After a lot of thought and apprehension, I decided to give up my Nissan Frontier pickup truck and buy a 2011 Prius. I am starting to like the car a lot, and look forward to hearing and learning more from these forums. I am concerned about winter driving. I've been told the Prius will probably handle the snow better than my pick up truck. That remains to be seen. It took me a LONG time to hand over my keys. Being a truck driver for so many years, I loved my pick up truck. But after spending anywhere from $150.00 to $200.00 per month in gas, I decided enough is enough. So, fellow Prius owners, I'm ready to learn and enjoy my driving experience. I am already finding out that I am averaging approximately 58 mpg. I am learning how to manipulate the driving between gas and using battery. I think that part alone is fun. I really don't care if other drivers are annoyed because I am traveling at the exact speed limit. But when I am watching my fuel mileage approach close to 62 mpg, I figure I am the one who will have the last laugh. So that is it for now.
congrats and welcome! great move, sounds like you've already got a good handle on things. you'll learn a lot here. all the best!
Dang, you're gonner miss haulin' six bales 'o hay at a time, moving the furniture of your buddies, saving on 25$ delivery charge from Home Depot for 12 sheets of 4x8 sheetrock, being able to haul a skidoo...
Welcome! I gave up my Tacoma Quad Cab for my Prius 2 years ago and never looked back. Keep in mind that many find a 5% or so overstatement of mpg on the readout compared to that calculated at the pump. Even so, great start on your mpg. Stay out of the battery to max mpgs. See the links in my sig.
Once you are used to driving a vehicle that gets 50mpg you will never consider anything less efficient. Oil is only going to get more and more expensive.
As far as handling snow, on one hand, any fwd car will beat a rwd pickup for traction. On the other hand, the Prius has far less clearance to deal with deep stuff, especially when re-frozen into ice. The plastic panels underneath will not hold up to deep mud/snow.
Keep friends with your truck buddies, about every 3 to 4 years you will actually need a truck for a day.
Tires are a huge element to this. OEM 'All Season' tires start as a compromise, and usually degrade to '3 Season' tires fairly quickly. If you find winter handling inadequate, look first at the tires, and consider getting real winter models.
Unless they have this: http://r2.sgsr.us/imgs/250/zbs844.gif in which case you're shit out of luck. Fortunately your gas savings easily help you pay for a U-Haul truck for a day.
I hear ya, man. I gave up an [ame="http://www.youtube.com/user/F8L?feature=mhee#p/u/19/WemIP65BEOc"]800hp GMC Sierra[/ame] for my Prius. Sometimes I miss the truck when I need to go offroad at work but I love the Prius and don't regret the sale. Welcome to the forum and thank you for purchasing your new car. We all benefit from it.
Stay with the force, Luke...don't listen to the dark side.... (You know, F8L, you could easily carry a mountain bike in the back of your Prius, and it would go places a 4x4 could only dream of..... )
Welcome Delaware! :welcome: Welcome to the many here who gave of land barges, for "not so big" We dumped 2 4x4's. ... a Range Rover, and a Ford Exploader. The epa between the 2 was about 16mpg. I'm so embarrassed.
You will be getting your last laugh even sooner, because gas money isn't the only thing you will be saving. Your Nissan Frontier needs the brake pads replaced every 15K-20K miles depending on your driving habits / conditions, plus rotor servicing at longer intervals. The Prius needs no brake job until way past 100K miles. Your Frontier also has the differentials that need 20K-mile lubing, plus tranny and transfer case fluid changes. While Toyota says the Prius transaxle fluid is good for the life of the car, Priuschatters consensus is a 60K-mile transaxle fluid drain-and-refill. Prius also has no timing belt, starter motor, or alternator to go bad and need replacement unlike your old Frontier. So you are not only saving gas money with your new Prius, but on maintenance too. Win-win! :rockon:
I'm too gimpy to power a mountain bike. I was thinking of buying a pocket quad to use at work. It would fit in the back of the GF's Rav4.
I live south of the canal, about 10 miles west of Dover, close to the MD state line. I may invest in a good set of all season tires with a high rating for snow.
You bring up great points!! More reasons to love the Prius. The more I drive this car, the more I am liking it. And you are right, I will have the last laugh. I have a lot of my friends laughing at me for buying this car. What's funny is that when no one is around they come up to me and whisper, "Hey, do you really get good gas mileage?". I just walk away and chuckle.
I went a different way. Just kept the bubba truck and bought the Prius. It was paid for and it still comes in handy when needed. The trade in would have been a pencil whip in the dealers favor anyway. But that's just me.
