Was the Prius a step up or step down from your previous car?

I went from a 1994 Ford Explorer. That was a great car in every way. Comfort, full adjustable leather seats, roomy, storage, rack on top, 4WD (though I never used it), sun roof (though I never used it), towing (though I never used it), both the heater and air conditioner could cool/heat you up in an instant, pretty good handling due to its large (but expensive) tires and suspension, cheap to keep on the road because I wasn't going to fix anything if I ran into something and insurance was only liability (Prius insurance was triple the price), I could do virtually all of the mechanical work (installed new hubs, air conditioning lines, etc.), and a whole bunch more. BUT, the Prius gets 3 times the MPG. So, I think I went a step up to the Prius. Can you guess my priorities? And I forgot to say that I drive mainly in Santa Monica where they look at you funny if you drive a large SUV all by yourself. Mike

 

yes

 

My previous car was a 2009 RAV4 limited 6 - 4WD. Great car. I made the decision to trade because of MPG and no longer a need to use 4WD. So I bought the 2013 Prius 4
Pros: better gas milage, plenty of room, love the hatch back, no loss in amenities,
Cons: acceleration, towing ability, I think a little better quality in the RAV
The dealer gave me top dollar for the RAV and i did very well on the Prius. so I moved up 4 years and should see a nice savings at the pump. in the end i think it was a step up but not a dead ringer. RAV is an awesome SUV.

 

Its a great vehicle! RAV4 6 is overpowered. I mean some say it is one of Toyota fastest. it will pin you to the seat. they don't make the 6 any more. . i think it is also one of the most reliable cars on the road. just can't go wrong.

 

Overall for me, my Prius has been a nice step up.

I moved about 2 years ago to an area that is a 50 mile one-way commute to my place of work. At the time, I was driving a 2004 Ford Explorer. After making the commute with the Explorer for a year, I decided to purchase a Prius (2007). I enjoyed the car and through my calculations, the car was paying for itself with what I was saving on fuel. I recently traded in the 2007 on a 2010 and have been very happy.

However, I miss having a sunroof and the overall feeling of "driving" something. Now, I get on the highway, set the cruise control to 65mph and "wait" and hour to get to work.

 

I swapped a 2011 Buick Regal base model for a 2010 Prius IV. The Buick was solid, handled better, was quieter, and had a better interior build quality. I definitely miss those things. But I have a 100 mi/day commute. The more loaded Prius goes a long way toward getting back some of those amenities but the gas mileage is the kicker. I was getting 27 mpg combined, I'm now able to get 52 mpg pretty reliably. Insurance was cheaper to boot.

 

definitely a step down in overall ride quality and comfort, but an upgrade in mpg, obviously. had an '02 accord coupe i traded in.

 

Had an o2 Accord, 4 cyl, manual. The Prius is definite a step up in terms of driving fun. No, not in the car-guy enthusiast sense, but in a techy, video game kinda way. The hatch is far more practical, and I love its chunky wedge look with the 17" rims. It's 3 yr old now and I still marvel at the electric sound as it pulls off. And any car whose engine does not shut off at a drive-thru seem archaic to me.

Where it lacks is in fit and finish. I hope Gen 4 improves on this.

 

Well as of this posting, I'm literally less than 14 days from my "last" vehicle.
But I'm saying "Neither" or maybe more precisely "Other".

I got my Prius, because I've long wanted a Hybrid and the efficiency a Hybrid offers.

But it's really almost an unfair comparison. Or unfair to say. I loved my Honda Fit. It was quick, agile, and had an incredibly clever and well designed interior. However it was a sub-compact, with all the advantages and disadvantages a sub-compact must have by definition.

Step up? Step down? Nah...just a different dance as a whole.

My early impression is that The Prius is just a very different driving experience. Kind of the difference between flying in a big plane...or buzzing barns in a crop duster. I had fun on some full moons buzzing around in my Honda Fit. But I would usually arrive at any destination feeling tired.

For me? The Prius believe it or not, as a mid-sized vehicle and a hybrid, seems much more relaxing to be in, and to drive. Lucky me, The seat actually seems comfortable.

I have enough residual respect for my Honda Fit that I won't say step up or step down. I've wanted a Hybrid for years. For me I really don't have the economic option of owning and operating two new vehicles, even if I could somehow justify the reasons to do so.

 

I've asked myself this question for the six months I've had the Prius (2010 IV). The gas mileage is obviously a step up from our 2001 PT Cruiser Limited Edition. Heck, even my 04 GTO does better than the PT! But in return for awesome gas mileage I've given up:

• comfortable, drive-all-day seats
• acres of cargo room (with the back seats removed)
• a low floor in back to carry my two big dogs safely. In the Prius, with the back seats down, they sit too high. With the seat up, I have to put one in the back seat and one in the trunk area.
• a roof rack mounting system about which I can feel secure. The PT had drip rails and my Yakima rack locked on around those; on the Prius it's basically just got a death grip on the roof edge.
• an interior that doesn't react to every expansion strip or piece of grit in the road
• plentiful, easily accessible cubbies and cupholders
• a simple user interface for radio, climate control, etc. I've been an IT professional for 25 years and I still have to stop and think how to do these things in the Prius, every time. (Nav interface in the PT consisted of asking my wife to look it up on a map! Come to think of it, that's what we're doing in the Prius, too... since you can't operate the Prius' nav system WHILE DRIVING!!!)

I realize now we had an SUV lifestyle (dogs, kayaks, bicycles) without the SUV, and while the Prius can still do these things, it doesn't do them as well as the PT did, nor can do it all of them at once. We thought it would work well enough, so we took the plunge, and we've tried to make it work, but six months later we see it was a mistake. The Prius has cramped our style.

In the Prius' favor, it does have better acceleration (in Power mode) and I reeeeeeally enjoyed the heated seats this winter! I also feel safer in it, with its higher crash test ratings.

The Prius was designed to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible, and then crash. It does these things well. The other things I'd hoped to do with it, it doesn't do well. So, for this forum member, overall a step down.

 

For me it was, overall, a lateral. My 2012 Prius replaced my 2004 turbo PT Cruiser. The Cruiser had way more power (I actually clocked a 14.6 1/4-mile on the dragstrip with it), but the Prius obviously gets way better gas mileage, almost 2.5X). Other than that, the PT was a roomy 4-door hatch, and so is the Prius. The PT always put a smile on my face when I drove it, and so does the Prius.

 

Came from a 01 Solara Convertible, loaded with all the options, so I consider my Prius 2 a step down, if I would have bought a 4 or a 5 I might think otherwise. One plus for the Prius, in two years and 27000 miles of driving I figure I've saved $3000 in gas cost versus the Solara. The money feels almost as good as the leather in the Solara.

 

Prius was definitely a step up. I am on my 4th Prius (just took delivery of a Black Prius Persona) and I will never NOT buy Prius again. I traded in a 2 year old Hyundai Sonata Hybrid that only got about 32-34 MPG. I mistakenly bought it because I thought it would have more room for my family (myself and 4 linebacker sized children). I hated that car, spent a lot on gas, AND my kids are telling me that Prius is more comfortable. Yes, I am a traitor, but I'm back now!

 

My prior car was a 1999 MB C230 (used). A nice car but was literally eating me out of house and home (21 MPG, required premium gas, $1K for service every 10K miles).