Is Prius the car for me?

6' should be no problem in the Prius. I can't speak to the 275#'s except that it might have something to do with your back problem.

It will depend on your width and whether the seat will be comfortable for you. Drive it and see if it's comfortable.

 

I have a bad back, had surgery at L4-L5 for a herniated disc. Still have trouble. I'm smaller and lighter but have no issues with my wifes prius.

ask me again after we drive to NYC this weekend, I'm driving. I had no issues on the first long trip, this will be the second.

One thing I will say is IF you have surgery, the first few weeks will be easier to get in & out of in the highlander. After that and some more recovery time other cars will become more comfy.

If you don't have surgery, SUV's tend to be easier to get in and out of than cars, especially for people with bad backs.

Again, I'm not your size but have a bad back.

 

NO. Stick to your Highlander. If you loved it then you won't love the Prius.

If you do a bit more research on the Prius you will know many problems it has. Which I won't dwell on anymore but do your home work.

I didn't do mine and I lost out a bit of money just to play with the Pirus for about 8 months and now I off loaded I have lost money and time and all the effort.

 

I used to drive a Ford Explorer (until it blew up) but now drive a Prius. I also have an aching back, but nothing as bad as yours. I'm also pretty small. Here are my comments (some regarding your back, some not):

1. I liked sitting high in the Explorer (like I said, I'm pretty small). The Prius is lower, so not so good for me, but that might not make a big difference with you.

2. An issue with my Explorer (and your Highlander) is getting into the car. But you are tall, so getting into it isn't much of a problem. Make sure you can easily get into the Prius.

3. Getting out of my Explorer was a breeze. You just slide off of the chair. That's not so easy in the Prius. Especially with a bad back.

4. My Explorer had the "air pumped" lumbar support. My Prius II has nothing. I believe I read above that the IV and V have the lumbar support. But, I also read on their website that if you buy the Wet Okole seat covers, you can have it with lumbar support. I don't know what that actually entails, yet. Just giving you alternatives.

5. I had leather interior in my Explorer. Personally, I like the cloth interior solely because in the heat, that leather interior got awfully hot. It also started cracking after about 15 years (duh). I'm not sure what my cloth interior will be like in 15 years.

6. But I think the major thing I'll miss about my Explorer is the room it has to carry a bunch of stuff. Basically, it's a moving van which looks like a car. All of my friends would call me up to help them move (hey, maybe they'll stop calling me). I know this doesn't have anything to do with your back, but I thought it was important.

7. Others have mentioned to test drive the car. You might catch one post where a person listed a bunch of stuff he didn't like about the Prius, but almost everything listed he should have noticed if he properly test drove the car. I think getting information from these boards before you test drive (like you are doing) is very good because now you know what to look for (I hope) when you test drive.

And by the way, I take the position that there is no such thing as a dumb question (see my screen name). Even if your question was to give an opinion, such as color, let everybody give their opinions as to the color they like and why. Maybe it will give the poster an idea that he/she didn't think of. For instance, I once had a grey Toyota pickup. People seemed to cut me off more often than in any other car I drove (others noticed it, too). My conclusion was that people had a more difficult time seeing my pickup because of the color. So, I no longer think about buying grey colored cars. Maybe that would be something you'd want to consider but never thought about it before.

And I don't think anybody was hurt because they were asked for such an opinion. For those who want to complain about it, let them complain, too. No problems, here.

Dumb Mike