Why did you buy a Prius ??

I wanted the technology...

 

and I thank you for posting the poll.:thumb:

 

I bought a 2011 Prius because I already had a 2008 Prius and a 2010 Prius, and I couldn't find a car I liked better.

 

[SARCASM]
WHAT??!!!
What do toy MEAN by THAT?
That's ridiculous!!! Absurd!!!!
You have no <expletive deleted> right to think that!!! [/SARCASM]

*sigh!*
Note for the humor impaired: I see the sarcasm tags still aren't working. Just ignore this post.

 

Me too, but for a couple tree-huggers we both have probably cut down a heck of a lot of trees! I know I've cut thousands!

But I didn't know how to answer this post. I bought the Prius partly to send a message to car manufacturers that there's a demand for this type of vehicle, because I had been waiting years for a car that got over 40 mpg combined. That said, I'm not crazy about sticking out on the road as a Prius owner, that's almost an unfortunate side-effect for me, as I'm not looking for attention (I'm an engineer after all!). I also bought it partly to reduce emissions for a better atmosphere.

But mostly I bought it to keep my money away from OPECistan and the terrorists, as we were in the midst of the Iraqi war over oil, and we're still sending a lot of our money overseas (55% of the national trade imbalance). I feel that oil prices are going to continue to climb up, perhaps dramatically at times, and I want to be prepared. Somebody said I made a good purchase back when gasoline first hit $3/gallon (summer of 2006), and I told them, I didn't buy it for $3/gallon, I bought it for when gas would hit $4 or $5/gallon. The $4/gallon whacked our economy (along with the housing bubble), so we didn't see $5/gallon, but I'm sure we will. And if everybody drove more fuel-efficient vehicles, those prices wouldn't whack our economy like they did in 2008.

So anyway, there were a lot of reasons to buy the Prius, and only a vanity one (sticking out and being labeled on the highway) against it, so I had to go with my head on that purchase.

Oof, didn't expect to get this long-winded. Sorry.

 

Actually, that's perfectly correct, because to a lot of hybrid detractors, we think we're being green by driving a Prius but not really, and in fact some of us don't care if we are really green or not, as long as we look like we are. So I think this is the best phrasing, given what RevHigh's target audience is.

 

Yes, some believe that Prius owners are engaging in "conspicuous conservation". Or, as Jay Leno put it when discussing the Prius, we "want people to know about the good things we're doing anonymously" (or something like that).

 

Saving money. I've saved over $1500 in 6 months compared to the V8 4Runner I traded in on it. That's a lot of dough.

I actually didn't expect to "like" the car that much, it was my wife who pushed for it as she does the daily commuting in it (I work from home). but I really enjoy driving it. Very comfortable, great amenities, it's the right tool for the job.

 

Hey, REV. Perhaps you should start a poll asking for the best methods of starting a poll? That would probably set off a whole new bunch of people.

Unfortunately, we live in tense times and the annonymity of the internet often encourages people to jump when they otherwise wouldn't.

It was a simple enough poll and I am sure that no one made anyone take it. Just like television and radio, you can always change the channel.

Enjoy your day.

 

Ditto! I was wondering if anyone before me had mentioned that!
Cut my commute by 1/3; gas bill by 2/3 (came from a 300C Hemi) and, oh yeah, I especially f....ing LOVE LOVE LOVE blowing past all those BMWs, Land Rovers and their ilk standing still in the world's longest parking lot.:rofl:

 

The price of Gas and doing something green!

 

I'm actually looking at getting one because of the technology mainly, the build quality seems to be good by going through the threads on here. The money savings at the pump would be a great bonus as well.

 

I bought mine (traded in my '06 Honda Civic Hybrid) for several reasons.
Fuel mileage can't be beat (once you have a car that gets 40+mpg it hurts to even think of 25mpg again).
reliability, but truthfully many cars are good in that area
Fits my lifestyle (I am an environmentally-consious person anyway)
lower cost to insure
I like the interior layout and functionality (I can fit 10' lengths of copper pipe in the car with the rear seats down)
This car just fits me.

 

I bought a 2011 Prius a month ago and am LOVING it! This forum has really aided in getting used to driving the car in terms of maximizing MPG, including changing driving habits. I commute 94 miles per day here in Texas and was doing it in a 2008 F150....ouch. Just learned yesterday (in another thread) that some decent looking wheels lurked beneath those ugly hubcaps. Viola...off came the hubcaps! Weather Tech mats on the way, center caps for the rims, etc...and 49+ MPG on this tank so far (Eco mode).

Thanks!!

 

1. I needed a 4 door car
2. wanted something with excellent MPG
3. reliable

 

I had to think about my reasons for buying a Prius and it was a little different from most of the answers. My wife and I both have big luxury sedans that actually get pretty good gas mileage. But we both found that at 4.00 a gallon we werent going to a lot of places we like to go because we hated giving the gas stations our billfolds. So we compromised and brought the Prius for our day to day driving and we have kept the big sedans for more special drives. So I guess it our case it was more the fact that we can thumb our noses at the gas stations when we want to. Kind of feels good too!
TOday I drove my Azera and love the really smooth quiet ride and comfort, tomorrow I have to drive about 200 miles, so out comes the Prius

 

Lots of reasons.

1) Watched "Who Killed The Electric Car" and got mad as hell. Prius seemed like the best choice at the time. Wanted to vote with my dollars.
2) Tired of getting 12mpg in my Jeep (although it did save my butt in Upstate NY snow)
3) Needed the hatchback configuration to fit my surfboard, [big] mountain bike, and big guitar speakers
4) Impressed with reliability
5) Figured that the value of the car would go up as gas prices got out of control, assumed that I could still get a lot of money for it 100K miles down the road
6) Fun technology perks for the price. My friends still get all confused when I start the car with the keys in my pocket.

 

I just put down a deposit on a 5/09 (first month production of Prius globally) that has just done 9000km. I bought it because we liked the size as we're going to have a +1 in the family and having a family with kids doesn't mean (for us) going to a RAV4 sized car. Here, the Corolla hatch (Auris) just managed with the stroller + other baby supplies but the Prius swallowed the bugaboo stroller + the kitchen sink (metaphorically) with ease without resorting to the rear seat foot area.

As I've always driven/owned cars with <2000cc, I couldn't handle having a car with fuel consumption >10L/100km or even approaching it and Toyota doesn't offer any wagon/longish hatch that had stuff I've had in the Corolla that had smart entry/start, HID, auto wipers (I presume handy with a handful of kids and shopping) except the Prius that ticked these boxes.

So for us, the hybrid factor came third after size and techy gizmos.

The ironic thing is that the Australian Prius doesn't come with a USB/iPod interface nor BT streaming but luckily I have a Vaistech iPod kit which hopefully should fit.