Prius ranks at top of Consumer Reports survey

My figures to date are pretty darn close to the EPA combined, and I could do better with more effort. As another poster says, this is Vermont. It's cold, we have Hills. But I have to commend Toyota, as a Ford owner did. Toyotas in general are pretty close to EPA combined, while Ford's are just not even close. Their ICE-only cars aren't close either.

My drive is a triple whammy now, cold, hilly, and interstate. But I'm at 40 mpg on the current tank so far. If memory serves me, my actual calculated mileage is about 1.5 less than the computer says.

 

Regarding Toyota's "fun factor"; nobody that has done their research purchases a Toyota with the expectation that it will be hotrod. Toyota knows their customer, and they know the people that buy reliable and fuel efficient vehicles use them as an appliance to get them from where they are, to where they want to go.

Let's get serious here, how many of us take our commuter car out onto the race track? Never have I had the need on a public road to exceed 100mph, late-brake some other driver before a corner, or beat everyone else off of the line.

Fun is a subjective matter. When I read these posts about people saying one economical sedan is fun to drive, while another is not, I just don't get it. To me, there is very little distinction in the "fun" department between any grocery getting sedan. If people want to have fun, all they have to do is spend $3,000 on a motorcycle. There isn't a car more fun to drive than that.

For me, I like to keep my toys and tools seperate. When I want to have fun, I grab my toy. When I need to get somewhere reliably and affordably, I go for my tool.

 

Never mind ....

REV

 

But remember, the Camry SE is "Grounded to the ground."

 

I've had years of "fun" cars, working on the darned things all the time so I could have more "fun". Now I can have "fun" by just driving the darned thing and not have to crawl under it every weekend.

 

Did the dealer call you back yet?

 

Nope.

No big deal ... It was my Deal or no deal as far as I was concerned.

The Prius is fine for awhile longer.

REV

 

if i had to generalize about 'fun' driving, i would have to say the award goes to vdub drivers. thier idea of 'fun' on the road is to goose it from the stop, slam the brakes on, weave in and out of traffic all over the highway and ride everyone's bumper. thier idea of 'fun' has no regard for anyone's safety, much less thier own. and it is encourged by vdub's marketing strategy.

 

My "fun" with the VWs was finding what the latest thing was that broke, leaked or fell off.

 

it's like owning a boat. half the fun is spending quality time with your friends working on them.

 

Sounds like my old Triumph TR7

 

Everyone has their own "definition" of the word fun when it comes to these things (cars, motorcycles, etc.). I find the Prius to be a lot of fun to drive as it offers a driving experience unlike many other. Unconventional even (buttons to make the car go even slower!), but I like it.

(I'm an avid motorcyclist and my last car was an Audi S4)

 

my Honda hybrid is fun; it's a stick shift.

. Nobody will hear what you're saying but instead will just label you "hole" or "troll" or other insult. But I hear you. And agree

I'm adding a used Prius to my collection for the novelty, but my next New car will be a nonhybrid (like your Mazda3). I'm thinking Ford Fiesta which has the same quality as the Prius (hard plastics, etc) but for only 14,000. Or possibly a bigger Focus for 16k. And still get 40mpg (I'm a hypermiler).

It

It always amuses me when people talk "high resale value" as I'd it's some great benefit. You just told me how much you love your car, but you're already thinking ahead to sell it?!?!?
Hmmm.
When I love a car I keep it until it literally stops moving. .

 

I agree 100% with Eldobro.
And as far as high resale value:
I bought a 08 touring 10 mo. ago for 10800$ The blue book at that time was 12800$ the best trade in I can get with only 6-k additional miles is 7600$ And that is from 3 different dealers. A loss of 3200$ in 10 mo.??? NOT very good resale value as I can see !!!!( no damage or unusual wear )And this 08 was only getting 25-30 mpg when it wasn't snowing because it had to parked because of traction issues! And all max. mileage driving techniques were used.
My 2010 3 is getting 45 avg with the same routes and driving.

 

Yeah, it was fun and amusing for a few years ... You'll see what I mean in a few years. When I first got it I was singing the same tune. You'll quickly miss the quality of materials and ride and be longing for that Audi feel again in time.

Mileage is great, agreed, but you can come very close these days mpg wise and have a far nicer, far better performing car ... For far less money ... Which in the case of the Mazda 3 .... Will buy you fuel for 10 years or so.. The trade off of 8 mpg or so I've come to believe is probably worth it, at least in the case of the always well reviewed Mazda 3.

Regarding resale value ... What a joke ... Its worse for the Prius than for other non hybrid cars, simply because the demand is so low, the initial price is so high, the factory incentives are huge, and the financing deals with today's interest rates make buying almost any late model used car a losing proposition. You can pretty much buy new for around the same cost. The Prius hybrid price premium is becoming too large to justify just on the basis of mpg alone, which used to work in extreme situations .... For the car you get.

Don't get me wrong ... I still like my Prius, but I've been rethinking the whole hybrid thing recently, especially due to the spartan interior and squeaks and rattles ... And being able to drive the wife's Mazda 3 occasionally ... And STILL get 36-37 mpg.

REV

 

Nah.....this is our second Prius....and the car I drove before the first one? An Audi RS4......i know what they (Prius) are, and what they are not. I have a few motorcycles and a sports car in the garage if i want to have fun via other vehicle types.

As for the demand being low? Maybe such is the case in your market, but when i went to sell the last Prius we had, i had a long, long list of buyers to choose from. Again, your mileage may vary.

 

my first car was Hyundai Accent manual transmission 1996 with 1600CC SOHC, bought used one with 32 MPG average, and sold in 2001.

getting 36-37MPG is ok for current technology .
getting 35MPG already common many years ago. we are just fed up by ads that magically tell our brain with "WoW 35-39MPG is away better that before" .

on my future prediction:
1) Hybrid will achieve better MPG than regular gas car when we do comparison among cars with the same size and utility.
2) EV would be selling better where the battery/motor can get many hundred miles with one charge. additionally, the Price would down to low threshold.

on my next car after 12 years(my goal) would be EV.

on Prius:
I can get 55-57 on MFD ( 51-54 MPG calculated manually) during fall season.
winter time is low 49-53 MPG on MFD.

 

on mine,
I sell the car before stop moving where I can get better sale value than a dead car .
you will know when the car will start to stop moving, if you maintain mostly by yourself

 

Revhigh, am I missing something in your logic? First, I think you're saying that a Prius doesn't have good resale value (being "a joke" with low demand), and then you say that you can buy a new Prius for about the same price as a late-model used Prius. That would be, I believe, the definition of good resale value.

Why can't I quote the normal way? I tried Reply, but I didn't get any of the text quoted.

 

looks okay from here. are you on a phone or tab?