I'm Wanting a 2009 Prius but have a few questions - Time Sensitive

Guess I'm the first to post a reply... so I'll take a stab based on my personal experiences with my '09.

1. This is definately worth driving a Prius. Your mileage in a Prius will be double most anything else comperable in size with the exception of a diesel car - but even those have drawbacks the Prius doesn't.
2. Prius highway mileage will be a bit less than surface roads. The reason for this is below 48mph you can get the Pri into pure electric mode, but above those speeds it will run predominantly off the ICE. But don't forget, although your highway mileage will be less than surface roads, you're still getting twice the mileage of a comperable vehicle. My experience with my '09: 55 city, 47 highway.
3. When the temps here are down below 45, my Pri seems to get about 49 city. Above 45 I can get 55 city. I think this is because the colder temps make the ICE run more to keep it warmed up. Many use grill blocking methods to keep the ICE warm longer and therefore better mileage. I don't bother because it only gets down to the 30s here in the winter - and does that for a month or so.

I hope this helps you. Watch for other opinions. Mark my words: if you do buy a Pri, you will not regret it. Search this forum for tons of good information. Have fun!

 

I can relate. My 1997 Dodge was rapidly dying so after some deliberation between the 2009 Prius, 2010 Prius or a new Honda Insight, I bought the 09 Prius package #2 last month. Based on my limited experience here is my 2 cents worth...

1) My commute is very similar - about 16 miles each way, half city (35-45 mph) and half highway (50-65 mph), 5 days/wk. I drove about 460 miles on my first tank of gas and averaged about 52 mpg, I am not quite through with my second tank and my average is about 54 mpg. So I would say yes, it is absurdly a Prius worthy trek.

2) I have not taken a long highway trip yet, but the dealer is obviously trying to sell you a Mazda or a Kia. If you are only going about 50 mph then the Prius should get much better mpg than the Mazda.

3) I live in Florida so I can not weigh in on this one. From what I have read on this forum, the mileage is lower during cold weather.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Just saw your second post. I am between 6'2" and 6'3" tall and have no problem. I did rotate the rear view mirror upside down to move it further out of my vision. You really should drive one. I think you will be sold. You should also get a very good price right now.

 

:welcome:In the mornings my drive from my house to downtown San Diego is 30 miles of mostly highway and 8 blocks of city streets. On that trip at 65MPH I end with 67MPG roughly not taking into account occasional traffic or stop and go.PS this route is also slightly downhill. Then again, I live in a hilly area of the county but my average for the 17k miles I've owned the car is right around 52.
I drive 65-70 on the highway and sometimes if I drive 55 which I have done a couple nights on an empty road at 1AM with little traffic in 50 degrees my mileage is right around 70 constant.

The dealer tried to sell me a Corolla, but I knew what I wanted and stuck with my gut. Hasn't disappointed me yet. Bought March 14, 2008, currently 17k and change on it. Taken to Arizona, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and couple trips to Los Angeles and Irvine.

For what it's worth, when I lived in Arizona in 2007 when I had my Tundra, a woman hit me which caused my truck to spend 6 days in the body shop. Enterprise gave me a rental Kia Spectra to drive. Holy crap, that thing had barely enough torque to merge, and thats comparing it to my Prius, lets not even get into the Tundra's 320ft lbs.
I know you dont want this, but see if you can rent a Kia Spectra for a day or two and test it on your commute. Out here they're $19.99 a day or so.

 

I would say your commute is ideal for a Prius. The mix of highway/freeway/city streets is pure Prius material. The biggest MPG penalty in a Prius is the first 5-10 minutes in really cold weather. When your commute is only 5 miles, then you pay that penalty and get MPGs "only" in the 30s/40s during a cold winter.

I live in a climate somewhat like yours, though we get colder winters and hotter summers. Not as much snow, normally.

To help in the winter I use grill blocking. This winter I also added an electric engine block heater (EBH). My normal commute is only 4 miles, but I do a good bit of other long-distance driving. My best tank of gas showed nearly 62 MPG; my worst tank was about 36 MPG (pre EBH). You can see my overall, lifetime MPG number below. Remember, this number isn't arrived at by cherry-picking my best tanks or best travel numbers. This counts all gas use from the first day I owned the car until the present. I've got better than 26,000 miles on the car in just over 18 months, so I think my numbers are pretty "real." Find someone with one of those Kias or Mazdas who has kept a mileage log from day one to find out what to really expect from one of those cars. It will not yield a 50+ MPG number!

On the highway, you'll find that "Prime" mileage will be found at about 45-50 mph, though that is not an acceptable speed on freeways and interstate highways. I just did a run from Chicago to St. Paul and back (February, remember), and my mileage varied from 51 to 56 while on the interstate. I've taken the same trip on U.S. and State Highways (driving 50 - 60 mph) and had mileage in the upper 50s and lower 60s.

Show me any other car made today that gets MPGs like that!

If you want to be mileage king, this is the car.

If you want to spend the least on a new car, then look elsewhere. You can buy a Honda Civic for less money and get very, very good gas mileage. And reliability.

I don't know where the Kia or Mazda will fit in that mix, but I do know that if you are in a spot where you get low mileage in a Prius, you'll get even lower in any other car. But what other high-mileage car gives you the room of the Prius (great head room and leg room front and back), the storage (great hatch and trunk area) or the electronics?

In my humble and biased opinion, it is the best production car made.

 

The packages are a personal decision based on your wants, needs and budget. I picked the package 2. The items I really wanted (needed?) were cruise control, smart key, backup camera and stability control which all came with the pkg 2. I have a Garmin Nuvi for nav.

 

I really wanted to have the Bluetooth capability, and I like the durability (and easy cleaning!) of leather seats. I didn't want NAV, but there are only so many packages available.

I really, really like having more controls on the steering wheel than those provided in package #2. I can run the climate control, the sound system, the phone, the NAV, and I can go between the consumption and energy screens -- all just using my thumbs (and no comments from the peanut gallery on that one). Still, when you get package #2, you get the heart and soul of the Prius.

 

OP, your commute is fantastic for the prius. I go about 30 miles to work, three quarters of which are mostly highway, but its a small 2 laner with the limit at 55. So I typically just set the cruise control on 55-60 and when I get to work the MFD shows that I've been mostly going at above 50mpg. The prius numbers are just THAT good, not gimmicks or hype. I'm 5'11 and the front and rear seats are comfortable to me.

 

1) My daily commute is approx 20 miles from the Suburbs of Buffalo into the city. Half of my drive is highway driving with 55mph speed limit, the other half is of the 30-40mph variety. Does this sound like a trek worth of a Prius? I do this approx 5 days per week.

Yes, any commute longer then 10 minutes is ideal. I'd say that mileage of about 45mpg to 60mpg is possible if you drive it fairly normally...

2) I make monthly highway trips to the Rochester/Geneseo area (approx 85 miles) 50ish on highway, 35ish on residential roads. This dealer tried to tell me that on the highway, a Prius is no better than a Mazda mileage-wise. Any truth to this?

Doubt it, unless that Mazda has the exact same highway rating, and even if it did, the superior aerodynamics of the Prius will probably give it a run for the money at higher speeds, unless you have a lead foot and a need for speed.

3) Lastly, I live in Buffalo. Yes, let the "Canada" and "loveable loser" jokes fly! haha. But seriously, I know the mileage has to be affected by the cold? How badly? Any tips on keeping the Prius running well in the Winter?

You'll git hit with bad mileage no matter what car you drive, but expect about 25mpg-35mpg for the first 5 minutes or so. As for tips, Block your grill and use an EBH to pre-heat your engine before you start your commute. This'll give your coolant temp a boost and perhaps allow you to enter stage 4 (most efficient stage of hybrid operation) before your out of your community.

 

What are you trying to accomplish? If you want to minimize total cost of ownership buy a used Civic. If you want maximum MPGs without buying a Diesel, get the Prius.

 

:smow:

I'm in a slightly comparable position, contemplating buying a G2 anywhere between an `07 to an `09--a new one if the current economic situation drives the prices down enough. I live in northern Delaware, where the weather is moderate. I have spent time in Buffalo: I know the conditions.

I will probably look for a package # 2, because that avoids the HID headlights that are one of the few chronic headaches in Toyota cars that have them.

If you go for the Prius, you will definitely have to become adept at grill blocking, and you will have some loss of performance and delay in getting up heat during heavy-duty cold weather. Also, in Buffalo one still wants the car one subjects to the road salt not to represent too big an investment.

In a Prius-size car, I notice that the Honda Civic (what I drive now) and the Ford Focus seem to be equally good products. But the Focus is sold with a much bigger discount new, and it depreciates faster, making for bargains in used, off-lease, etc. That might be the way I would go if I lived where you live,

On the other hand, if the G2 Prius appeals to you as much as it does to me--you only live once!

 

It is a bit of an overstatement to call the HIDs a "chronic headache" in Toyotas. Clearly, Toyota is backing away from HIDs, but I wouldn't avoid a car because of HID headlights. In fact, I kind of like them!

I assume you've been in a Prius more than just a few times, so I find it difficult to understand why you would put it in the same size category as your Civic. Not that it is wildly larger, but I feel it has significantly more headroom and legroom than the Civic and MUCH more storage space. At least the Civic is a great car with great mileage and high reliability. It is hard to even compare the Prius and the Focus.

 

This thread is kind of interesting in the seemingly unlimited number of subjects covered. Therefore, its easy to say about anything and answer someone's post. We bought an '09 black package 5 last month, and with that behind us, and a total of around 1200 miles on the car, we freely admit our limitations and experience.

However, like another reader, we were not dead set on the navigator. We did insist on Bluetooth, since Texas has headed into the hands off realm. San Antonio (our home) has just passed an ordinance against hand held usage in school zones. A statewide law is anticipated sometime in the next 10 years, and that would be well before we anticipate liquidating the vehicle.

We couldn't find less than a package 5 available, in January, in our area, with that option. January was a prime month, because of the incentives on the Prius (at least here). One requirement of the primary driver (wife) was leather. Unfortunately, we could not find that either. To solve this problem the dealer had it installed by a local merchant (in one day) and there is no way to look at it and think it didn't come from the factory. So that was an easy fix.

The vehicle replaced was a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer (gave it to a grand kid) and our mileage went from about 14 around town to around 43 around town (actually I can get a little better than she can so far).

We did wear ourselves out figuring, plotting, scheming on the various packages. We finally figured out we'd get a package 3 with Bluetooth, in white. So, we went to the dealer, and the first thing we saw was this jet black package 5 Touring!

Our recommendation to anyone wanting one is to get it before school lets out, gas goes up, and the lines form again.

Oh yeah, forget what package you want -

 

IMO 2009's package 2 is the sweet spot. During moderate temps expect 25mpg for the 1st 5 minutes, 50mpg for the 2nd 5 mnutes. You'll want to block the grill, install an EBH and inflate the tires. Primer is white. The paint scratches easily. Get VentureShield plastic film on as much of the car as possible. Your sales friend is feeding you BS either out of ignorance or because he doesn't have a Prius to sell.