Why did you buy the Prius? Gas savings or evironmental statement?

...I would add (4) very practical family car/liftback design. Even if it wasn't a hybrid, you'd be hard pressed to match the practical-ness and style of it.

Why me for Prius? If you go back to ~2004 and 2005, Consumer Reports was giving rave reviews about Prius (not so much CR but the user ratings were astronomical). But before that, I saw some industry trend charts showing hybrids taking 5% of the market (at the time it was 0%). I said really "what's a hybrid?" When I heard what it was, I was sold on the concept.

 

...and money!
The weekly trek to the gas station(not to mention the $50 fillup cost) was really starting to bother me... so I got a Prius.

Once I got the Prius- the mere 50mpg I was getting started to bother me... so I traded it in for the PIP.
June + July I ended up at 101mpg for the month.
With 3 days left in Aug- I'm currently at 113mpg for the month!

Love the PIP!

 

Cost of ownership compared to other commuter workhorses. Bottom line.

If it was solely about burning gasoline, I'd take the commuter bus. But that is more expensive than driving my Prius.

 

I teach Environmental Law, with emphasis on the Clean Air Act. So I had to put my money where my mouth was. I don't mind the gas mileage, either! It took me a while to get used to the Generation III, and I am hoping Generation IV upgrades the suspension and has better visibility. Better gas mileage would be welcome, too.

 

I was looking at vehicles that had more usable room than my Camry. I liked the Rav4, but not enough. I liked the Diesel Jetta Sportwagon, but not the dealers, and I'm a little iffy to VW. So then the V was in the contest. The V won.

My mileage goes from 28 to 42, I have most of the room I needed, and it's not a tank SUV. If I had to tow my boat, it would have been a Toureg Diesel, despite the VW dealers.

 

I went for the great mileage, the technology and the reliability, in that order.

 

Alright here's why, in a nutshell:
When I was a child, I first became intrigued when someone told me fluorescent light bulbs produce the same amount of light as normal bulbs with like a fifth of the energy. Ever since then I have been immersed in the concept of "energy efficiency." Getting a hybrid was a combination of (i) paying off my SUV at the sweet spot in its age and (ii) capturing that childhood fascination as best as possible. I went with as small a hybrid as possible and I really like the color, so put it all together. I picked up my new car totally ecstatic and with no regrets.

 

Being an electrical engineer, did I have a choice? Every time I drive my C I become amused at all the technlogy working coordinately. AS 'high-level' cars are using start-stop I can only think that is a bad joke.

Next come environment and last are savings, as likely I'm not going to recover the higher price paid if compared to a conventional car (my car averages 40kms per day, about 25 miles)

Sent ?

 

My Prius payment was less than the amount of gas I put in the 4Runner every month!
8gal = 400 miles

 

Got a used Gen II because I need to commute 36,000 miles a year. My running average is 48mpg, and having the cheapest gas in the country makes it all affordable. A smaller carbon footprint is a bonus, that is if reducing carbon in the atmosphere is important.