010 Prius blows it away on leg room. When I went to look at the car I made a point to first see if I fit in the car before I even seriously considered buying it.

 

Awesome, sounds like a great deal! Enjoy.

 

Well you are correct, I'd say this is a great site. In my opinion it's one of the best automotive websites around. It's supported by such an active and dynamic group of regulars. If you're a Prius owner, interested in Prius, or just a Hybrid, Alternative car informational junkie, then this site is a real asset.

I went through about a 2 year process of divorcing myself from my rapidly Smithsonian but reliable 1993 Honda Accord to my current automotive choice.

For me, I admit that when the bullet hit the bone, perhaps I whimped out on purchasing a Hybrid. I ended up with a Honda Fit, which as an ICE alternative, I found to be a great compromise...but as far as economic and ecological efficiency? It is a compromise.

I justify my non-purchase of a Prius with the idea that I think with Hybrids, Plug-ins and Full Electrics we are really on the verge of a break-through in promotion and technology over the next 2-5 years. I just think the options, the realities of what is available likely to expand greatly. For me? I can only afford to maintain and operate one vehicle at a time. It only makes sense to do so. So I chose to "whimp out" on the commitment to the current incarnation of Hybrid in The Prius. However, I'm not even today 100% personally convinced I made the right choice, and I would say I'm oddly STILL a great fan of Prius and Hybrid technology.

My advice to you would be #1, if at all possible try renting a Prius. It costs money, but if comfort and ergonomics are a priority and an issue, driving one for a week without having commited to purchase could well be worth it. You don't want to buy, and then discover after 2 1/2 hours of driving you feel a pain in your back, legs, whatever....

The design of an tall hatchback can be amazing. I found the Prius to be suprisingly roomy, as I find the upright Honda Fit to be amazingly "roomy". I'm about your height, and I had no problem with either The Prius nor my even smaller Honda Fit. But with any automobile, it's the small details that can get you. So my advice would be to rent one for a week if possible, and drive it as much as possible...that's about the only real way of knowing how you are going to feel with the automobile long term.

My second bit of advice would be to evaluate your priorities in purchase. The #1 benefit of Prius is fuel economy and efficiency as well as clean emmisions. There are other benefits, as I do think The Prius a well designed automobile PERIOD. I personally love the utility and versatility of a Hatch-Back. Even though I right now did not purchase a Hybrid..I also do really put value on efficiency.

The question would be how much do you? You will save money on fuel. The Prius is hands down the best MPG's available off a mainstream dealer lot. Without waiting for The Leaf, or unknown competitors, nothing is going to really come close.

But really examine how important that is to you. It can flat out BE the reason to buy a Prius, but you hint at being a led foot and I speculate this would be your first Hybrid purchase.

I don't know if it would be your ONLY car? But if it's not a secondary, or additional car, you might find yourself happy with the economics of the operation of the vehicle, but missing fuel guzzling "fun" of a regular automobile. I think a lot of Prius owners are at heart "Gadget" geeks...myself included. But eventually the aspects of it being a gadget will fade, and it's operation as your automobile will become the heart of it's ownership experience. A hybrid IS a different animal, investigate this site. Toyota has done IMO a fantastic job at mainstreaming The Prius and making driving one as close as possible to "feeling like" driving an ICE...but with a rapidly growing number of 1st time Hybrid owners there has been a backlash of people with various degrees of experience in adjusting. The vehicle handles differently, in acceleration and most notably braking. Again only yourself can determine how much of a benefit or detriment this could be to your ownership.

This IS Prius Chat, so most of the feedback is going to be that operation is not an issue, and the benefits far outweigh any negatives. Which I personally feel is true...but if you think in 12 months you are going to want something you can Rev, Punch the Accelerator, be pinned back in your seat and squeal tires? Then Prius probably isn't the choice to make.

Also I wouldn't postpone purchase based on 2010 vs. 2011 Prius. I have no inside information, but the 2010 being newly released, 3rd Generation, it is generally thought there will be little change between 2010 and 2011. Seems the NEXT big step in the world of Prius will probably be the PHEV Prius. But I wouldn't expect great change between the currently offered 2010 and upcoming 2011's. Even though I do think significant change in the entire genre is coming. I think it unfolds throughout the industry over the next 2-5 years.

****Well nevermind...I uh, probably should finish both cups of coffee before posting and read the entire thread...

Congratulations, and for what it's worth, I think you made a good decision. As someone who really does foresee owning a Hybrid in the future I'd appreciate it if you dropped in and gave updates as to how you feel about your ownership- over the course of time.

 

I am 6'2", fit the 2004 Prius just fine. The 2010 has a bit more seat travel so should be even better. The Prius handles quite well in snow but don't rely on wussy OEM tires in the winter. Get really good All Seasons or snows.

The '04 has been very reliable.
Maintenance (104K miles):

1. Replaced driver side wheel bearing at 94K
2. 12V battery
3. HID headlight bulbs
4. A few small bulbs
5. Radiator, inverter coolant and transmission fluid at 100K. (Not specified in the service guide but this seems to be a reasonable time)
6. Oil and filter every 5K until I was out of warranty, now every 10K to 12K. I use Mobil 1 and had used oil analysis done 'ramping up' to the longer interval. All good.
7. Brake pads 60% /80% remaining (F/R)

The wife's '06 has about 45K miles (really gotta update that sig!!) and has had nothing done other than oil and filter changes.


I can only hope that the OP gets into the MPG game. Sounds like a seriously dangerous driver.

Do me a favor, look around as you jack rabbit, cut people off, etc and see if you don't get to the same place at the same time as all the vehicles you pass (and get passed by, then pass again, etc). Slow and steady really does win the race in traffic. You will also find out that you aren't all worked up wrestling for another inch every minute of the trip just to lose it at the next red light or as someone in front of you slows to turn and you are trapped watching the 'slow' people glide on by in the other lane.

Drive the Prius like you drive now and you will get lousy MPG (in relative terms) and be the first Prius owner to replace brake pads even if others have had their car for 100K+ miles when you got yours. Remember that regenerative braking slows the car using the electric motor, generating watts into the battery. This does not involve the brake pads at all. You won't be using regen jumping on the brakes as you weave in and out of traffic. Thus you hurt your MPG twice - 1) by not capturing watts from the momentum you paid for with 2) stomping in the accelerator and using a lot more gas than needed. Less regen means less battery use since you are wasting that potential as heat in the brakes. Less battery use means more gas use.

 

bruce is right. my dad is 140k on his 04 prius. He has yet to replace the brakes. Regenerative braking is pretty much the best part of a hybrid.

 

If you have a difficult time controlling your desire to be a NASCAR driver, you will not enjoy being a long-term owner of a Prius.

 

I like regen for both recovering some of the juice that would otherwise be wasted as heat in the brakes and for virtually eliminating brake pad and rotor replacements.

That said, it is nowhere near the best part of my hybrid, and has only a relatively small impact on my mpg. Much bigger items include the efficient use of the ICE when it is needed, and shutting it down at other times, the ability to glide with only throttle input, never having to replace belts because there are none in Gen3, 10000 mile OCI, etc.

For the aggressive driver, I will allow that regen is a bigger deal than it is to me, but not the best part, IMHO.

 

Well put! lol

But it is worth noting that in some cases, the Prius can change a person's driving habits.

 

I think you get to blame the car, at least a little. Look around, no one buys a sports car and drives it like a golf cart. You have all the performance and want to use it. Even if you don't CONSCIOUSLY want to use it and even if you only get 'there' 5 seconds quicker. Same thing with big SUVs. "I'm big, I'm bad, get out of my way". I suspect pushy SUV drivers would act a bit differently in a sub-compact.

I think we need a lot more 'mini Indy' go cart tracks and a lot fewer high powered cars on the road. Get the 'itch' out in a safe place, drive sedately on the road.

 

i hope so, i was thinking your license should be revoked.

 

It simply means you need a 'project car' for fun. Say a 'pocket rocket' or a serious pony car. Then sign-up for competition and go to the ultimate truth, the track. In the meanwhile, your Prius will help pay for the hobby car. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson

 

Congrats tek on your purchase! I used to drive an American guzzler until I got my Prius II. I opted for the entry level car in case I didn't like it, but so far, my complaints are minimal. I had a Caddy that could pass anything except the dealership so to me, less gadgets is "more", and the Prius comes standard with everything I could want.

You're going to notice other drivers treating you differently so be careful of road-rage incidents. Most other drivers will try to whiz around you as they assume you will be driving like "grandma" to save gas. If you are a "lead-foot", they will be in for a surprise as Prius has more pick up than you'd think. You have to decide if mileage is your goal, or do you just want better efficiency than your prior car. BTW, if you do lead-foot drive, with AC on you can expect more like 38 to 40 mpg in city driving. I know, I tried it for a tank as an experiment.

 

OK, a comment from the land of the driving-as-fast-as-you-can highways - Germany.
First you might want to read these 2:
Driving a 2010 Prius on a German Autobahn
10 months driving in the future: a Prius 2010 review

The first one could possibly give you an idea of driving "fast" mixed with traffic jams - a typical scenario on world highways.
If you like the fuel consumption I got in that case, then you can buy the Prius.
The second one can give you an idea of what happens when you drive such a car after several months. Let me explain.

In the US, if you are lucky you can drive max 70mph on a highway in certain states only; otherwise is 55 or 60 - right? Well 65 is what I get in Germany on 1 lane suburban roads (yes, you read well). 80 is the advised speed on german highways. But if you keep a safe distance from the preceding car and there is no other limitation, you can drive as fast as you want. So, sorry, you are not driving fast in the US - you have no idea what "fast driving" means... and though you are claiming to be really fast and such and such driver, you are an average medium "fast" german driver...

BTW: this does not mean that the regulations in germany are better or worse or cooler than elsewhere on the planet. I am for safe driving. But when I can go fast and there is nobody on the road (read german highway) I want to be able to do it if allowed by law. That said, FYI, German highway are most of times so full of cars that traffic jams and continuous maintenance do not enable you to go much faster anyway...

That said - my previous car was a Polo 1.4L TDI. Lots of torque. Max speed 105mpg which I reached several times. I have driven for work many other cars, more powerful, faster. The Polo was not the fastest on the planet, sure, but quite some kick compared to other cars. The turbocharge helped. As a diesel it would not consume "much", compared to other similarly performing gas engines.
After buying the Prius, I realise that I changed the way I drive.
First and foremost, after a few months, in an effort to get good mileage you tend to slow down - or better, to drive as smoothly as possible, which means you stop accelerating without reason.

Then you also start pitying, really, other drivers that clearly drive like a**es, there is no other reason, because somebody else is paying their gas (I have honestly better things to do with my money), gas which in the EU is about 4x more expensive as in the US (currently 1,39€/L - you do the math to the gallon).

Buying a Prius is in a way, an act of "faith". You decide to drop xx years of conventional driven cars, for the future that will be. It's like when you move from the PC to the Mac - often it is a one way route (as most say).

The Prius can give you a kick in power mode when you feel the need of it; which, BTW, according to reports here can give you the same Fuel Efficiency as in other modes. It can "teach" you how to smoothly, relaxed and efficiently (even time-wise) drive in your commute. It will make you think "why didn't I buy one before?".

I am not saying you have to buy a Prius - you buy what you need, based on your needs, $$$ available and priorities.

One thing has to be clear - you cannot (yet) have a car with 300HP that works like a Prius. You cannot have a Ferrari that moves electrically like a Prius through slow traffic. You cannot, with any car!, drive in "jumps", and hoping to get a good MPG. So you have to make somehow a compromise and set your priorities.

You can certainly get a Prius and consume like an average 1.8L TDI sold in Europe by driving it "fast" (which is still MUCH better than the average fuel consumption of cars sold in the US; say - doing 30-35MPG; better than the 20MPG or less I got on all the cars I have rented when I visited in the US - BTW all "average Joe" cars), or you can drive it a bit more "traffic aware" and "not racing" all the time, and get fuel consumptions similar to a SmartForTwo that no car today can even think to reach (especially in town traffic).

PS: let us know which colour and trim you are getting - I also want to see pictures of you smiling next to it. We know we have already convinced you. Come to the "dark" side of FE freaks, and join the HSD wave. Oooops - too late, you have already bought one...

 

75 is the (legal) max in many states but most states are 65. 55 is common in city areas with a lot of traffic. As with Germany (and any other country) the traffic will frequently keep the 'flow' to below the posted limit. The 'driven limit' is usually close to 10 MPH over the legal limit.