Why everyone is giving the C bad reviews?

If the c would have been out in July of last year I think I would have chosen it over my Prius III.

 

Apple products hold their value extremely well. The people jumping to the next great thing are not throwing the previous great thing in the trash.

Anyway, Apple is completely besides the point that people cannot see the value of saving money through the lifecycle of the product, polluting less, and keeping more money in the country instead of sending it to OPEC.

That is just retarded.

 

In 1 month my ecosavings is at $600 so mine will have paid for itself in less than three years. That IS value.

 

it probably has to do with routes he drives on then "special" hypermilling techniques. I am getting about as much in GenIII (60.5 indicated since last oil change 5K ago), mostly due to driving on roads which are MPG friendly. (~40% extra-urban/country roads with 40mph speed limit)

Short trips, low tire pressure, excessive acceleration/braking are enemies of MPG. Pump your tires, cap acceleration, maximize regen braking and you could see mid-60s in C.

 

Payback is for people who pay cash for a car.

If you finance the car, if the 'payback' would be less than the term of the loan, you are cash positive from day 1. If it is longer, you can get a bit behind, but make it up as soon as you finish paying off the loan. Plus you have an asset that is worth more.

 

You have a very strange definition for "payback". Payback does not refer to whether a car was purchased via cash, financed, or whether it is cash flow positive. It refers to the entire price of the car including finance charges given all other factors are equal. Based on your logic the longer the period you finance the car the better the payback will be which makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!!!

Payback= Purchase price, + interest, + any other costs you incur while using or installing the asset/ divided by the projected savings per period incurred by using the new asset instead of the old asset.

 

Why do so many people look at getting and figuring the cost out of a car. What would a corvette cost in 4 years considering price, gasoline , insurance and repairs? Way too much thought on break even cost. Which cars do you really break even on? We bought our Prius based on multiple factors and we just wanted one. Very happy with our purchase.

 

I'd suggest he's keeping it simple by assuming that you can significantly offset or override the finance charges by earning money with the retained capital.

 

I'd check them both out. Honestly, the case for the Yaris is pretty strong. I'd probably prefer the Prius myself in large part because the image afforded the Yaris is "I bought the cheapest car I could find, there's almost nothing cheaper." The Prius is a little more--and yes, I'm saying this--prestigious. Now, the numbers are not quite fair; even if the difference in price between them takes 9 years in saved gas to bridge the divide, this comparison fails to consider that after 9 years the c will also still be worth more than the Yaris, so that eats into the 9 years a good bit.

 

I still don't get it. You will have a savings regardless of whether the car is financed or not. The financing does NOTHING other than increase the cost of ownership. It isn't earning money. Cash flow has nothing to do with the cost of ownership.

 

Because those people dont care about anything other than their wallet. Reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution does not even factor into their decision.

 

$100/bbl. 45 gal/bbl.
=> $(20/9)/gal.

Savings:
30mpg - 50mpg ~= 1/30 - 1/50 = 1/75 gal/mi
@ $(20/9)/gal => $(4/135)/mi
Lifetime of 300,000 miles => $8888 8/9 in savings.

Even taking into account that US-built cars contain foreign components the only way imported Priuses would keep more money in the country is if they led to a sea-change in US foreign policy that dramatically reduced the externalities. When, or if, Toyota starts building Priuses in the USA the economics will shift.

 

It is about american pride.

I am proud to own and drive a Prius C and a Prius 3G,
both made in Japan.

(Some think of pride as driving the biggest and lowest mpg is pride. So be it.)

Both using less gas and both with reduced emissions.
Am I saving money? I dont care.

I bought what I want.

What I dont want is a sh*tty american car that has no resale value and is troublesome
on many levels.

I could not give any bad review on the Prius, so far.

Even compared to a $50k SUV, a BMW 7 series, an Acura, an Infinity, a VW, a Volvo,
or anything else, I still chose a Prius and Prius C.

Payback is not in my dictionary.
I literally could get anything I wanted, and the Prius is what I chose.

Only the sheep are going to continue to buy the guzzlers and listen to the bad reviews (if any)
and buy something else. Whether it is due to safety, or their choice, their likings..whatever.

People have liked the Prius for over 10 yrs, and from reading just this one thread...
sounds like most like their Prius.

my opinion.

 

It's pretty simple. If you take a C for a test drive and you like it, and you like Toyota, and you have your heart set on a new car, and you either drive a lot of miles per year, or want to limit to the maximum extent possible our dependence on foreign oil, then you should buy a C. If your focus is solely the highest MPG per dollar in a new vehicle, then buy a base Nissan Versa.

People that write about payback periods etc. know that it makes for good copy because it is so one-sided. The lux car and SUV drivers will take comfort in knowing that they need not have bothered to buy something more efficient, while people like us call BS and point out that there is so much more to it than just $$$.

 

It's true that someone who only drives 5 miles back and forth to work every day is better off without paying for a hybrid. It's also true that I (36k miles a year) will save thousands of dollars choosing the C over a Yaris. It's just a simple math problem and something to really look at before buying. Having said that, American auto media just plain has something against hybrids and foreign cars. People will keep buying the C in droves, don't worry.

 

I'm not sure where the bad reviews are, but the c is selling like hotcakes which means it must resonate with the public. Maybe Toyota should have the c digitally make a "vroom" sound when it starts up or accelerates to satisfy the power crowd.

 

Auto journalists are people who are interested in driving cars but don't have to buy, fuel or repair the cars they review. Duh.

 

I find it interesting that whenever it it comes to hybrids, many reviewers frequently compare the cost effectiveness with the similar gas model car. Yet you don't typically hear about cost effectiveness when people are buying a large V-8 SUV over a 4 cylinder SUV. I do think almost all small cars get some criticizms from professional reviewers. The important part is that YOU the driver of the car enjoys it and feels it's worth the additional expense for Toyota's hybrid technology.

 

I was expecting by now that there would be
a Ford Foucs Hybrid, and Elantra, Hybrid,
but there isn't so Toyota owns the show
for now.

If Ford and Kia / Hyandai, had a small Elantra/Focus
size Hybrid that averaged a true 50 - 55 mpg and
the cost was $17,000 or so, Toyota would not
be selling the Prius C or the regular Prius for the
prices they are at now.

With our tax money to bail out GM you would have
thought they would have a Cruze Hybrid that would
get 50 mpg or so and at a price of say under $20,000
instead of a way out of the average persons income
a $41,000 VOLT.....

Maybe its just me but I felt as if my / our money
was not well spent.

 

It is either giving the money to oil companies or get the hybrid premium features (along with better standard features) to myself. That's what the breakeven point means.