Even if I had unlimited funds and had the attitude "screw economy", I still cannot think of a car thats as fun to drive as the prius? Yea.. if I were immune to tickets and could fly around on the autobaun at 160 - 180, that may be fun..... but If I didnt' kill myself or someone else... is that what I need for my Mr. X lifestyle living in America and going back and forth to work near everyday and on joy rides with my family through the country or on long vacations..... do I really want a road warrior car for that?.. and if I had it would I really use it at the risk of killing my whole family and/or getting tickets to where I couldn't afford insurance or get my license revoked?
We had a Corolla for 9 years, a Civic before that, and my most recent ride for 5 years has been a B4 Passat GLX Wagon. After the Passat, I could never give up the leather, the drivability, interior room, a decent sound system, quiet ride, etc. But the VW has been forever a series of expensive trips to the mechanics for maintenance or repairs. I missed the reliability of the Corolla, and the fuel economy of the Civic. With the wife driving a Forester, I could give up a wagon, but still wanted a hatchback. And I still wanted to keep the refinement, pep, and toys. And I found all that in the Prius. Plus the styling and "smart" features that I imagined a car of the 21st century would have.
oh and speaking of leather, I thought I would mention my wifes comment on how the leather in the prius is not as "cold" to the feel as the leather in her chrysler. And the car itself is not as cold... like its more "sealed" and holds its heat from the outside elements.... And it heats up faster than any car I've ever seen..... I think I read that it has two Ceramic heaters to help toast you in the mornings until the ICE gets warm enough to do it by convection. A tremendous amount of thought and TLC went into this car that they could have gotten away with "not" doing....Its the little details that makes a car excellent rather than just "good". Yea a new car is always fun... but wow the experience of feeling like you have an "awesome" car rather than just a nice new one! There is good reason there is a long waiting line for the prius... and its not just the economy!.... thats just the hook that lures us in... once you drive one, it takes about 30 seconds to sell you ..... economy or not. Although I'm still getting used to the smaller tires as I prefer the asthetics of larger tires, I'm not willing to take the mpg hit to change to them..... Nor was I willing to drive in a rickety roller skate to save gas..... There is no stinkin way I would have paid 30K for a car "I'm buying two" unless it had something every impressive to sway me.... no I'm not made of money...... I work hard for my money... The basic impression on your very first drive is..... Wow, this is a very nice car!
Thanks considering I didn't really take care of it as I should have, I'm impressed it didn't fall apart sooner than it did.
hmm, now the question is a used classic prius with no warrenty or the new Toyota Yaris for almost the same price? I've read that the yaris sits tall, agile, quiet & refined yet I've read others that the classic can be noisy at highway speeds. Sure the classic will probably be 30 percent more efficient (in consuming gas & insurance will be cheaper) but my worries are that the difference in savings won't make up for problems later on as opposed to the brand new Yaris. The price difference between the two is probably going to be in the couple thousand. but oh boy but I love the classic, but I need a reliable car too. But the prius fits my driving style very well yet the Yaris sedan is very appealing to me, since both cars are from the same automaker just not as fuel efficient...
Just to note the EV-1 used lead-acid batteries. If it stepped up to NiMH, or LiIon, it would have significantly increased its modern range.
Also, the occasional use is what Hertz is for (or better zipcar)! We need to change our habits and not buy a car just so that it's big enough or have range enough for that 1 trip out of a hundred.
Far more than one trip in a hundred requires greater than 75 mile range. At 75 miles, I could BARELY get to work and back (no side-trip errands). I couldn't make a round trip to my dad's (90 miles), my father in law (80 miles), my brothers (700 miles), or my brother in law (400 miles). No trips to ball games, beaches, or the mountains. I don't need a truck for loads, and rent one when needed, but a car with 75 mile range just won't cut it for me.
Again depends what you want. A 4-dr sedan or a 3-dr hatchback. A fuel efficient car (the pioneer) or a small car with lotsa goodies (like CD Changer, mp3, side skirts, sports seats etc). My preference is the Yaris since I'd rather buy a new, cheap car than a used expensive car for the same price. But if you can't afford or just don't wish to shell out the $20k for the new Prius, the Classic will get by fine. A number of Classic owners here can get very good mileage (45-47mpg was it?). You also get a car that has a super tight turning radius, Corolla-sized interior, a decent boot, you can slide to and from either front seat because of the low centre console box and you get the funky "gun-grip" shift lever.
The Corolla is a terrific car. I own a Geo Prizm which I am told is basically the same thing. But, as this picture of my new 50 gallon water heater will illustrate, it is hard to compare it with a Prius: [Broken External Image]:http://home.earthlink.net/~john_gjertsen/data/prius with heater.jpg (Incidently, the tax credit and the mileage may have been the "main reasons" I bought the Prius, but it was the utility of a hatchback that brought me to the point of even considering it.)
I read through all the posts and this hit a button because: My (40 Y/O single) cousin lives in So.Cal and has a long commute, old Beamer on last legs so I asked if he got a Prius yet (listing many favorite features). He replied, saying "I'm glad you like your Prius, I decided to treat myself and have ordered a Prosche Cayman S". Okaaayyyy. So I look at the Porsche web site and see the thing costs $59K (manual). I compared features. The ONLY things you can get (standard or optional) on the Cayman that you can't get standard or part of a package (from the dealer) on a new Prius Heated seats Height adjustable seats Headlamp washers Rain sensor 0-60 MPH in 5.1 seconds 171 MPH A spoiler automatically deployed at 75 MPH (so the Highway Patrol in most states doesn't need radar to see you are speeding ) I don't care a fig about the last 3 and I don't see the others as being worth $34K. Now I know a Porsche is not a Prius. I know driving a Porsche says something about the owner (depending on who is doing the thinking). I also know it was designed to run the Autobahn at 120 MPH not dawdle along in gridlock traffic. At that $59K price look at the list of OPTIONAL equipment Auto climate control - standard on base Prius rear wiper - standard on base Prius automatic - standard on base Prius. I know, most buyers would want a stick in a car like that. autodimming mirror in the trunk CD changer BiXenon headlights (similar to HID??) 9 speaker Bose stereo - I assume this is WAY better than the Prius's JBL Nav with 5" screen and joystick control In my tiny mind, for $59K EVERY ONE of those should be standard, except the automatic transmission (though I wouldn't give up my Prius 'CVT' for ANYTHING). And the things I love about my Prius that you CAN'T get on the Cayman (hybrid, seats/funtionality and mileage (20/28) aside): Smart Key Side curtain airbags Electronic 'heads up display" by wire transmission And there are NO controls on the wheel, everything is clustered on the front of the dash. The website says the driver can operate them without taking his/her eyes off the road. I doubt it, not after seeing the picture. The hunt time while you feel for the right one would be long enough most people would look at them to find the right one more quickly. For some, it is worth an extra $34K even though it can't be legally driven to anywhere near its design. OK, fine for them. My point - to the original poster- You get a heck of a lot in a Prius that you WON'T get in any car near it's price. You can not compare a Prius to a Corolla on size or features and you can't compare a Prius to a Camry on features. Do NOT take a prior poster's tongue-in-cheek warning not to drive a Prius. Go do it and you will see the difference. Some things take a bit of 'mind-twisting' since they aren't what you are used to. After VERY little time, you see they are brilliant in design - the transmission joystick on the dash, the display forward under the windshield instead of hidden behind the steering wheel, the Power button to start and stop the car (which puts itself in Park when you shut down). You'll be dumping your current 'well beyond what most people keep a car' vehicle and filing for the $3150 tax CREDIT on your taxes next year.
Hmmm the apples & oranges debate... Corolla= Smaller car concidered a compact same as echo.. Prius= Mid-sized car, base model comes fully loaded compaired to other base model vehicles by other manufacturers.. There is good reason there is a long waiting line for the prius... and its not just the economy!.... thats just the hook that lures us in... once you drive one, it takes about 30 seconds to sell you ..... economy or not.
Why not get a corolla??? Because a corolla is BORING... who the hell want to be seen in a corolla? (not that it is not a functional, reliable, car and all... but I like to have a stylish, functional, reliable car... after briving a VW New Beetle for the last 3 years, ive gotten used to having my car get noticed!)
Had that on a Peugeot 406 we rented in France. I wish it was an option on Japanese cars. The automatic sensor was great in drizzly weather, especially in heavy traffic. It really worked well.
For what it's worth, I'll describe the 'evolutionary' process that led me to Prius-land: I initially had purchased myself a space in the line to buy the Lexus SUV. At the time, not much was known about it, except that it would be hybrid and would be based on the RX330 platform. When it came out, it became clear the emphasis was on horsepower, not mpg and it also became clear that the price was at the $50k level. I declined when offered one. That put me in limbo a little bit. I had earlier known that Toyota's minivan, the Siena, has a hybrid model, with AWD, but that model is only available in Japan; and, last I heard, there were no plans to bring it to the US. And that is still true, to this day. Nevertheless, I test-drove a Siena Ltd AWD and liked some things about it, not others. Notably, the ride was nondescript and it seemed to me that the Siena would soon be eclipsed either by someone else's minivan or by a new version that would make me regret I bought the old version. I then had an epiphany. What was I thinking? The Prius was the car, all along. It had the hybrid, properly configured, had a lot of cache and a ton of features normally found in more expensive cars (Infiniti, for example, had pionered the video-in-reverse thingy) and was under $30K unless you bumped into a 'mark-up' dealership. What was I thinking, indeed? I took my number, got in line and waited my turn. I took delivery in late February. I'm breaking the car in slowly. I'm still in my first tank of gas, in winter, and am averaging 50.8mpg. The cache is real. The car is extraordinary, especially at that price. I'll confess, hopefully without sounding elitist, that my 3 of my last 4 cars have been Mercedes, BMW and Lexus (with a Toyota Sequoia in the mix). The Prius has as much cache as any of the above.
