Looking to buy a Prius - only a few concerns...

Keep the Audi till the wheels fall off and then consider a Prius.

 

The v can address the rear visibility and interior seats issue. What's the mileage on your Audi?

 

It still bugs me. I hope that it will always bug me. The alternative is to get used to it, which means my brain starts editing what I see back there, and I miss actual problems.

My understanding is that the 15" wheels with appropriate tires are the best option for winter driving. Others will no doubt correct me if I am wrong.

With the exception of the arm rests, which seem to get dirty and stay that way, I am happy with the interior.

I love mine. It has showed my how much better my driving can be.

 

I had an Audi A4 wagon. No doubt the interior of the Audi is more luxurious. But I dumped it happily and eagerly for exactly the same reason you propose to - repair bills that were becoming ridic. (You can even read the story here:
RIKLBLOG - Blue )
I traded in the Audi on a second Prius, since I was so happy with the first. I have never had a "problem" with the rear visibility, although my initial impression was unfavorable, I got over it in a couple of days. No comment on the tires - I've never had the urge to substitute.

I think your real issue is winter. If you need good handling in snow and the Prius is your only car, you will be missing the Audi on occasion. You might want to seriously consider something with 4WD. As far as reliability and repair bills are concerned, the Prius is the anti-Audi.

Richard

 

Here you go:

1. I've had an Audi Quattro and there is no comparison! it's like comparing Pulp Fiction and MY Little Pony.
2. Rear visibility does not bother me as much as front visibility. So hard to tell where the front of my car is.
3. I have 15" and does not bother me.
4. I have leather package and literally would not have purchased a Prius without! I test drove leather package first and then sat in a car without leather and could not even muster up enough excitement to take it out for drive. MUST HAVE LEATHER!!!

 

Amazing description.

 

I can totally relate, we used the same justification to get ride of our Kia Sedona and traded it in for our new Corolla.

So just go out and buy a new Prius.

 

- I currently drive a 2003 Audi A4 1.8T (with Quattro), so I'm clearly prepared for a downgrade in performance and handling. Has anyone else made a similar downgrade? Any thoughts? I do live in Chicago so I'll have our lovely winters to deal with. The Audi has been an amazing winter car, and I know I can't expect the same out of a Prius, but how much of a difference will I see? I've heard mixed things about the Prius's winter driving abilities.

I live in the Chicago area too and bought my car 2010 Prius IV, BWP w/bisque leather, solar roof/navigation, upgraded JBL stereo, in Feb. 2011 (right after our 22" blizzard and just before the Japan earthquake). I thought the car handled very well during winter driving on sleeting, snowy roads but for heavy snow I drive the SUV since the Prius has a low road clearance. Other than heavy snow, the Prius drives very well on winter roads with OEM all season tires. I had a 2007 Nissan Altima 3.6 (lots of power, Bose radio, sunroof) etc. that I traded in and never looked back. The 2010 Prius has a power button that really delivers on acceleration when needed for merging on expressways, etc. so no problems whatsoever in keeping up with and/or passing traffic.

- The rear visibility - I test drove one recently and was pretty amazed at just how bad the rear visibility is. The model I'm looking at (Prius Four with Solar/Navigation package) would have the backup camera, but for when I'm not backing up I'm concerned about the visibility. Is this something that will always bug me, or do most people get used to it?

On the Prius IV model, I find no problems whatsoever with rear visibility and rather like the bar across the window -- it seems to put some distance between you and the tailgaters. Almost immediately, you will not even notice the split rear window and it won't be a problem. The backup camera on the IV is definitely a plus though.

- The tires...this kind of goes along with the performance issues. I'd be going from 17" all-weather to the Prius's 15". Adding the 17" wheels or getting a Prius Five seems too pricey. Any tips on adding 16 or 17" wheels after the fact for a more reasonable price to get some better performance? I know there would be a slight MPG hit, but hey - I have those Chicago winters.

For Chicago winters, don't know the answer to this other than as stated above. Unless there is a heavy snowfall, you won't want to drive the Prius with the OEM tires (or larger tires) because of road clearance. Otherwise, traction, etc. is good during "normal" winter weather with the OEM tires

- Quality of the interior. If I'm spending this much I would like to think the interior is of pretty nice quality. But I'm just guessing as no dealerships around here have anything but Prius 2 or 3s in stock, so I haven't seen the interior as it would be in what I'd order. I've heard people refer to the higher end models as smaller, hyper efficient, luxury car. That's what I'd be going for (especially when spending 30k+ on this...) - any feedback there?

The bisque leather interior on the Blizzard White Pearl is really nice and I just love it. So try to get a IV or V because the seats really do make a difference as far as comfort. In addition, the IV has heated front seats.

Those are my main concerns...at the end of the day I want to go the hybrid route for environmental reasons, and there's a bit of the "cool" factor of course, but I also don't want any big regrets or surprises. Help talk me into this!![/QUOTE]

Good luck! Hope you enjoy your new Prius when (not if) you purchase one! You most likely will be more than pleased with a Prius IV or V. Post some pictures too.
:welcome:

 

Before my Prius I had a 2002 Passat wagon (FWD) with the same 1.8T engine that you have. Also when you read my comments just keep in mind that I have an 09, which was the last year of the Gen 2 and you would likely be looking at a Gen 3.

The pluses first - coming from a VW / Audi the reliability is very nice - it is a very solid car and at 3 years old and 65k miles I have not had any issues with the Prius. You will also be able to get about twice the mpg as in the A4 (without even trying) - I was getting about 25 in my Passat and the Quattro probably shaves a mile or two off. You also get a very well designed package - for a car that gets great mileage there is a ton of room - because of the hatch you will have more usable space than in the A4.

As for driving in the snow - I'm originally from New England so have dealt with my fair share. If you feel like you just have to have AWD then perhaps pass on the Prius. If you can live with FWD then the Prius drives about as well as any FWD car I have driven. If you are worried just buy a set of snow tires and get a set of steel wheels to put them on - cost would be about $500 to $700 but remember that when the snows are on the car your other tires are not so you extend the life of them - so the added cost is really just the wheels. This is also something that you can add on at a later date.

As for the bad - you will be taking a huge step backwards in terms of comfort. Audi sets the bar for interior comfort and style pretty high. The Prius does not. I knew and understood this when I bought the car, but the 2 things that really bother me are the drivers seat - plain and simple it just sucks - a park bench has almost the same amount of support - and the cabin noise. When driving distances I typically listen to podcasts and have to have the volume up more than I want just to be able to make out the words - it is sort of like watching a movie on a plane - hearing the softer spoken lines is tough.

If I had to buy a new car today I'd at least consider a Prius - if Acura made the TSX wagon with a stick I'd get that in a heartbeat (I love wagons and manual transmissions) but they do not. My biggest issue with buying another is stacking it up against a car like the Honda Fit - yes the Fit is a fair bit smaller, but it is fun to drive, has a better interior than the Prius, gets good mileage and MSRP is way less than a Prius.

 

I guess it comes down to personal values. I bought a used 2010 Prius in January of this year. I needed to replace my 1997 Corolla and, with a 95-mile commute, fuel efficiency was my highest priority. I agree that rear visibility is poor. I have yet to fully adjust/compensate for the poor rear-view visability, although I am becoming more comfortable with it over time. Not being able to see the front of the car is also disconcerting, although I quickly adjusted to this shortcoming.

The car is definitely slow. Plus, the mile-per-gallon gauges remind me of how much gas I'm burning, so they tend to make me drive even slower. I've gotten used to the lack of performance. Not a big deal for me.

That said, the gas mileage has been great and I have had no maintenance/reliability issues.

I like the Prius and, had I to do it all over again, would definitely buy another one.

 

I purchased my first Prius in November of last year. I was really worried if I would like it or not but in the last 11 months I like it more each day. In fact it is the car to drive (I own 6 cars/trucks) and I put 18k on it so far. The gas mileage average over 50 for every tank.

My only complaint is that it is boring to drive and most times I need coffee or gum or something just to stay awake. This was never a problem for me before the Prius.

I think next year I will look close at the Prius C to buy; better gas mileage yet and hopefully a bit cheaper. I would also like the Prius plug in but at 35k it does not make sense to me.

I'm also a big supporter of buying the cheapest Prius made; to me it is not a car to spend a lot extra on just to get bigger wheels and leather interior. But I'm looking at upgrading my Prius 2 to leather aftermarket because it is a lot cheaper than buying one already equipped from Toyota.

TED

 

op needs a 2012 Camry hybrid

0-60 in 7.2 sec

41 mpg

visability out the windows

blah...blah... blah

 

Yep... that's a possibility. Or, the OP could look into the Lexus CT (test drove one reecntly), if he wants a FAR better interior than any Prius. Only problem is that the CT is even slower than the Prius while also returning lower fuel economy and being more expensive. The CT did do well at Lexus Ranked Best Luxury Auto Brand While Porsche Plunges: Cars - Bloomberg.

There's also the Lexus HS (won a one week test drive) which also has a far better interior than any Prius. It has the previous gen HyCam powertrain. This means a lot more power than the CT and Prius but at the expensive of FE. But, w/lower FE and less power than the '12 HyCam, and higher price tag, it's looking not such a winner now.

 

Like the original poster of this thread, I am making the switch from a 2002 Audi allroad to a Prius. My Audi was a total loss following an accident two weeks ago. The Audi was a wonderful vehicle but was very expensive to maintain and got 14mpg city/18 mpg hwy. I drive 42 miles each way to work. I will miss the horsepower and torque but not the gas bills and repair bills.
I pick up my sandy beach metallic Prius 3 with solar roof/nav on Sunday.

 

Oh, don't forget the fuel economy.

 

We've had some pretty tough winters the past two years here in the mid-Atlantic, and the Prius has handled them just fine. I do run snow tires in winter, but the plowing here is no where near as good as in Chicago. We close stuff down here for 3" and even then some areas never even get plowed, and we have a larger plow force I believe than the city of Chicago.

I went through the Dec 09 Blizzard with the stock tires on the car, and after using the Blizzaks, it was like night and day. I feel much safer with them, but I think if you have good all season tires you would be just fine. I just tend to err more on the side of safety with the snow tires, and assuming that drivers here are worse in snow than in your area as we don't get the consistent snowy winters.

If you want better handling, you can always go aftermarket with lowering springs, 17" wheels, etc, etc. Lots of people here have done several different options.

I would have to agree, that the Camry or Prius v may be better options in terms of how much of a change you'll experience in the car switch.