Cost and Build Quality of Prius vs. Corolla?

Honda Fit >> Toyota Yaris

I sat in one of those new Yaris 4 door hatchbacks recently .... C%$p interior, hated it. If there was ever a Mickey Mouse, pathetic, piece of junk, non adjustable, non-telescoping steering wheel in a car, the Yaris has it.

What a wasted opportunity for a taller driver: Decent seat rendered utterly useless for me due to junk non-telescoping steering wheel.

Will Toyota EVER learn the importance of making nice steering wheels in ALL their cars??

Honda Fit so much better IMO.

 

If you rent a car, a Corolla is really inexpensive, Prius, expensive.

If you get hit and have to have a rent car to replace your Prius, the insurance company will tell you that they are the same and will give you a Corolla.

The $30 a day Corolla rent car I got stuck with wasn't even close to my Prius.

 

Congratulations on your choice.

I went through the same process in 2009.

My conclusion was though the Corolla would be reliable transportation, it was not in the same league as the Prius for space, versatility, quality or driving experience.

 

Or status. Nobody ever asks "Hey, how do you like your Corolla" or any interesting questions as it's just another car.

 

Yes, but no one asked me that about my Prius either. Many of my friend and coworkers are very conservative (ie. brainwashed) and will never ever bring it up. But, I did notice that one of them quietly purchased a hybrid Camry (hard to see it's hybrid from a distance).

 

Yeah, it's quite different on the west coast, but at least you're getting noticed by driving a Prius rather than a Camry even if your conservative friends and coworkers don't say anything.

 

I get asked about my Prius all the time by friends, family, co-workers, and complete strangers. When I drove a Civic people were like, "Are you into ricing or some other mentally handicapped hobby?" Too many people ruined the image of a Civic for me to even consider it again.

 

The Yaris doesn't have a telescopic steering wheel, but it has a tilt steering wheel.

 

Got to ride in a friend's 2012 Civic LX today and I'd say the interior build quality is about the same as Prius.

Too bad I can't say the Prius has the pep or nimble feel the Civic seemed to have. Road noise might be about the same between the two. FE gauge was reading 34.x MPG

Also too bad Car and Driver seems to pan just about all Toyota's on having much fun to drive factor. I didn't think Camry SE was all that either.

 

I just got through driving a 2009 Corolla LE for 255,000miles in 4.5 years.
It was a great car that only needed 2 water pumps and an alternator.
Until the transmission died.
Traded it in on a 2010 Prius with 25,000 miles on it.
Prius has Better Seats, Better Ride, Quieter Cabin, More Legroom.
For me...20 mpg better....I got 35 with the Corolla...I get 55 with the Prius.

 

I bought my Prius purely for environmental reasons, I never even test drove it. The first time I ever sat in a Gen 3 Prius was the day I picked mine up from the dealer. I treated it like buying totally with the head as a transportation appliance. It is even a white one because that is the colour that will make the air-con work less. I have been very happy with it though. Very comfortable seats, great driving position, roomy in the back (I can sit behind me driving and I am 6'4") and the economy and driving in EV mode is just fabulous.

It has had a tough act to follow though, the car it replaced as a daily driver was a Citroen CX. If you want comfort in every way you can't beat that. The old CX is quieter than the Prius which suffers a bit with road noise. However the Prius uses a third of the fuel of the old car, the only thing I don't know is how the Pruis will be after 500,000km. The old Citroen is still going strong. We shall see.

 

Was this automatic transmission or manual?

 

The comparison itself is odd to me.

I've said it before in numerous other posts by people trying to decide whether to buy a Prius or "Regular Car X".
But it really has to come down to how much you want a Hybrid and/or a Prius.

If the benefits and/or reality of owning a Hybrid aren't valuable enough to you? Get the "regular" vehicle.

IMO, the Corolla is a durable, very nice, versatile all purpose type of vehicle. It's not a hybrid, it's not a Prius. If you are having a tough time deciding between the two? I almost think you should just get The Corolla. Because if you're not really excited and motivated about the idea of owning a Hybrid, eventually I think you'll just become disgruntled. I thought about buying a Prius and owning a Hybrid for years...I didn't actually buy it, until I was at a point where there really was no question it was the vehicle I wanted to own.

AND....

AMEN to that.

I love my Prius...but the steering wheel in comparison to the Leather Wrapped Sports Steering Wheel in my Old Honda Fit...was the thing I missed the most. I bought a wheelskin cover, and it helps a LOT...but...I still miss the Honda Sports Steering Wheel.

I can understand "entry level" and even just plastic. BUT Toyota for some reason seemed to go out of their way to make the Prius plastic steering wheel feel horrible.

 

I owned an '09 Civic with the sporty 3-spoke steering wheel. Compared to any other vehicle, it felt like a go-kart wheel. It was definitely more responsive, but it lacked tilt and on my '06 Prius' wheel I can control my media, air conditioner, phone calls, defrosters, MFD, and many features with the voice command button. When I first discovered the features of the steering wheel, I decided that they made up for the lackluster materials.

 

How to justify 8000$? Lets see. 49mpg vs what? 30-35mpg? So 150000/33=4545galons ans*3.7=16818$ and 150k/49=3061 ans*3.7= 11326. So that justifies 5500$ for 150000m. The more you drive Prius the more you save in a long run. Right?


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Man, there sure are a lot of Prius Koolaid aid drinkers. I guess you'd have to expect that here.

The prius is a great car, but to pretend that it's any more or less of an econobox than the Corolla is delusional. My 05 Corolla was FAR BETTER in terms of comfort, interior niceties, and plushness than my Prius. The Prius is simply an econobox that gets better mileage than the a Corolla.

The Corolla also squeaked and rattled FAR LESS.

If I were you, I'd get a loaded leftover Mazda 3 ... They have them for about $4k off sticker now.

Better handling, better engine, better transmission, and fantastic mileage, and no squeaks and rattles.

My 2012 Mazda3 has averaged 37-38 mpg for the first 15k miles with a high of 47.1 on an all highway trip. That's Prius territory. The Skyactiv engines are fantastic, and the M3 is actually FUN to drive.

REV

 

I can understand "entry level" and even just plastic. BUT Toyota for some reason seemed to go out of their way to make the Prius plastic steering wheel feel horrible.



Agreed .... The melted plastic interior of the Prius, total lack of sound insulation, and road noise is starting to really wear on my nerves. My wife's Mazda3 is so far and above the Prius in fit, finish, and overall drivetrain sophistication that I'm seriously looking at trading the Prius on a leftover M3 hatchback. The Prius only has about a 7-10 mpg advantage, and costs $5-7k more. You can buy a lot of gas for that $5-7k in savings, and actually enjoy driving your car.


REV

 

But isn't that up to ~40 mpg on the highway? What happens when you get stuck in traffic or stoplights?

Today I strolled thru a local Toyota dealer with my wife and we seen a 2014 white Corolla S+ which had the leather/cloth seats and other bling bling. That car looked damn nice and stickered at only $22k Looks like good competition for the Elantra and Forte.

Mike

 

I think it's rated 28/40/32, but my wife easily beats the 32 combined with a 50/50 commute. If totally highway miles, on the 240 mile trip, the computer said 43.1, but I calculated 47.1. I was so shocked, I actually got back out and tried to put more gas in it ... I thought it must have clicked off early, but it was full to the top. I'm meticulous about mileage and there's no doubt that it actually got that. Keep in mind it was all highway, and I was going for mileage, so I kept it pinned at 65 pretty much the whole way.

My Prius gets 45-47 overall, so it has about a 7-10 mpg advantage, but i DID Lose about 3 mpg when I installed the pro contacts with ecoplus, so that would take the Prius back up to about 48 overall.

I'm just saying that 37-38 overall in a much nicer platform in a much nicer tactile environment is something to consider. My M3 is a Skyactiv Touring model with sunroof and Bose system, and at year end last year, it cost me $17k. My Prius cost me $21k in 2010, so it was only a $4k difference.

I must admit though, the interior of the Prius is starting to wear on me with all the melted plastic, and as noisy as it is on the road. The M3 is eons better, far better equipped, and handles like a sports car, while still getting pretty damn good mileage. You just have to decide if the 10 mpg trade off vs the extra $5-7k in cost is that important to you. I'm starting to think it might not be a bad idea.

REV

 

It was an automatic, It still drove fine forward, but in reverse you could feel a strange shudder as if it were slipping.
Scared me enough to quickly trade it in. Toyota gave me $2100 for it which paid it off.
My mechanic would have put in a junkyard transmission for about 1500, but he told me to go buy a new car instead.