Hey all, just accepted a new job that is 65 miles from home. After 9 years of having a 7 mile commute in my 2004 BMW M3 convertible (25 mpg highway. premium fuel), I'm thinking that I'd rather keep the M3 as my weekend car and buy something to commute in. Yesterday I test drove the Honda Civic hybrid as well as the Prius. Both about the same price (Prius II). My thoughts were that the Honda drove better, was quieter and smoother, however the Prius had more gadgetry like keyless entry, bluetooth, the informational display, etc. I like gadgetry. Civic gets 44 highway MPG while the Prius gets 48. I think I'm going to eventually go for the Prius in Sea Glass Pearl (LOVE that color). anyway... just thought I would say "HI" and look forward to reading and learning more... Tom.
Maybe wait a bit for the Prius c if you really just need a commuter vehicle. Or consider an EV (if the budget will allow it), a Model S would be ideal for a long commute like that.
The bigger question is also roughly how much "space" you really need if you plan on making it a commute type vehicle. The Prius c is a compact type vehicle, not nearly as heavy or big in comparison to the Prius v or the Prius standard, but will give you more bang for your buck gas wise... The Plugin Prius would be the next likely choice, the only real drawback I see with it is how readily accessible plugin power is available when you are at work. While it is still a gas/electric for the most part, I think the benefits of it is towards just being able to plug it in. I'm presuming you are going to San Fran or San Jose, so technically, there should be more plugin type locations, but depends on your work place too.
If your commute is mostly in the city, the Prius liftback or Prius c would work best. On the highway, you could try the Prius v (the wagon) as the longer wheelbase is better suited (imo) and you sit a tad higher up (~1 inch) on the driver's seat compared to the Prius liftback. If it's mostly highway, a diesel may suit you better (e.g. Jetta TDI) and gives you the handling you expect of a European vehicle but emissions will be higher than any of the Prius models.
Given he stated 67 miles. And if you google Hayward, California. He is most likely going to do highway to Santa Rosa, Sacramento, or Monterey, at least, from what google map is roughly showing.
Welcome aboard and good luck on the choice. Don't think you will go wrong with the Prius... neighbor bought a HCH same time I bought my Prius and even today he wishes he had gotten a Prius. Mainly for the cargo space.
You really get 25 mpg highway via manual calculations? 04 w/a 7 mile commute? 04 M3 per www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm is EPA rated (after adjustment) at 21 or 22 mpg highway, depending on transmission. I wouldn't buy any Honda hybrid. Besides http://green.autoblog.com/2011/09/0...id-loses-recommended-rating-consumer-reports/ (and the '12 Civic also being panned), the IMA system is simply inferior. Also, Honda seems to have a pretty poor track record of pack longevity w/their NiMH hybrids, which they've been building for years (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...071-salvage-traction-battery.html#post1252078 says why). Then there was http://news.consumerreports.org/car...ery-update-brings-fueleconomy-complaints.html and http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/14/business/la-fi-honda-20100815. Now w/the '12 HCH, they've gone to li-ion. How much experience do they have with that? Their past history w/NiMH, which they had plenty of experience with worries me. Also, FWIW, Toyota hybrid sales have been decimating Honda hybrid sales (http://www.hybridcars.com/news/january-2012-dashboard-36086.html). http://www.hybridcars.com/hybrid-clean-diesel-sales-dashboard/february-2011.html is an example before the massive tsunami in Japan.
Hey all. Thanks for the feedback. I'll be commuting from Hayward to Modesto. Reverse commute, so there's not a whole lot of stop and go and it's 95% freeway. Yes, the M3 Mpg is 25 on the freeway driving very conservatively It's a 6 spd manual 16 mpg around town and for the last 9 years, that's been fine because my previous job commute was surface streets only. Also an argument for not using the M3 is the cost of maintenance. Tires alone are crazy expensive. Anyway, I may wait for the "c" to come out so I can check it out.
Tom - Just so you know, I would be concern mostly on how you plan on using the car for commute or what your job will entail with the car. Like for me... I went from a Nissan Sentra GXE sedan to a Prius v Five. My focus was one, getting all the crap in the back seat and trunk to the back area of the new car. But in the long run, I would be transporting computer equipment at times. Part of it is also dictated by job. Of course, not knowing your situation, just remember, the Prius c is also designed to be a compact, so the higher MPG is due to sacrificing some things that a Prius or a Plugin Prius might have, which is a bit more room or basic car cargo space.
Hi Tom, I here ya on the "gadgetry" part , I'm a real sucker for gadgetry like features. It magically made me a prius owner. I would suggest renting a prius out for a week and see if you like the driving experience. Step back for a sec, you are shifting a good majority of your daily life away from your "ultimate driving machine" experience to an "electric toaster" experience, so it's best you know what you are signing up for to avoid any kind of buyers remorse. I sold my 8th gen Honda Civic (non-hybrid) a while back that drove like a real car, and it gave me amazing MPG on the highway! If I had been driving mostly highway miles I would have kept it. It was much cheaper than the prius and had way more of a spirited driving experience, something you may really miss during your weekday commutes without your M3.
A compromise between the M3 and a Prius would be the Lexus CT200h. The fun factor is about 60% of the way to the M3, and the mileage is about the same as a Gen2 Prius. In sport mode, the pickup is every bit as good as a BMW up to maybe 30 mph. If you need to do some heroic passing maneuvers on a 2-lane at 80 mph, keep the M3. The Civic is strictly yesterday's cold mashed potatoes...
Sacramento is more like 100 miles, Monterey about 75 IIRC. he's the next city over from me. Maybe he's going near Santa Cruz or Scott's Valley, or Rohnert Park. He knows. that's an awfully long commute though. I wouldn't want it in any car actually. Or is it 65 miles round trip?
He's going to Modesto. You will get decent mileage on that long commute. Where you will suffer is on the return trip home, because in the afternoon/evening, you'll be hitting that westerly wind as you head home (If you are driving the 580 corridor). If you were to buy now, I'd go with the Prius. Nice car, lots of room and great freeway mileage.
Today I put down a deposit on a new Prius!!! It's expected into the dealer in 3 days and may be ready for me next weekend. It's a model 5 w/Technology package in Sea Glass Pearl with Misty Gray interior. As I said previously, I LOVE gadgets, and the tech package is got some cool stuff, including the dynamic radar cruise control, which will be awesome on my commute. Pretty excited and looking forward to my new car and learning more about being a Prius owner.
Congrats on the Prius v. I have the same type of car and while I don't use all the gadgets, I am enjoying the ride so far. (Yes... I know... That's a Nissan motto...)
Congratulations! I like you went from a II to a 5 with all the bells and whistles. Hope you like it! PS: If you get to missing the pickup, oomph, try using the power button... I don't use it but I showed my sons when ever they used it and lead foot wife so i wouldn't hear the complaints. THough with gas prices going north of $4 in your area, eco might be ok...
Well, the more I thought about it, the more I figured since I would be spending 10+ hours a week in the car, I should probably get all the bells and whistles to make my commute as fun as it can be.. Mainly I wanted the dynamic cruise control, which I thing would make my commute alot more enjoyable, and of course you can only get that with the technology package which of course is only available on the model 5.
Congrats! I'm a little bit like you. I went from a CPO to a Four and kinda wishing I'd gone for the ATP. My commute doesn't do DRCC but on a recent 30 mile off site commute, I was wishing I had it to latch on to a semi so I could fiddle with the various buttons. That being said, I hope you hang on to your M3. The other family car is an E550 and I love that car. Don't get me wrong, there are many times I'd prefer we had a more sensible car, such as after every fill-up. But even after her second trip to the dealer in as many months, she never fails to remind me how much fun driving can be.
