Should I get rid of my Prius? Help!

Yes, motorcycles get you 'in the zone' for fun ... don't buy one of these as first bike, get that Ninja 250



If you do, give a long time (year or more) before you head out to the hills and wear full gear every time.

 

I agree with you and have said it elsewhere: The standard, unmodified Gen II Prius may be the worst handling and least fun to drive car of its size anywhere.

But one thing you might consider is to make handling modifications. For a few hundred dollars you can improve the handling significantly. And for two to three thousand dollars you can get near go-kart handling (so I hear).

Toyota Prius 2004 ~ 2009 NHW20 Performance, Handling & Electronic Accessories :: Sigma Automotive

Or you can just get the Mini. When my Prius wears out in 10+ years, I plan on getting one or something similar.

 

i totally feel u man. we just gotta sacrifice something for fuel economy. i dont wanna drive a hybrid but in my case, i have to.. at least for 5 more years. if u have the option to switch to a car u really love, do it.. u only live once. i think the mazdaspeed 3 is more fun than the mini.. and cost less to maintain.

 

Upgrade the suspension and add in some chassis bracing. My Prius takes corners with ease. It's fun to drive it hard, too. My setup gives it some oversteer action when taking turns hard. I have a blast ripping it around, and I get to save on fuel! What a deal

 

This thread is interesting to me, because I'm actually interested in trading my MINI for a Prius.

From the time the MINI Cooper was announced, I wanted one. I finally got my wish a little over 1.5 years ago.

It has been very reliable for me so far, no problems. It is an S, but I still get around 31 MPG on a stop and go commute in the bay area.

BUT...I have a 3 year old who doesn't fit in the back seat. I never get to drive it for fun on the weekends because of this. And I'd forgotten how painful commuting in a manual is.

If you won't have backseat passengers, I'd recommend the car. Like any BMW, I wouldn't keep it past the warranty/free maintenance period, though. And if I bought another one, I wouldn't pay the extra cash for an S.

If I had never bought a MINI, I always would have wondered "what if". It will have cost me some money on the trade-in, but I'm glad I went for the non-practical car once in my life.

 

I live in Anchorage and I just got a 2009 Prius. I'm realizing rather quickly that the mileage that everyone gets so jazzed about is almost impossible to achieve in my climate and with my short commute to work. That said, I really do enjoy driving it, the drivers up here are so bad (imagine a fleet of jacked up SUVs in the hands of teenagers) it makes me feel good just letting them pass me by (usually on the sidewalk) then seeing them gas up every 150 miles. I'm also glad for the safety features for the same reason. Happy Driving!

 

I wouldn't be so quick to give up the Prius. College-age girls seem to find them attractive. I guess having one demonstrates a greater level of maturity. They are much less impressed (so they say, anyway) with men who are in love with their impractical sports cars.

Tim

 

The Prius just doesn't cut it for the hoochies and hoodrats but the intelligent girls at my school love my car.... Lets just say that owning a Prius vs. my sports cars has not had a negative impact on my social life.

 

A good point. I guess you have to consider who you'd like to attract.

Tim

 

Aye Tim, quality over quantity! And less trips to the clinic for your efforts!

 

im only 18 and i love my prius! Mini coopers are expensive and small. Unless i can get the EV Mini then i will continue to love my prius!

 

:nod:

 

Agreed on both of the above points.

FWIW, I don't find the Prius very smooth nor quiet except while in EV mode. The suspension is much stiffer than my former 02 Maxima (which reviewers have compared to Lexus-like smoothness) and merely comparable to econoboxes. It has more road noise than my Maxima and the ICE is much louder and rougher because it's 4-banger.

The Maxima was more relaxing to drive.

Good. I'm not sure if you're made of money, but going thru that many cars that quickly, esp. if they bought new can be pretty costly.

See my sig. My other car has a lot more performance and handling but I could do without its VERY harsh ride and high road noise. Although, I don't have handling/performance mods on either car, I do think you could probably improve its handling considerably w/some of the mods suggested earlier and better tires than the stock crappy Integrities.

 

Agreed. But i will add, I do love driving my Prius, it isn't boring at all.
If you really want to feel alive and at one with a machine, ride a motorcycle!! (any motorcycle)

 

Ah, the agony of choosing which car. Three in two years, all because each one didn't provide enough excitement.

Get a life.

A car is a piece of machinery, and fixating on a piece of machinery for your happiness is the ultimate in not knowing where happiness might be.

You're not going to find it in the growl of an engine, or even in how many G's you can pull around a blind corner. Little girls can operate machinery just as well as the biggest man, so I don't think it proves much to choose an angry machine.

You're not going to like it, but I think whatever car you've got now is the one to keep for a few years. The time to think about changing it is when the current one becomes more of a hassle than buying something different.

Life is full of salesmen. Learn to ignore most of them, rather than being led around by a nose ring of manufactured needs.


During WWII my father owned one car. It managed to get him 15 miles to work and back. Part of the drill was that he had to carry a spare set of spark plugs. There was many a time when the car couldn't make the round trip without swapping the plugs, since they fouled up that quickly. That issue became moot when the tires went bald, as all the rubber went to the war effort. Getting permission to buy tires was a big deal, and he went carless for a number of months. But all this was luxury for the times. He wasn't in the meat grinder in Europe or the Pacific. He had a family, a house, enough food and money to get by.

It must be tough not knowing how to choose between a Mini and a Prius.

 

So true!

 

Amen brother! We've bought two Prius and here are the photos:

Fort Worth Texas, 800 miles away from home.


Decatur Alabama, 40 miles away from home although
there was an 800 mile trip to see my first 2010.​

Notice the Prius is background and it would be more accurate to say we bought our Prius despite the salesman. J.D. handled internet sales of our 2003 Prius and Matt drew the short straw after Tony passed this Internet sale on to him. A lot of unsung heros and brilliant engineers helped to make this day in Decatur AL come to pass. To them, I offer my sincerest thank you for a job well done.

We replaced my wife's 2001 Echo with the 2010 Prius. The Echo went to a nice home with two parents and three, sub-teen kids and replaces the small pickup truck that has a single, bench seat. Until the kids become old enough that they can't stand touching each other, the Echo will continue to be a fine 'going for groceries' car and give the Dad 32 MPG versus 22 MPG in his truck. He got the Echo for $3,000, which was $300 over what the dealer offered as trade for a vehicle with 29,500 miles and some hail dimples on the hood.

The irony is in 2001, the nearest Toyota sales manager said to me on what was going to be my third and last visit,

"Mr. Wilson, we sure have worked hard not to sell you the car you want."​

It is even tougher coming here to 'ask advice.' ... They are askin', right?? :target:

Bob Wilson