Prius owners, I am about to make a very important decision. I am going to by a 2012 vehicle within the next 3-4 weeks and I need to know why a Prius would be a good choice. I have spoken to a sales rep and he has given me his view about the Prius v and now I really need to hear about it from actual owners and drivers. I will be coming from owning a 2002 Honda CRV. Please add your reasons why I do not need to shop for anything else and please tell me the downfalls if there are any. Let me say that I am worried about the following: acceleration, repair costs (when needed) the erie quietness when taking off, running the AC off the electric motor' heating in the winter, driving in the winter (vs. all wheel drive) and ground clearence again in the winter. I live in upstate NY where snow level is ugly. I really want one, but don't want to make a mistake. Thanks in advance.
This is not much of a help, but I rented a Prius liftback recently and tested out the different modes. Let me tell you - if you are worried about acceleration, try one of these babies out in Power mode and see for yourself. I would have to think that the v is pretty similar to what I experienced.
Well, to be honest, as a Prius v Owner, I can't tell you how well it will work during Winter as New York winters are not like California Winters, especially Southern California winters. What I can say is that unless you need to hit 0-60 in less than 8 seconds... 10 seconds is not going to be a problem. As for clearance, hard again to say, but probably lower than what you may need, so it could be an issue. But then again, I believe you are going to have the same problem with most cars except for 4 Wheel Drive cars and still you will need to shovel snow. I am not going to lie to you and say you should buy the Prius v. A car is only going to be good for what a person desires. I can't sell you on a Prius v if your wishes are not going to align with what the car can or cannot do.
Acceleration? Slow. Repair costs? Low to none. The A/C has an electric compressor but the heat runs off good old fashioned engine coolant, so if you have long cold winters (I lived in plattsburgh) you might see reduced fuel economy figures if you like to warm your car up before you go because the engine will need to run to heat the coolant. As far as the quietness it is actually kind of nice. If you typically drive in deep snow or drive during storms then you might want to stick with the 4wd. But if you stay in when the snow is deep and only drive on packed snow or plowed roads then you might be OK with a front wheel drive vehicle. A good set of winter tires and it will probably go like a champ. I spent the good majority of my life living through new england winters and have never owned a 4x4. It has always been front or rear wheel drive. Remember. 4x4 is only going to help you move forward. It will make no difference when it is time to stop or turn.
