Is Prius the right car ? Need Feedback

AWD and 4WD is mandatory in some places. If I lived further out of the city I would own at least one car with it. You're right, all our conditions are different.

 

I DONT recommend the Prius.



JUST KIDDING!!!....

 

In that case, get the h**l off these forums!!

Zhe Wiz

 

Based on recent emails on new purchases, I think you should be paying more like 21K for a model II. But hurry, because as gas prices go up, Prii prices do too--or the willingness of the dealer to dicker goes down. If gas goes to $4, people will be paying more than MSRP for Prii, as has happened in the past.

Whatever concerns you have, real or not, be sure the dealer knows about them to soften them upon price. I bought mine in April when the news was at its worst for Toyota. I knew the bad news was bogus based on experience with 4 previous Toyotas, so I used the bad news to my advantage and got a model III with Nav for about 23K.

 

I don't think this is true. I "leave my lights on" all the time. It's true that it doesn't have lights that go on irrespective of your wishes, but if you leave the lights on all the time they do go on and off based on whether the car is on (when you turn it off and get out they will stay on for a min or so). I never have display issues during day. Are you sure you cannot change them to brighten up?

I was on the fence with ours, particularly coming from a full size sedan with a sub-7 0-60 but I am pragmatic (that's a euphemism for boring) and decided to make the jump and it's been a great car. That price is pretty good. It maybe would have been better a while back but it's only $350 higher than my local truecar.com best price (and those are hard to get).

These things are still going for cheap but I assume that at some point, assuming gas keeps going up, dealers are going to transition--and it may be quickly too--away from "please take these cars off our hands" to "Oh, so you want a Prius, eh? Well that $4/gallon gas means you're going to have to pay me a premium". It's impossible to say, but if I had to guess I'd say the cheap incentivized deals on these are going to fairly shortly be a thing of the past.

 

I'm new to the forum, having just purchased a 10 IV - I like the car, but I'm not an enthusiast - when the weather gets bad, I will always opt for my X3, and if it's REALLY bad, then the RAM 3500 4x4 rolls out. Both of these are fully equipped for the worst winter can toss.

I bought the Prius for my bride of 39 years, who puts 4,000 miles a year on a car, most of it in town, and half the time with a couple of grandkids in the car. So far, I think it's the perfect choice.

I don't think the Prius would be our choice for long drives either - I'm 6'4", and she's 5'11". The X3 offers tons more long range comfort, at a 40% milage cost. Now if gas hits $7+ a gallon, then comfort might not carry as much weight…. jmho

 

If fuel economy isn't a major concern then why would you even consider the prius? Subies are much more fun to drive and you'll save yourself from all the hybrid haters.

If fuel economy is your only concern then why would you choose anything but the prius?

Seems like an easy choice to me.

 

I've owned three Subarus over the years and hated every one of them. Quality was the pits, milage was the pits, crummy handling. Never kept one for more than a year.

My X3 gets an honest 28 mpg, is fast, fun to drive on the road, and will tow 4000#.

The Prius has a quality rep, looks nice (my SO likes it) and it can stay in the garage when the weather gets rough. We thought the Prius was the best looking Toyota on the lot, and much better looking than most of the Hondas. In addition - the MAIN selling point for us, was that it was quiet inside. Something neither the Honda nor Subaru can say…. jmo

 

my subie (2005 Outback Limited) got about 20mpg on a good day. It was great in the snow, but who cares? Gas prices are $3.50 a gallon. Go with the prius. Yeah, you can't go out when it snows a foot... probably better to stay home anyways. Build a snowman, a snow-fort and start a snow fight with the neighbor kids.

So far today I am averaging 50mpg over 150 miles with lots of hills and "0" degree weather... icy conditions, yada yada yada. The prius is GREAT.

Serious winters in Colorado! Haha. Funny. Maybe in the mountain tops. Some day I'll move to Colorado like everyone else in Minnesota, because its PARADISE compared to Duluth, MN.

 

With the driving conditions you described, you should stick with the subaru forester.

 

While we're piling on, me, too. The last Subaru I drove a significant amount was an Outback Impreza I believe it was, in 2001. Thing went through gas so fast I swore it had a leak in the tank, it was ridiculous. Looking at fueleconomy.gov it looks like they're still pretty darn greedy on fuel.

 

Yep, they are! In winter trim I'm getting 23 MPG out of my 11 Impreza Wagon. Like the Prius, that'll go up when the temp does, and up again when I remove the relatively heavy steelies and winter tires, but it won't be breaking any MPG records, I'll be "happy" with anything over 25!

Sometimes it's not all about MPGs. Sometimes it's more important to get where you need to go when you need to get there. Plus, Subarus are one of the more economical AWDs available. The Escape Hybrid is very pricey, as is the Highlander. A person could do worse, much worse than to make their AWD choice be a Subaru.

Anyway, it seems the OP has already decided on the Prius. I think that's great, but I'm betting he puts winter tires on before the end of the first winter. I hope so anyway!

Zhe Wiz