wife doesn't like prius

Take her for a test drive in a Toyota Camry Hybrid then. It has amenities galore, is much roomier and quieter inside than the Prius, and can easily get 35mpg city, 40mpg hwy.

There will not be a new Prius in 2008, just a mildly face-lifted version of the current model. Expect the Gen III Prius around May-Sept. '09 as a '10 model.

 

I'm a bit perplexed. She has the car that she likes to drive and it doesn't seem that you purchasing this car will impact what she drives. The financial aspect may impact her. Maybe she likes the looks of the Maxima. But, in the end, this is the car you are going to drive. Shouldn't you get what you want?

Take a look at Edmunds.com (or other such site) and take a look at things like leg room, head room, shoulder room and compare to your Maxima and a Corolla. I suspect the interior room is a lot closer to the Maxima than a Corolla (basically, this car is about the same size inside as a Camry).

I like the look of the Camry (and the Altima hybrid even more) BUT I'm big into fuel economy. The Prius can fit 4 full sized adults quite easily (with plenty of legroom in the back) and get 50+ mpg while doing it. I don't want to get 35 mpg when I can get 50 mpg. But that's just me (and, I suspect, you too since you have already figured out the $$$ saved from fuel expenses btw is that comparing premium with regular unleaded too?).

One last thought. Do you honestly believe we'll ever see low fuel prices again. I think in CA that $3 per gallon is here to stay, and don't be too suprised when it starts its 2008 creep up to $4.

Get your Prius!

 

A good friend of mine was in a simular situation. The older Maxima was her's. He was getting the Prius for himself. She didn't really understand why the appeal of the hybrid was. But being friends with me, it just was dismissed as one of those "guy" things. So, he managed to get it.

That didn't last long. One woman's night out in the new car wrecked that. Now she drives the Prius and he's stuck the Maxima.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

She either wasn't in a Prius, or hasn't been in a Corolla. This is the size comparison that people make when they haven't been in one or the other.

Ah, and then there's the power. More power is fun I guess. But the years of using it or even wanting it are long behind me. The Prius easily has 2x more power than I need for everything I do with it.

My advice? Go buy the Prius for yourself and make your wife ride a bicycle. But then you and I probably have different relationships with our wives.

 

former 02 Maxima owner

Can't offer too much helpful advice, but I too had a 5th gen Maxima like you (02 model). It loved it as well and was really sad to see it go.

The tremendous power of the engine (MORE than enough to get in a lot of trouble) along w/its quietness compared to the Prius, much smoother ride, and nicer interior were things I liked. To me, the Mazda "zoom zoom zoom" slogan should've been applied to Nissans w/the 3.5L VQ V6. On my commute w/the Max, I got ~23-25 mpg via manual calculations (not the 1-3 mpg too high trip computer).

IMHO, the rear visibility of the Prius is fine and the smaller size are ok w/me. My Maxima (GXE) to me felt a little big and almost boat-like in handling. I prefer the handling of the Prius but it's no sports car.

I was in the same boat about not being able to recoup costs. I ran some #s and found it was impossible to makeup for the depreciation hit of selling the Max w/the better fuel economy of the Prius but it was still ok w/me.

Some of the folks on this board should try out a Maxima or Altima w/the above engine... you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

Trade in wife.

 

That's just too funny judy!!!

I'm just wondering why she "needs" an SUV to drive anyway? If that's her car, doesn't that mean she is usually the only person in that SUV? Hence the essence of the american mentality on wastefulness.

If $$ is not a real consideration for you guys, tell her the family is going green and you buy the Prius, and have her look at either the Camry Hybrid or is she "must" have the SUV, theres the Highlander Hybrid, which I think has more room inside than her current model. Then you'll be saving about $1000 per vehicle on gas, and I'll bet after awhile she be driving the Prius more and more, so if you get stuck with hers, it'll be a hybrid too!!

Good luck!

 

Glad it was a woman saying that!

As Darell suggests, comparing it to a Corolla is apples to oranges. My fiancee has a Corolla that I drive occasionally. I drove the Prius from VA to Wisconsin and back this past summer. There are admittedly some improvements Toyota could make to seating comfort in the Prius for us long-legged folks, but I had no problem. No way I'd even consider that in my fiancee's car.

Having said that, just remember: If mama's not happy, nobody's happy.

 

If she likes the Maxima so much, sell her SUV, buy the Prius, and give the Maxima to her. That way everybody wins!

p.s. The "wait a few years" argument will always be valid, and hence always stand in your way. Don't think that in a few years there won't be something better around the bend... Then again, do consider what you need, vs. what you want. Do you need a new car?

 

Nissan have a hybrid too which I think is similar in size to the Maxima but the Hybrid version is only in a few markets.

 

I've been in your situation before. If finances is the main reason, then that is a different story. I don't think money is the issue here and I honestly feel that you really like to have a Prius. It took me at least a year to think about owning my first Hybrid car. This time it was a no brainer and I went ahead and got my Prius three weeks ago.

If I were you, drive what you want and start saving $'s on fuel. I work on my own cars and do a lot of major repairs over the last ten years. The Prius is not hard to maintain as long as you keep that Hybrid battery healthy all the time. I am also glad to find this forum, so help is always available.

Good Luck on your decision and hope to hear from you again.

 

I've done that already.

 

Yup, what she said.

 

Have a serious heart to heart with your wife. Explain that this is "your" car and you feel that at this stage in your life you will be happier with a car that gets extremely good gas mileage while still providing a good degree of utility (hatchback, and roomy backseat). Make sure she understands that you are not going to try to take away her Acura or force her to drive in your Prius with you if she doesn't want to. it is your commuter car, not hers. Then go get your Prius.

I traded out of a Lexus RX300 that I LOVED, it was my dream car, but once my son started driving I was paying $250/mo for his gas and $250/mo for my gas. His suv is paid for, mine was not. Guess which one got the boot? But my dh was really good about it, other than a comment about how I "like new cars every 4 years", he said "if you can save some money on gas and keep the car payment the same, go for it, get whichever one you want". At first I wanted the Camry because it has more creature features, but ended up going with Prius for best gas mileage (and I really like hatchbacks). Basically my hubby said it was my car and I should have what I want. The only time he chimed in was if I pointed to a color that he thought was really bad. While I still miss many of amenities of the Lexus, I have not once regretted my decision.

As for waiting, you will just lose the 2-3 years of gas savings by waiting. If they come out with something much better in 2010, then wait a year for them to get the bugs out and trade your Prius in in 2011 for the latest and greatest.

Go for it!
Fernsmom

 

John
I seriously would not get an 04-05 unless you got a great deal. The new ones have side air bags standard. I got mine at Fairfield Toyota and was offered a very fair price on a pkg 4 ($23,471 +TTL). They seem to hold their value so well that if you plan to keep it for a long time you might as well buy new because you won't save that much $.

Good Luck with your decision. Maybe try shopping on Dec 31 or maybe even Christmas eve (the dealers ought to be dead empty then!).

Fernsmom

 

Has she been in the back seat of Prius? Have you shown her the space when you fold down the back seats? I can't believe she thinks Prius is Corolla size.

My bro-in-law has 2003 Maxima too. I've made trips because things couldn't fit in the Maxima.

For example:

 

What size are those mattresses? Twin? Full? Queen?

 

Short answer: No. Not easily.

Long(er) answer: In theory it's possible, but it'll will require a fair amount of work. You'd have to figure out how to get a video signal into the MFD (the CAN-VIEW folks may have done this successfully, and I think that maybe Coastal has a product that will do this). After that, of course, you have to figure out a way to trigger the display to show the camera. All of this is probably possible, but it would cost a fair amount of money and take a while to get working right.

Since you're concerned about safety (well, everyone is, but you specifically mentioned it), I'll just say that you should definitely get a car with side airbags and probably get a car with VSC. For these two reasons, you may be better off getting a later-model car; in the '04 and '05 the VSC (and, to a lesser extent, the side airbags) only came in the higher package models. That, combined with the typical low depreciation of the Prius (i.e. used cars cost a large fraction of the new-car price) suggests that buying a new car is nearly as good as buying a used car.