I paid under $23k for my Prius and it gets way better mileage than the Elantra and is larger and has better quality. I would not cross-shop the Elantra with this. I think you'll find CR reliability disagrees.
the title of this thread is "watch out Toyota - competition..." i'm comparing apples to apples. Elantra's top of the line, totally loaded 40mpg vehicle versus Prius totally loaded. BTW...the hs250 is a Camry hybrid motor w/ a Prius frame and gets mileage similar to the Elantra gas vehicle (35mpg). just sayin'...
I think that the Prius IIs and IIIs are great deals in the low twenties for all the technology and features that you get. I don't think Toyota is making too much on these models. I like the Elantra too, but I was fascinated by the technology of the Prius. It is much different than a regular car, and the Elantra is just a really nice looking, well built, regular car like I've always purchased. The Prius is different!
We just added a Fiesta to our garage. I am very impressed with the car, which, with the ford family plan, we got at 1k under invoice after taxes and dealer fees. We are getting 33mpg in town (4 more than rated) and have not had it on the highway yet. It is obviously NOT a Prius but I think it will be a great addition and not horribly inefficient compared. The amazing thing is the car is quieter than the Prius, obviously a touch faster too, the 6spd automatic is stupid fast shifting as well. It's a love-love relationship for sure and our grey Prius clashes so well with the lime green Fiesta.
Quote: Originally Posted by billnchristy ... and have not had it on the highway yet. ..., obviously a touch faster too. i think he meant to say...Quicker
HS is not related to Prius at all. Average driver reports 37 MPG for HS and 29 MPG for Elantra... So far, it seems Corolla gets better ratings than Elantra in real life and I suggest you check elantra forums for ex corolla and yaris drives complaining how they thought elantra will get them much better mileage
When I looked at the Fiesta, I didn't get any further than the price. I thought they were way overpriced. But then again, Ford likes to price stuff high, then attach huge discounts. So, maybe its not that expensive after all. I wouldn't purchase anything manufactured in Mexico anyway.
Ours cost 16.6k out the door with Sync and the "sport appearance package". The base Mazda2 was 15.7k with automatic (sticker) so probably about the same out the door.
Any QA that Ford has in the US or Canada should presumably carry down to Mexico. Even if the work habits are different in Mexico (they are) probably the cars will perform similarly. Truecar has these at 14-16k depending on option.
Ours is basically a "fully loaded" SE, the SES adds nicer wheels and a chrome LED parking light bezel over the black one that we have. I was installing stereos when the Festiva was on the market and what an amazing transformation the "base cheap car" market has had. If you told someone in the 90s that the lowest end car would have: 6spd automatic bluetooth voice recognition keyless entry keyless start as an option satellite radio power everything For less than the cost of a luxury car of the day you would probably be put in a home.
i don't need to check anything... i'm just following along w/ the thread, specifically post #1 where it says Elantra gets 40mpg. i had an '08 Elantra and consistently averaged 34mpg combined. i was happy with it at the time. again, just sayin' that for $23K you can now get a completely loaded 2011 Elantra (leather, Nav, moonroof) w/ a 5yr/60K warranty plus 10yr/100K powertrain warranty. this is no dis-respect of Prius. i love my Prius.
I guess my problem with buying a ford built somewhere other than the US is all the hypocrisy. I get tired of people blasting toyota drivers for driving foreign cars (even though most of them are built in the US) when Ford, a US company, is taking their production out of the country. I do like the Fiesta. I think I might really like the Focus.
A few years ago a guy on an A/V forum was arguing against Japanese cars and his logic was never forgiving them for Pearl Harbor. I went through his equipment list and he owned a Mitsubishi TV!!! Some people are immune to logic.
