Hi folks. I see that I first registered here in November 2003, looking into buying a new Prius at the time. You young whippersnappers may not recall that was the era of waiting lists, paying a premium over list price, and driving to distant dealerships to try to get new Prius, or even test drive one. I eventually gave up, and bought a Honda Accord that I am now ten years and 160,000 miles into. It worked out well, but it is new car time again for me, and I am back here to see what I missed. So, you guys still think this here "Prius" thing is a good idea? Off to browse around and get myself back up to date. I' m probably a month or two from actually buying the car. May have some serious questions later...
Welcome back. I'm from before that era, 14 years ago for me... and Prius stills delivers. 76 MPG is my annual average with my current one, the plug-in model.
DGoddard2 - Welcome To The Hybrid Hive. As some one who has owned and driven both the Prius sedan and Station Wagon, v(vee), I can highly recommend the Prius v(vee) Wagon as a "Caddy In A Kimono." This "V"onder "V"agon delivers an optimal balance between fuel economy, driver & passenger comfort, and cargo hauling volume. I invite you to click on the link leading to my "Ten Tips Guide," and read it to get "Hybrid $mart'er."
Greetings and Welcome back Aboard. If you don't have any stick time in a G3? Go and rent one. That will answer many questions. Good Luck.
i remember one year waiting lists. i lucked out in 04 when someone who had pre ordered decided not to buy and the dealer emailed a bunch of us and said first come first serve. amazingly, that was me! now i'm on my third and wouldn't even consider driving anything else. all the best with your decision!
GAVE UP MY LIFETIME PACT WITH HONDA AFTER DRIVING MOM 2010 PRIUS FOR A WEEK. I PAID CASH FOR A '12 MODEL 2 BUT, MIGHT LOOK AT A CERTIFIED '12 AT $15-16K AND SAVE THE MONEY FOR MORE MODS.
Well, there are a lot of posts to catch up on when you skip about ten years.... It seems like I need to decide on a hatchback vs, the v, and whether to go for the plugin or not. And possibly whether to wait for the 2015s, but I don't think I will end up waiting that long. My kids are off to college, so I probably won't go with the v. And I may be too cheap to go for the plugin. I'm also about 6'4", so I think I will look for opinions about headroom and legroom. Guess I will start with the G3 forums and info....
PRICES OVER THE YEARS HAVENT GONE UP TOO MUCH FROM YEAR TO YEAR. JUST REVIEWED MY MOMS FILES ON HER GENS 1~2 & 3 2001 TO 2010 AND I WOULD WAIT TO SEE WHAT THEY COME UP WITH. WE ADDED SOME SEAT EXTENSIONS TO THE PERSONA WHICH IS A BASE IN CONSIDERATION OF SIZE IT WOEKS WELL AND LEFT A BIT OF ROOM IN THE BACK. I BET I WILL BE GREEN WITH ENVY. MOM HAS 15K MILES ON THE 2010! WHAT DO YOU THINK TIME FOR HER TO STEP UP?
Just so you know the "next" Prius killer is supposed the new Honda Accord Hybrid. Here are the prior contenders for Prius killer: Go with Plug-In if CA HOV access is important for you. Prii made after Nov_2013 will fix the crash test issue with the new IIHS small overlap crash test.
Hey, thanks wjtracy! I see that starting in March the plugin will get me on the Fastrak expresslanes for free. Since that is something I am paying for now, it changes the financial calculus a bit.
You Cali folks get all the cool stuff. We were an inch away from a deal on an Advanced 2012 Plug-in for same price as a base after all the tax advantages and discounts. Here with the 11 +/- miles on battery it could take 6-8 months to use a tank. The '15s are all going to have the plug-in stock on all from an article on the web.
Good deal. In your Plug-In calculus, don't forget the $1500 CA rebate and $2500 Fed tax credit. Now if CA HOV access is important you will need to check into how long CA is promising HOV access for Plug_in Prius, and I hesitate to mention (full disclosure) that some Plug_ins may offer even better tax credits and possibly better HOV access. Also the next-gen 2015 PiP might qualify for longer CA HOV access so there might be merit to lease...but I leave all that calculus to you...since you mentioned calculus I am sure you can handle it.
