Hello Everyone, I am new to the forums and think this site is great. Thanks for sponsoring it! I usually hold on to my cars for a long time and keep them very nice. I currently have a 2000 Honda CRV and have been very happy with it since I bought it in 2000. I plan on keeping it to tow a small trailer around my property. I am also a do it yourself type doing all my own oil changes and maintenance. I am about to embark on purchasing my first Hybrid.I first looked at the Honda Insight as I have been a loyal Honda customer for a long time. It was OK but then I started doing research on the way their Hybrid technology differs from Toyota. I visited the Toyota dealer and am sort of leaning toward the Prius C. I test drove it and was quite impressed. I found that the Insight gave a "tinnier" ride and the Prius C was a much better ride with a very impressive MPG of 53 versus 44 for the Insight. I am really interested in owners or perspective owners opinions. If you can tell me about the Insight vs the Prius that would be real helpful. Keep in mind that I do love to work on my cars and which ever model I choose, I will make sure that I purchase the shop manual. Thanks for all opinions rendered in helping me with my selection!
Be sure to give the Volt a consideration. Don't let the MSRP scare you away. If you can plug-in overnight, it can save you a lot of $ in fuel costs.
John. Could you describe a scenario in which a lower income individual could purchase (not lease) a Volt and end up with a similar monthly payment as a Prius or loaded Prius c? Lets assume a typical total purchase price (loan amount) of $25k-$30k and a monthly payment of $350-$450. Doing the standard new vehicle transaction process would result in a MUCH higher payment for the Volt despite the tax incentives since those come after the vehicle is financed. This is not a criticism of the Volt. I just know that there are creative ways to reduce the loan amount and make the Volt more affordable to those who make $50k or less a year and don't have a $10k down payment.
Thanks to all that replied. I did look at the regular Prius and it was nice but a little bit bigger than I wanted. Yes, the Volt is certainly attractive but somewhat pricey. I am really looking at the C for reliability, ease of maintenance (oil change, brake changes, plugs on the gas motor) and that's what I would like to hear about. Also does anyone know anything about the Insight compared to the Prius C?
A base Volt, $40K msrp is available for $2500 below msrp from volume dealers. 0% financing is available and assuming you can get the full $7500 federal tax credit, that makes the base Volt $30K. Since the $7500 is a tax credit, you can simply adjust your withholding for the rest of the year, or lower your quarterly tax payment by $7500 if self-employed. If a lower income person doesn't have enough tax liability to get the entire $7500, then the lease is the mechanism of choice, granted you will be paying something between 0% and 1% rent, but that isn't too bad is it. The leasing company takes the $7500 and bakes it into lowering the lease payments, as well as the residual, so buying the vehicle out at the end of the lease on a financed loan or cash is reasonable. I chose a lease. $351/month $0 down, 45,000 miles, 36 months. $12/day. I put my son on the lease to build his credit while he is still in college. You really need to understand if you can drive the Volt without gas, and save the $100-$200 per month (25 - 50 gallons). I used 1 gallon last month, and about 1400 miles.
Agree with F8L's recommendation on Prius III vs. C. Same mileage, much better car. Also look for key features like DRL's, Auto/On/Off headlights, backup cam/sensors. I was planning to get Insight and then a C but higher mileage of Prius and better quality and features of Prius III vs. C and I got a Prius III/3 with the solar roof. Wish I had upgraded to a Prius III/4 with power seats, auto/on/off headlights and heads up display.
Proximal, what was the price difference between the C and the Prius III? Also the MPG was not as good with the III as with the C? Am I correct on that? I thought the III was like in the 40's MPG??
They wanted full price for the C, about $22K, and were dealing on the Prius III/3, about $24K and the Prius III was like a luxury car vs. C and there's such a small mpg difference.
No. The combined mpg is basically the same for the GenIII and the c. The GenIII does better on average on highways and the c does better on average in urban environments. The biggest difference will be how each car is driven.
It gets tricky trying to budget and plan for a Volt. Assuming a lease is not an option due to miles driven per year. You either need high tax liability (income) or drive fewer miles per year to make it work out. For folks driving 25,000+ per year I think the Prius is the better choice economically and the Volt is the better choice for a more enjoyable ride and the cool factor of EV.
you can buy extra miles on a lease for $0.15/mile so an extra $125/month for an extra 10,000 miles/yr. the residual is decreased $ for $ for extra lease miles purchased.
they have standard 10K, 12K, and 15K leases. After that you can buy as many miles as you want. If you wait to buy the miles at lease end, they are $0.20/mile. if the extra miles lowers the residual to $0, then you own the car. at 25,000 miles per year, $475/month, 70 miles per day EV, works out to $0.23/mile. pretty sweet if you ask me. for comparison, my $22K 07 Prius with 100,000 miles is running $0.30/mile, at 200,000 miles it will decrease to $0.19/mile. (I did not include maintenance costs in this raw calculation, just simple purchase price and $4 gasoline)
Stop using your confusing and incorrect nomenclature! You're about the only one who uses it and it only confuses newbies/prospective buyers. OP, please see Prius III confusion | PriusChat and the posts that follow. DO NOT go your dealer asking for a "Prius III" when you're just looking for a 3rd generation Prius liftback aka regular Prius. 2011+ Prius liftback models are Two thru Five. Notice that and Toyota Prius Family have no references to "Prius III"? Proximal, from many of your posts in various threads that I've seen and some of which I've participated in, your behavior borders on being trollish (Troll (Internet) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). I don't know if this is intentional or not. You're very close to being on my ignore list, but this doesn't solve the problem of you posting misinformation/confusing information.
That seems a little harsh. Toyota wasn't clean with their own North American branding and you follow Proximal over to a new thread and behave like a troll yourself. Grab a beer and watch some football, American Football that is.
Problem is Proximal keeps using confusing and incorrect nomenclature that Toyota does not use. It only seems serve to annoy others and creates confusion amongst newbies/potential owners. He knows it's wrong, yet he continues to do it, despite others telling him to stop and others (not just me) telling him he's wrong. What's worse is in that other thread, he gave its OP incorrect info. I don't like the naming convention switch all that much either, but that's no excuse for Proximal to keep using confusing and incorrect nomenclature + provide incorrect info. His responses to the OP of prius gun safe | PriusChat (for instance) and the argument that ensued (now deleted, unfortunately (?)) definitely provoked an emotional response from its OP. I personally don't have a strong opinion on the subject, but if you saw the OP's response, he wasn't too thrilled. Others have labeled him as a troll and others have been annoyed by his responses (for example: Stuck My Foot In It - REALLY Hard | PriusChat).
Stop the stalking and hijacking every thread with your troll argument. You have problem with the Prius III, talk to these guys. Gen III 2010+ Prius Main Forum
Sigh... I'm not stalking and not trolling. I have every right to read other posts on this forum. I guess I'm going to need to add to you to my ignore list. You've still never supplied any proof that Toyota refers to the 3rd generation Prius (aka ZVW30 aka Prius liftback) as "Prius III" other than the 2010 Prius III (aka Prius (model) Three in 2011+ parlance). You've also supplied no proof that Toyota uses your goofy and incorrect nomenclature (e.g. III/3, III/4). Why would someone walk into a dealership asking for a "three three" or "three four"? Notice what's at The 3rd Generation Toyota Prius Hybrid models and prices ? Prius Two, Prius Three, Prius Four, Prius Five
Can anyone answer the original question that I posted? If you can tell me about the Insight vs the Prius that would be real helpful? I don't want a Volt but appreciate the info. Thanks so much for whomever can answer the question if you know.
