There is a hybrid Camry (and a hybrid Avalon) if you do not feel the Prius is upscale enough. No car is ideal for everyone.
Heard an interesting anecdote that fits this thread. We finally got to test drive a Prius yesterday ('13 'v' / 5 model), and the salesman told me they had to replace the battery of a Prius they took in trade: an '03 with 240K on it. I'd say that's something I could live with......
Every time I meet somebody ignorant enough to mention it to me, it makes me want to find the first baby I see and punch it repeatedly What Ive been doing lately, is referring people that are uneducated about hybrid-electrics to PriusChat. I tell them to poke around the forums, read up on the myths debunked threads and make their own call. You can lead a horse to water...
What makes it more interesting is that the NiMH battery in the 2003 is different from the one in the 2004-2013. The 2004+ Prius NiMH is more robust so 240k on the 2003 is pretty impressive.
Yes Tideland, I'm very impressed with my "lower quality" Gen I batteries that are still going strong after 12 years.
I am new to this. Trying to find someone that uses a Prius on a mail route. Any suggestions of where to look?
Someone in the GenII forum uses one on a mail route and really enjoys the car. You might try doing a search on the forum and a general google search for Prius mail route.
The warranty also helps one concerned about battery replacement. The links were great in this thread.
a rural carrier post office prius roams the country side near to me...2004 290000 miles...2 set of brakes since he bought it new in nov2003...3 -12v small batteries over 9 years...high voltage hybrid battery still original at +/-5% of specified voltage of new...of course tires and routine care...the only complaint was the traction hesitation in snow which was addressed by toyota in later model years...to a degree...
