In motorcycling, we used to say 'it's not the bike, it's the rider'. You can get around really well in Prius in suburbs if you put some driving skill into it. It's not amazing on the open highway and not a great hill climber, but it can get the job done.
Love my Prius Plus and it made it a little easier to switch because i was still in something with a little bit of a sporty look.
I drove Mercedes for the last 15 years. No problems, cheap on maintenance, comfortable and fast..... I use my car mostly(90%) to go to work and back....20 mi return trip. If you calculate the costs then you'll find out that you pay way too much for getting to work. I did the calculations and bought a Prius. No regrets. How much fun is driving to work? Do you want to pay that much for no fun? A Prius is fast enough here....and the pace is a bit higher than in the US. But I have to add that taxation here is based on weight, fuel and mainly CO2 emission ( no tax for Prius) and gas costs around $8/gallon. If I wanna have fun I'll take my Ducati, but never a Bimmer for me.....don't need a pecker extension.....
I have had the 325i, 535i, and the Prius. If you were to give me a choice right now between the Prius and a 5 series BMW, I would take the Prius for sure. But if you gave me the opportunity to go back 7 years and never get the 3-series BMW in favor of the Prius, I still would have got the BMW first. I think if you have never had a luxury car and you get a Prius, you would always be wondering about the alternative. Are the BMW lease and Prius purchase being compared because they are about the same amount of money? If you have a good financial situation and know it will be stable for at least 10-15 years, then it may be advantageous to lease a new car every few years, only paying the depreciation, and getting into a nicer car for less money. But you will have to spend a down payment every few years and monthly fees forever. If you don't have a few thousand dollars and decent credit at the end of the lease, your in a bind. With the purchase of a Prius you pay the down payment once, the monthly payments have an end date, and you save money on gas. Then in a few years if you have the money and want a new car, you can trade up for a new car and pay the difference, which should theoretically have about the same total cost had you leased. But in 4 years if you dont have the money and can't get a new car so easily, you will be close to done with the payments and owning the Prius outright. You will have reliable transportation that you don't have to rent. And you will have equity in the car.
The original poster never mentioned: vehicle efficiency fuel efficiency In engineering we have a concept called 'managing user expectations.' This user made no metion of the Prius strengths but rather discussed attributes (aka., requirements) having nothing to do with Prius strengths. Although we own two Prius, the first bought used and the second bought new (relucantly), I think they need to go with the vehicle that matches their requirements. I think they are short-changing themselves by not test driving the Lexus hybrids BUT their ignorance (and future fuel purchases) has no impact on me and my family. Plus, they did not in their ignorance include the Lexus hybrids as an option (fool and money.) So go for the German car and go away. You are not smart enough to know the difference . . . and I am not in the business of helping a fool preserve their money. Bob Wilson
Do want mileage, using less oil, less pollution and greater value or do you want to pay higher cost for status and use twice as much oil and produce twice as much pollution?
One thing you will discover in a Prius is how your driving style will change and how much more relaxed you will be as a driver. The Prius will also adjust your mindset when it comes to driving in traffic. Instead of bemoaning the slow and go traffic jams, you will find the "silver lining" in the vastly improved fuel economy that slow and go driving yields when driving a Prius. You will love how the car shuts the engine off when stopped at a stop light (thus not wasting gas) and, unlike the Insight, you can still run the A/C when stopped. You will love the maintenance schedule for the Prius (oil changes every 10,ooo miles, tire rotations every 5,000 miles) because you won't have to shell out the big bucks for the 15,000 mile and 30,000 miles services that other cars have. Having a 500 mile range on a car is very nice. If you check the fuel economy forums, you'll see a bunch of people get 600 miles on a tank, less get 700 miles on a tank, and some can even go 800 miles on a tank. Your mileage may vary.
This is not only an apples/oranges comparison but an extreme one at that. I you want a sporty car there are many others less costly than a BMW ---- like a VW Golf GTI, a Subaru Impreza (2012>) or a Ford Fiesta --- all available with a manual transmission. If you want comfortable seats and only semi-sporty, you can get a Volvo C30 for well under $30K with a six-speed manual. Except for the Impreza, these cars will prove to have higher maintenance costs than a Toyota, but initial cost is a lot less than a BMW. Avoid a VW TDI due to it's fatal HPFP flaw.
VW is having some problems with the fuel system self-destructing and the intercoolers filling up with condensation.
They make an electric car, and do have hybrids now! Innovations - Efficient Dynamics - Explore ActiveE - BMW North America
Lease a Volt...they feel more expensive than a Prius (because they are) and if you can plug it in can save you money vs. a BMW and are relatively quick. If all you want is a sporty car then look at the Focus ST or VW GTI or even the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart..(baby Evo with less power but same engine minus forged internals, AWD, hatchback model
Take a look at the Prius PHEV (most useful if you frequently drive short distances) and similar cars like the Chevy Volt. If a 100 mile or so range is enough, also look at the Nissan Leaf and the Focus EV.
In 2005 I was making bank and looked for a luxury sports car. I purchased a 2006 BMW for 40 grand put 10 grand down and financed the balance. In 2012 I sold the car for 12 Grand after the loan was paid and bought the Prius. The BMW was great the first 3 years although the car needed a quart of oil every 10,000 miles and it was a money pit. Routine maintenance is a fortune and simple things like run flats cost $1,200 to $1,500 a set of Brakes $300 a wheel, etc. the Great Recession hit in 2007 and I weathered the storm but envied my money savvy Prius driving friends. I purchased my Prius 4 months ago and never looked back. It is the best car I ever driven. Perhaps everyone needs to be penny wise and pound foolish once and buy a BMW but unless your a mechanic stay clear or be willing to pay the unbearable cost of ownership. The costs add up, premium gas, expensive to maintain, repairs can be in the thousands, and hard to sell when it is used. The car is a chick magnet but the girls are all gold diggers so the car and the girls will bleed you dry. Hopefully you will save a little and find the girl who appreciates you and not your car and the Platinum card that goes with it.
Heh, but the OP is a chick. BMW could possibly == Brings Me Women besides Behold, My Wallet, Broke My Wallet or Big Money Waster... FWIW, when I lived up in WA state, BMW 3-series were a dime a dozen. They were extremely common at where I worked. I do not know I didn't think they're chick magnets being so common up there. Some folks do have irrational attractions to certain things, be it BMWs or other things. One of my female friends really wanted at BMW (she was going to buy a used 3-series) years ago but in hindsight, it was probably a good idea she didn't since she later went on to get an MBA and ended up w/massive student loan debt. She ended up buying a new '11 Prius a year ago after I guess she didn't want to spend any more $ repairs and maintenance on her '97 Accord. Someone I was dating years ago while we were walking, spotted a BMW Z4 parked on the street and she seemed very drawn to its styling... So, I do not know. I probably would never buy a BMW for many of the reasons already stated here but at the same time, I can sort of see the appeal to some folks (handling, acceleration (w/the right engine), some luxury and to some, prestige of the brand). If I were looking for a RWD sports or sporty car w/decent styling that's not so much $, I'd probably look at the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ. If I wanted to spend a bit more, maybe an Infiniti G, Nissan 370Z, or Lexus IS.
Just a story. My good friend I worked with was in the dating game and wrote his bio on his profile. He was going on about 1 date a week. I said add a few lines, and coached him to add a mid level executive employed with a Fortune 500 company with an interest toward his European Sports cars and true love with the right person. His numbers went up to 4-5 a week. Every girl he dated complemented his car and asked what he did for a living. 5 years later still no serious relationship. The other coworker asked me to critique his add. I said add a up and rising Fortune 500 employee who admires his Beach home, fine dining, interesting conversations and saving the environment one Prius at a time. He was engaged in 2 years.
^^^ Sigh... Unfortunately, I'm not mid-level exec nor am I a fan of European cars. I also have no beach home. Still wanting to get a Leaf as a 2nd car... long story as to why I haven't yet.
Thanks: I was just reading something along this line just this weekend: Source: http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app58/app20120093_acc.pdf, Persons, W.S., IV, Currie, P.J., and Norell, M.A., 201X. Oviraptorosaur tail forms and functions. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 5X (X): xxx-xxx. Oviraptorosaur tail forms and functions - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica This artist sketch of the oviraptorosaurs makes a lot of sense: Bob Wilson
If you can afford the BMW, check out the Prius 4 first. It has a power driver seat and Softex seats (imitation leather). You should find the seats more comfortable (and adjustable) than the lower trim models. It is a revelation not to worry at all about the price of gas, considering that your gas costs will be halved from what you are now driving. The other choice is to buy the BMW, and live with the high cost of gasoline and later the high cost of maintaince then after you have put several grand down that rathole you will probably buy a new 2018 Prius.
