HELP..suggestion to buy gen II or III, used or new

I am the proud owner of a Prius 2011. I wish I was the proud owner of a Camry Hybrid 2011 instead.
The very reasons in your post- harsh ride and noise are why I think I made a mistake. The rattles are, I think, caused by overinflating the tires to gain even better mileage. I tried that and the lrattles came, lowered to tire preassure to near normal and the rattles went away.
I did get a good car, the 2nd best I could have gotten for my money. Hope this helps.

 

This is a tough time to buy a used Prius, as gas prices are near an all time high. The new Prius c may well be cheaper than used.

Back 2009 I figured 5.5 year 'payback' at $2.50 gas, but we did not keep $2.50 gas. You can figure payback today, but I won't bet money on having today's price in 3 years.

Here is my 'who should not own a Prius' post gear mainly at the Gen 2 (2004 to 2009) Gen 2 may rattle less than the Gen 3 liftback, but check the seats, some folks disliked them.

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/94450-considering-prius.html#post1334003

 

I bought used and saved around 4 to 5K compared to new. It only had 10,500 miles on it in excellent condition. Was able to swap my 07 Tacoma as an even trade. I'm sure they made money on my truck but they also gave me more than what I paid for it to begin with. So I'm still happy that I don't have a car payment and I can enjoy saving money at the pump.

 

I have a 2012 Plug In Advanced and the ride quality is as nice as the wifes IS 250. Doesn't corner as well, but the ride quality is the same.

No rattles at all. Extremely happy with the car. It does have a very different feel from my friends 2005.

 

I was driving a Subaru Forester to hold all my work equipment, 24 MPG. During my test drive will all my networking stuff in back of the Prius I got 42 MPG, so those were my numbers. I drive 30,000 miles a year. (and in practice, even with my Prius loaded to the gills, I get 46 MPG average http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...1348787722119_1304125006_985752_4829746_n.jpg Other folks try to match equivalent seating, I needed equivalent cargo room to an SUV, if they had offered a Prius v in 2009, I would have been all over that)


Yes, in Gen 3 they tried to use more ecologically friendly plastics, but some folks found them more rattle prone. (this may be fixed in 2012)

 

Over inflating the tires (past the recommended pressures on the B-pillar sticker) will increase rattles, but even at the recommended pressures, my experience is that this is the noisiest car I've owned (and this perspective is shared by many, as a search of this forum will substantiate).

And your calculation of the break even for the hybrid premium is consistent with mine.

So why did I buy a Prius?

Not to save money.

Not for a luxury car.

Primarily for ecological reasons. I've been fortunate enough to drive more than my share of sports and luxury cars, but I decided my priorities changed and got a Prius. Haven't regretted it for one minute.

 

Like most hatchbacks, a Prius is a bit noisy- a hybrid sedan ( like a camry hybrid or a hyndai sonata hybrid ) would be a quieter and more plushier riding than a Prius regardless of whethe it is a genII or genIII.

A used hybrid would be cheaper than a new hybrid. The prices for a used hybrid go up with gas prices and go down with gas prices ( or when there is a scary affair going on like the "runaway toyota" affair).

I wanted to learn how to hypermile - my research pointed to either a Prius or an Insight, but I selected a Prius over an Insight because I was impressed by the Prius's large supportive community. I knew that having a large supportive community is a significant factor in how easy it would be for me to learn about hybrid technology and how to hypermile. I actually rented a genII twice to learn how to drive a hybrid and I clocked about 2000 miles on a genII before buying a gen III. I selected a genIII because it is the better highway car. The genII does have its advantages though; For example, for day to day shopping trips, a genII with a Coolant Heat Storage(CHS) system can be more fuel efficient than a genIII during the winter when doing series of short trip within an hour apart of each other.

For expert hypermilers, the genIII with its Eco mode is can be somewhat a challenge. A genIII has a very proactive on board computer which managing fuel consumption when set to the Eco Mode - this mode helps non hypermilers get high MPGs - but comes at a price of irritating expert hypermilers who can do even better. The genII onboard computer is less proactive at controlling the throttle but it is harder for nonhypermilers to get high MPGs while easier to for expert hypermilers to optimize for very high MPGs.

If you are a DIY car mechanic - the genII is more like a real car and more accessible than a genIII. The genII tech manuals are like a regular car's but a genIII tech manuals is more like an online encyclopedia.

If you live in a hilly area, a genIII needs to be in normal or power mode to go moderate uphill grades. If you are doing a genIII test drive in the SF bay area then I suggest you set the Prius to power mode first....

 

My 2010 does not have a rattle issue (thankfully). I came from a 1989 Integra, which was very rattley....but that is to be expected in a 21 year old car.

Certainly, you should test drive a Prius, maybe rent one for a couple of days to see how you do on your commute with it. My brother did that for a couple of days and saw about 45 mpg for his commute (lots of short trips around town). He opted to buy a Chevy Cruze Eco. His MPG's for it are about 35.

I do a lot of highway driving, but I do keep my speeds down. The beauty of this car is that if you do hit pockets of slow and go, your mileage goes up, rather than down. My lifetime MPG is nearly 60, and I've been averaging 65 mpg for this month due to warmer weather. (my daily commute is about 70 miles).

Don't get too hung up on "pay back" periods. To date, no one has told me the payback period for my leather seats or ceramic window tint, but I got them because I liked the feel and comfort of the seats and the cooling effect inside the car in regards to the tint. You may pay more up front for a Prius than a Fit, but maintenance is less on a Prius (no 30k, 60k or 90k major services, regenerative braking greatly extends the life of brake pads, no belts to replace, etc). The Prius seats 4 adults comfortably and will still have nice storage space. The ride should be more comfortable in a Prius too.

I do like the camry hybrid, although I've not driven one. I would not be surprised to find out that it is more comfortable than a Prius. I opted for a Prius over a Camry because I wouldn't have been satisfied with 40 mpg in the Camry, when I could potentially get 60 mpg in the Prius.

It looks like Honda Fit drivers get ~33 mpg while a Prius driver gets ~47 mpg (source is www.fuelly.com). Let's assume if you drove the Fit you'd get 35 mpg and the Prius you'd get 50 mpg. If you drive 700 miles per week (125 miles per day x 5 days + 75 on weekends) you'd drive about 35,000 per year. This would be about 1000 gallons for the Fit and 700 gallons of gas for the Prius. 300 gallons at $4 per gallon (estimated price) = $1200 in gas savings alone. Toss in a 15k service and a 30k service with the Honda Fit (Prius only has oil changes) and you should save about another $200 or so. So, roughly, $1400 per year on gas and service. This doesn't take into account belt replacement (including the timing belt) or brake lifetime.

 

Yep.

The Gen 3 is an overall superior car. There are a lot of new features, toys and improvements on the Gen 3 Prius over the Gen 2. See posts by me, Tideland and evpv at Prius versions just for the Gen 3 improvements.

+1 on the Prius c. If the OP is willing to consider something as small as a Fit, then the Prius c should be on the list. I'd got for a Prius c model 2, at minimum since the model 1 doesn't have cruise control.

I haven't driven a Gen 3 for very long but I can safely say that the Gen 2 doesn't have the smoothest ride. The ride is comparable to an econobox like a Corolla. It's definitely a step back in ride from my 02 Maxima, which had a very smooth ride (maybe too soft).

You can hypermile any car.

As for speed vs mpg, see http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...1-consumer-reports-mph-vs-mpg.html#post954643. NHW20 is Gen 2. ZVW30 is Gen 3. Why is it a problem even if you dropped to 45 mpg? What currently sold vehicles beside the Prius would get better mileage at the same speed?

Please read http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-c-fuel-economy/109256-low-mpgs-new-prius-c.html#post1558473 and do some gallonage calculations like the ones I did there. Consumer Reports tests speed vs MPG & comes to false conclusion about Honda Insight 2 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com and http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...hy-drop-in-fuel-efficiency-6.html#post1378284 makes the same point.

OP should also look at http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...-fuel-economy/best-and-worst-fuel-economy.htm and http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/02/the-most-fuel-efficient-cars/index.htm.

 

Gen 3 new! It is the best car ever made by anyone. 62.3 MPG going to work everyday with no AC running and the right window down 2" 42PSI. Get the 15" tires!

Shop around as I was able to get a huge discount at Autoway/Autonation with Big/Little John. With gas prices droping and production up things will get better for shoping.

Man I love my two babies!

 

The blue line is what the computer showed, the green line is actual. (the 2010-2011 liftback had significant computer error)

 

I do hypermile. But then again, I tend not to think of it as hypermiling as much as driving efficiently. Slowing down on the freeway is the biggest difference you can make. If you drive 75 mph on the freeway, you will likely get 40 - 45 mpg (Jimbo's graph shows this is possible). If you can convince yourself that driving at a max speed of 70 mph is acceptable, you will see a nice little bump in MPG's compared to 75 mph. After doing that for awhile, see if you can keep your top speed to 68 mph. Eventually work down to 65 mph. (Baby steps)

I likely could get very good mileage in a new Camry (I might be able to nurse it to the mid 40's to nearly 50 mpg).....but I can get 60 in a Prius! I opted not to get a package 5 because with my longish highway commute, having the 15" tires would give a more comfortable ride, get better MPG's, and be much less expensive to replace than the 17" tires. Still, I lament my choice, I like the 5's rims, the LED headlights and quick ratio steering. I made a sensible choice, my head is with my 4.......but my heart is with a 5.

 

Touchscreen became standard on Priuses again starting w/'12. On the '10-'11, you needed to buy nav to get a touchscreen. http://web.archive.org/web/20090609.../toyota-announces-prices-for-2010-89249.aspx? should help w/the model matrix, if consider a '10 or '11. Ignore the prices. They're old.

http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf describes CR's tests vs. the old EPA method. Again, you can see their results at http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/02/the-most-fuel-efficient-cars/index.htm and http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...-fuel-economy/best-and-worst-fuel-economy.htm. Their highway test is conducted at 65 mph.

I suspect that at given speed above 70 mph, the Prius' FE will still be better than the HyCam.

Why so hung up on mpg? Did you read my posts earlier on gallonage? If you want to save gas on any car at highways speeds, regardless of it being hybrid or not, you're going to get better mileage by slowing down.

(If you want to learn about the EPA tests, see http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...uth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates.html. You'll notice that the highest average speed of any of the test cycle is 48.4 mph but they don't drive on a real road, don't measure actual fuel consumption and they adjust the numbers downward anyway, before putting them on the Monroney sticker.)