Outrage over friends and family reactions to a "near purchase"

"Faux" News has no exclusive license when it comes to propaganda (and in my times of viewing it, the Prius has never been disparaged). MessNBC is equally as guilty of propaganda, just from the opposite perspective.

Hollywood even disparages the Prius (see "The Other Guys"), so you can't paint this as an exclusively left or right issue.

 

haha, agreed...that is the one single most asked question I've received and from complete strangers at that.

 

Coach them to Prius.

 

Masculine or feminine, no matter...I just think Prius drivers are smart. I've had mine for one week, and the guy at work who kept trying to talk me out of getting one sat in it and checked it out for 5 minutes, now loves it and thinks I made a great purchase! Just wait until I let him drive it, here's betting that he'll go buy one too.

 

Coach- I guess that your friends do not really care that gas has hit the the $3.00 mark nationally. Can you chime back in and tell us just how high gas will need to go before they are Ok with the Prius - will it be $3.50, $4.00 or higher?

 

Hell, I paid $3.37 for REGULAR today, Thank You Prius, I only needed 8 gal, got 380 or so miles....hey it's cold here too....

 

Here in Indiana, we're paying around $3.20 for regular this week. I'm liking the Prius SO much better now.

We also have an Audi TT roadster, which is a lot of fun, and even pretty guilt-free fun, at 30mpg on the highway (if you can keep your foot out of the turbo!). But a fill up of premium gas still makes it a bit pricey.

I just wish the Prius had the TT's handling!

 

I honestly don't give a crap if someone thinks driving a Prius makes me 'wussy'. I didn't buy a car to make a statement, I bought a car because I need a car to get where I want to go!

You can't beat my 2007 used Prius for value. $14000 got me a car with advanced technology that you don't get in a car of that price (VSC, side airbags, touchscreen, smart key, push-button start, electronic climate control, back-up camera). Then you add the fact that it has excellent reliability. And on top of all of that, by the way, it gets great fuel economy (46MPG average in the winter with a lot of city driving).

Once you've driven an HSD vehicle like the Prius, everything else seems so primitive. The idea that your engine would run at a stoplight seems absurd. The amount of control you have over braking is amazing. The idea that you have to deal with a manual transmission and clutch or an automatic that shifts seemingly at random is quaint.

80% of the problem people have with the Prius is their own attitude. Why a car that's affordable, efficient, safe, and comfortable is so objectionable to them is a mystery to me. Many critics compare it to a sports car or to a big SUV, when in reality most of them drive some POS sedan that's no more comfortable, has no more useful space, and is no faster than the Prius. Compare the Prius to something like the Matrix or Corolla and you'll find that it's bigger, more powerful, quieter, has more cool features, and of course is way cheaper to operate.

Lots of people own a Prius, and most of them aren't trying to make a statement. That's because the Prius isn't just the best hybrid you can buy, it's also pretty much the best all-around practical car you can buy. If you don't need seating for 7 or to go off road or to haul 1500lbs of gravel or to drag-race on weekends, the Prius is for you.

I have a friend with a 1970 Mustang that's been restored beautifully. It looks fantastic. It sounds fantastic. It's a sexy, fun car.

But you know what? The steering is loose as hell. It has no air conditioning. There is virtually no legroom in the back. It burns about a quart of oil every 50 miles. It doesn't have cruise control. And it gets 12MPG.

Both my car and his were around $14,000. It's not my job to tell people what to want, and I can completely understand the desirability of a classic car like the Mustang. But I'm going to pick the car with air-conditioning. I'm going to pick the car that's safer. I'm going to pick the car that's easier to drive, easier to park, has more useful room, requires less maintenance, and gets way better MPG.

 

A real hairdresser's car if I ever saw one

 

Well, I got a II, so I may be biased. But you do save thousands over models that have significant (to me) add-ons. The NAV sux, bluetooth can be problematic, so why bother paying hundreds or thousands more? You can always add a radio with NAV, bluetooth, etc., which will be miles better than the factory options, for less.

But drive the package you think you'll buy - the ones with low profile tires will drive differently, so consider that.

 

You are smack dab in the middle of the social bell curve and threatening to push the envelope which people perceive as dragging them with you (if he can do it, and he is still "an OK Joe" then I can too). Here in dc it is just a popular car and we have a strange bell curve, so no one thinks anything of it. But no matter that, it is still a heck of a car.

 

Coach, I see a lot of "over-thinking" on this Prius purchase. My feedback is I think you should buy one now - but then again that may the wrong advice for you, and you shouldn't make this decision on what I or anyone else thinks. If you need a new vehicle, the Prius is the perfect replacement for what you have. BTW, did you go through this process when you bought your Frontier? I sense a bit of hesitancy in letting go of your truck with it's macho image, since the Prius is anything but. Let's face it, it's a cute car that captures people's attention and I find they sort of marvel at it, asking lots of questions, etc. Buying a Prius is not going to be a life changing event. It seems you want one, then you don't because you can get a better one later, but you don't even know if you'll like driving it yet. I personally decided to buy one because it just plain made a whole lot of sense for me to do it. It drives much different than my previous car, an Accord V6, which drove faster and more athetic than my Prius. I drive differently now and consider it as an efficient vehicle that gets me from one place to the next. What's motivating you to want one? Only do it if it makes sense for you (and your wife/family too as they have to live with your decision even though they may think you're nuts for a short time). From what I've seen, a 2012 PHV, while really cool, is not going to save you much over a regular Prius when the additional premium pricing is factored in. You've had a lot of good feedback here. Now go forth and decide, or not, to buy one!

 

coach81, leather was the break point for me. I did not want leather but I did want some of the other options available on the III, IV, or V . You "can" get a III without leather and some of the other packages but those vehicles are harder to find. I wound up getting a II with cloth and no nav. I originally wanted the nav but now I'm glad I didn't pay the extra $1,500 to get it. I like my Garmin nuvi better and it can be moved between vehicles. Unless you're going to order you'll probably be forced to choose what's on the lot or closely avaliable. Demand was high and availability was limited back when I got mine and my choices were narrowed greatly since I couldn't wait on an order. I nave no regrets in my choice. Good luck.

 

I got really lucky and found a III in my #1 color choice, with only Bluetooth (a requirement for me) and mats added. No leather, which I wouldn't have minded but really couldn't afford anyway.

 

If you get one, make sure it has Cruise Control, that seems to be the one option people seem to think it has for all models, it isn't, I think you need to at least go for one model up to get it.

 

I have a BASE model II. Zero Options.

It has a Cruise Control.

There's a 'I' out there that's a fleet-only model, which is interesting, since my Prius is a fleet vehicle! (I guess I got that one by the bean-counters!!!)

The 'I' is like a unicorn. I hear about them, and think I know what they look like, but I've never actually seen one.

 

Now is the best time to get the Prius, with the gas price on the rise. If you wait for PHV Prius, you may not find a great deal like now.

A bird in the hand is woth more than two in the bush.

 

I agree, now is the best time to buy, 0% financing or $1000 cash back could make a difference in what model you get, plus dealers needing to sell before the end of the year.