Taking my Gen 4 for granted

We allow non-Prius and former Prius owners here too.

Some of the most helpful users are former Prius owners.

Enjoy your new ride. Please update your profile here when you get a chance. We are easily confused

 

We'll be as sorry to see you go as you are to leave Prius Chat, but I'm glad that I personally enjoyed your advice, company and generosity @raspy.

Like @Prodigyplace says, there will always be a welcome for you here and any input you would like to share with this forum. All the best to next time.

 

Yeah, we'll miss you and your gems of knowledge, good luck with the Merc, I hope it serves you as well as the Prius did (except the knee bit of course ). Personally I'd have looked into getting some better seats made for the Prius, I love mine so much.

 

Interesting concept - back in the '60s and '70s I knew a few people who did car-seat swaps. One I knew put VOLVO front seats from a wreck into his Holden (GM Australia) - but they clashed colour-wise with the standard back seats. And others put buckets in where there was a bench seat originally. In the '80s and '90s, I knew a few who put in RECARO or similar seats, or an Escort which had a pair from the sports model.

But today, with compliance requirements it's probably not as easy to just swap - but firms like RECARO sell specialist seats - like for when you go racing in a PRIUS.

There was a thread last year:
4th gen Prius aftermarket seats 4 broken tail bone comfort? | PriusChat

 

I remember that too, it was pretty common for people to put in Recaro seats. I think you're right with the seat belt sensors and passenger weight sensor and now that power seats are more common it's not really feasible anymore. Too bad because the seat is so critical to comfort and fatigue. I can understand that car makers have to keep costs and weight down and also they have the challenge of designing a one-size-fits-all seat, just too bad there aren't relatively affordable options for someone who needs it.

 

I am in the same boat, having learned an expensive lesson too.

I traded in my 2016 Prius Two for a new, loaded Mazda 3 2018 touring hatchback. For reasons now unbeknownst to me. I disliked not having a Blind Spot Monitor, safety features that became standard with the 2017.5 release (thanks @Prodigyplace ) after I bought my Prius, etc. Not to mention, that like the OP, one tends to take the Prius for granted. Really, one knows not what one has till it’s gone. Anyway, the Mazda was a pleasure to drive for the first five days. Good power, and no split rear + all the new safety features.

And then I had to go to the gas station to fill up. And then again in another week and a half. It made me seethe with anger, because I used to go once a month to fill up my Prius. Also, I noticed I was becoming a “bro” driver, speeding without a care in the world. Ugh, so not me. The car’s noisy interior, loads of road noise, small size and the limited trunk space was a concern. The media head-unit and Nav was abysmal, and the horrid yellow halogens drove me nutsie. I was NOT happy.

But the story has a happy, albeit expensive ending. I saw an advert for a 2018 Prius Three for nearly 6,500 off MSRP, and one thing led to another, and with a decent (not great) trade in for my Mazda 3, I am back in a Prius. Now with EVERYTHING I had wanted in a car. Oh baby how I have missed driving thee.

Lesson learned. And a cautionary tale for all who may follow.

 

As a matter of interest - what MPG did the MAZDA achieve?

 

Congrats!.

Minor correction: BSM was added as standard halfway through 2017. I have an earlier one without it.

 

Um :\ 23MPG in my stop and go South FL traffic. Drove me , especially since my Prius Two got me 56-58. And then the gas prices started to rise.

 

I stand corrected - I looked at adding those to my Prius Two (2016), but I am not very handy, and there aren't as many options. SO, I empathize for I felt the same way.

 

That was one safety feature I am missing I thought could be useful but the price between the Trim Two & Three (spare required) was not worth the possible benefit.

 

Don't do it Alan

 

Walking the dog this morning, I was seeing the usual dismaying parade of CUV, SUV, truck and mini-van, with a very occasional hatchback or sedan thrown in. Do the automanufacturers put out a hybrid or two as a "compliance" vehicle, and then they're free to go to pot: pushing the gas guzzling CUV/SUV's that are so prevalent?

 

Basically if you sell 10 vehicles average their tested EPA economies and you get a number. If it is below the EPA number for that year, you pay a fine. If it is above (better), no fine.

But you can artificial raise your average number many ways. For example if you sell an electric vehicle, you get credit because it is so much cleaner, you can count it much more than its actual average allowing you to sell more super dirty vehicles. But there are also lots of strange things (loopholes) like if you use the proper AC refrigerant you can increase the cars mpg's for this calculated number even though on the road it doesn't. It is more of an incentive to do certain things and the scoring system is fleet mpg.

Now there are compliance vehicles thanks to progressive states such as California and "CARB". Basically saying if you sell 60k or more vehicles a year in the state (all the major players) thou shalt sell a pure electric vehicle as well, and it must be 3% of your total sales in the state. If it is not, then you will not be able to sell ANY vehicles in the state or pay a huge fine to offset that. Hence the term "compliance vehicle" because the stupid cars like the FitEV were only sold in CA just so that Honda could keep selling Accords in a few years. Nissan and Tesla were really the only ones who didn't do "compliance cars" but there is no doubt that this is what fueled Nissan's push.

What is a direct relationship between cheating taxes and SUVs is the gas guzzler tax. In addition to bypassing safety rules and all that since they are trucks and not passenger vehicles, SUVs and trucks and vans are exempt from the gas guzzler tax which is between $1k and $8k on the purchase of the vehicle. If you buy a Hummer, no tax. If you buy a BMW M6, taxed even though the M6 gets double the mileage as the exempt SUV.

 

No, I won't. It was my sneaky way to update my spreadsheet.

Before I bought PRIUS, I did up a spreadsheet which worked out the cost of running several "logical" opponents. And, had to guess what the REAL fuel economy was. When I saw @timdafweak actually bought a MAZ3, I slotted his 23MPG (10.2 l/100) in my spreadsheet instead of my "guess" of 8.2 auto (or 7.8 manual) for a MAZDA 3 or FORD FOCUS (the FOCUS was by far the better car to drive). I'd already upgraded the PRIUS from my initial guess of 3.8 to my real 4.1.

But - it just made it look more advantageous to buy a PRIUS over (top-spec) FOCUS/MAZ3. Over 3yrs/55,000k it now reads:

• PRIUS - $37,766
• FOCUS/MAZ3 -$50,362

Over 5yr/80,000km:

• PRIUS - $49,664
• FOCUS/MAZ3 -$64,991

Finance wasn't the ONLY criterion - I had a handwritten PRO/CON list as well, which included issues like equipment, warranty length, "heart" reasons (like fun to drive) etc.

 

With gas prices over $3 people are going to start feeling the bite out of their wallet. I am amazed when I fuel up at the big numbers that were left on the gas pump after a big SUV or truck filled up.
I am still amazed at people who still know nothing about hybrids and EV's. A lot of them are old school and aren't going to change.

 

Agree - I was reading "letters to the editor" the other day complaining about how much it was costing to fuel up. Several talked about $$ figures which would fill my PRIUS 2½ times. I assume they're driving a massive SUV or truck. I reckon - your choice - you pay the $$$.