Second car... another Prius?

I can't really relate to the potential need of a Prius V as a second car. My own 2012 liftback fulfills my needs in cargo space and my Great Dane is fitting well in the passenger area so all is good on that front too. My girlfriend recently added a Prius C to our driveway and I must say that it is quite pleasant for us to have 2 Priis! We live in Quebec (Canada) and after the last winter (the first I experienced with my Prius) I also felt like the Prius was quite fine in snow storm conditions. I would never imagine having the same fuel efficiency with any other car either so heck, IMO it's a good idea to acquire another liftback if the V is too pricy!

 

Northern Maine sees a small amount of snow. We have been greatly impressed with the Prius in snow as well as for crossing frozen bodies of water. The Prius handling, comfort and performance is outstanding.

My wife drives a Prius as her commuter vehicle.

I recently had to change from driving a 1/2 ton pickup to a 8 ton dump truck. Which leaves me lacking the ability to run simple errands [without using a full-size dump truck]. So we have been considering a second Prius.

I have spoken with our dealership. The math he showed me, is that a lease would save us over $100/month as compared to purchasing.

We are in the process of building a solar-electric system so our farm will soon be off-grid. I think I really want the Prius Plug-In. When it is not in use, it can be charging.

As to buying the leased vehicle after it's lease period, I would be hesitant there. The Prius is a great vehicle. But I question how great it will be after the warranty has expired and components begin to fail.

We have driven older used 'beaters' since the 70s. It has been my observation that as the decades go by, vehicles seem to have shorter life-spans. My dump truck, for example, is a 81', it is so rugged that it will easily last another decade. I think that very few of our modern vehicles will still be functioning after four decades of use. In 2007, we got our first 'new' vehicle. As it was nearing the end of it's warranty, we observed numerous signs that the end of it's life was approaching. This Prius [an '11] is the second new vehicle that we have owned. We love it. However I do not have much confidence that it will still be loveable in a decade. I think that, we will now be only buying new commuter vehicles, and we will be dumping them one day before the end of their warranty.

I recommend leasing, with intent to dump it at the end of it's lease.

 

I bought a 2013 Prius in March, and have been looking for a 2nd car for the weekend, trips, etc. I was considering a 2nd prius but decided to go with a mid-size, the Camry. I bought the SE trim and I love driving it. The prius is great for commuting and excellent on gas, but the camry fares very well on the highway, showing 35-40 mpg on the MID. It's WAY more fun to drive too.

 

We have owned two Prii for years. Both 07's. I traded mine in February for a '13 Persona and I absolutely love it! We are trying to talk our daughter into a Prii to replace her Honda CRV. Our goal is to be a complete Prius family!!! These cars are fantastic. Low on gas and low on maintenance!

 

My wife and I had two Mercedes SLKs (his & hers) at the same time. That was in addition to several other cars. Neither of the two were driven that much, one would have been better utilized. I sold mine after four years and vowed to never own two same model cars. I've had my Prius Plug In since January and love it. I was hoping to sway my wife towards one, but so far, she's not interested. The Prius is a great car for many reason. I would love two Prii in my three car garage. With the intentions of two drivers, two cars.

 

If you want to retain AWD for winter use, there are some hybrid options:

- New 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek hybrid
- Certified pre-owned AWD Highlander or RX hybrids.

 

we have two, I have mine and then bought the wife a level 5 and she loves it, I mainly use mine to travel to the offices and put over 50,000 a year on a car, we use her car on weekends and whatever.

 

Subaru AWD is awesome. Best I have ever driven. In the snow you can't stop these beasts without serious driver side idiocy. On the track the power to the wheels through the AWD is super easy to deliver, extremely different than the quattro setup on Audi's and Lambos. You can get a Suby up to speed with little training, but try that on a Lambo and you will just be burning tires, the clutch or both unless you have launch control.

But anyways, the Prius is a capable snow car and works well. If you want a another Prius, why not? I see no downsides.

Like the above posters mentioned, if you want an AWD hybrid then you have many options. Our RX450h gets about 28mpg but the hybrid is more luxurious in that it shares no shifting and quietness. The RX350 it replaces was and extremely awesome vehicle, but the 450h is even better if possible.

If you want to venture outside of the Toyota world, there are other options out there.

 

Get a small truck. The great Prius MPG will make up for the lower MPG in the truck but you will have the ability to haul and tow stuff ease. Got my first house last year and just purchase my first Prius recently. While I love the car there are many times I wish I had a truck. Maybe when my kids get old enough to drive in a few years we can add a truck.

 

I have been remodelling my entire house myself and everything has fit in the Prius, in 1 trip. The only exception is drywall. I borrowed a friend's truck once and that was it. Bathtubs (full size soakers in the box) fit in the hatch back. A half ton of slate tile fits and was hauled. 20+ bags of cement. Enough lumber to build a deck, incuding support posts and 10ft planks of redwood. A truck is not needed 99.9999% of the time. And for $19.95 you can rent a Home Depot truck for an hour for the 1 time a decade you actually need a truck.

 

We had two Prii in our garage for a few years (also in MN).
With good tires, we found the Prii handled the winters very well and our driving needs very well.

My wife and I each enjoyed them very much and I certainly would not dissuade anyone from getting two if a hybrid best meets their needs.

 

I don't want 2 of the same car

 

Get different colors!