Newb to Newbs! Besides MPG, what attracted you?

I'm a big fan of safety and I'm also a pretty green guy. When I found out the Prius Five has many safety features that are normally reserved for cars costing many times it's price, I figured that would be the car for me and my kids (actually my wife stole that one).

 

When we started looking last June, we wanted comfort, enough cargo space for a Costco run, decent mileage, and within our budget. We looked at several that fell short before trying the Prius and it meet all our criteria, but what really sold me was the fact that I can run the air conditioning with the engine off while my wife goes into a store.

 

hybrid tech coolness.

 

Hybrid technology was not a priority. I was done with driving a sedan and wanted a hatchback with good mpg. Only Toyota or Honda for me, although I did look closely at Mazda 3. Loved the Honda Fit too. At that time, I test drove the Prius on a whim and it seemed the best combination of quality, sufficient horsepower, cargo room, and great mpg. Really different driving experience from past vehicles but I am growing to love the car more and more.

 

Beside the mileage, emptiness

It's a tool, the more efficient the better.

 

For me was really the technology inside and out. In my case with the Prius C I don't think you can find a better combination of technology and fuel economy at this price point.

 

Good price. Nice features. Fits my needs AND Rush Limbaugh and followers hate it.

 

Safety, storage, hybrid and styling.

 

Oh and I was excited to buy my first vehicle that had factory warranty.

All of them really?

 

Another vote for the hatchback/cargo room with balance of features and price. Needed a hatch, but most options are either compact hatchbacks with tiny trunks or crossovers/large wagons that would have ended up costing a lot more over the years. Tough to find a midsize hatch these days, especially one that's reasonably priced and reliable. Also really liked the interior storage space and availability of 3-door SKS.

 

Being a Toyota!

 

This was my line of thinking... Wife only likes Honda and Toyota. I wanted a Mazda 3 but didn't want it's sportier feel. I drive 110 miles a day for work so I didn't want a numb rear end. I also wanted a car with an associated dealer in our smaller city. That left me without a local Mazda or Subaru dealer to choose from.

 

I'm somewhat of a geek/nerd and the tech in the vehicle appealed to me, lol surprisingly also it is the only hatchback that I like so the shape reminded me of a little space shuttle from Star Trek hahahaha…

It truly wasn't for the power or the speed, coming from a BMW 335i 300hp 300 tq lol yeah it took a huge getting use to…..

Another determining factor was we had two 4Runners 1994 & 2006 BOTH with NO problems, the 94 had 212,000 miles and was still going.. Figured I couldn't go wrong with another Toyota product..

Got rid of the 94 Runner and got the C, still have the 2006 Runner

 

Nothing beyond the mileage.

 

I like the Bluetooth and HD radio. I love the silence when the ICE shuts off at red lights.

 

We are going back to 2002 or thereabouts ...

I am not a car guy then or now. When I am feeling generous I view cars as imperfect (albeit sometimes quite interesting) tools for an imperfect world; my honest opinion though is that they are a blight on the world.

I was driving a conventional Honda Civic at the time and getting 40 mpg. Hybrid tech caught my eye because of the partial electrification of the car, and I thought it was a real environmental advance. My wife nixed the 2-seater Insight as impractical, and I decided to not buy the Gen 1 Prius because of my aversion to sedans and a test drive that left an impression of grabby brakes.

I was hooked though, and started reading just about everything being written about hybrids. That included a LOT of BS from reactionaries, Detroit vested interest FUD, and anti-hybrid political sentiment from the right wing. I started to worry that hybrid tech would be smothered despite it's obvious merit, so by 2003 it was only a question of which hybrid and when.

The G2 Prius appeared late 2003, and I wanted THAT car. It was gorgeous; it already had an impressive following of engineers and hacker types; and the 60/51 EPA sticker was enough of an improvement over my Honda that I could justify the purchase.

Our G2 Prius came home September 2004. It has been an excellent car that we still own. It will probably be a present to one of my children one of these years. We have bought in total 3 Toyota hybrids thus far, and my wife at this point really sees no reason to consider anything else. I personally would like to replace one of our cars with an EV when needed, but that is a couple years into the future and will only be done if I can run the car on clean electricity.

 

Now that I'm a week into ownership, some things I'm liking more than I expected are the entertainment system (Package III) and - how fast the car really is. I came from a 2000 Corolla, and the Prius is much better at accelerating for freeway merges and passing - a real plus on the busy and hilly freeways around here. I'm guessing people who find the Prius slow are likely comparing it to SUV's and trucks they're used to driving. I test drove a lot of compacts and compact crossovers when I was car shopping, and most of them struggled with freeway acceleration compared to the Prius.

I think there's an assumption that people who buy Prii are coming from big gas guzzlers, so Prius is too often compared against those cars. Which in turn gives rise to choruses of, "If you want a fuel-efficient car, just buy a Yaris!" But there's also buyers like me who were driving fuel-efficient small cars before, and look at the purchase from the point of view of, "When I buy my next fuel efficient car, what *else* will it be able to offer besides MPG?" That's where things like speed, space and features compared to small cars, not SUV's, start to be a big deal.

 

If it were not for the fuel economy we would not have bought a Prius. What motivated us to purchase a pre-owned Prius, over other economical options, was the combination of reduced gas costs, low maintenance costs and the large ownership community. The Prius offered us an exceptional value given our daily commuting needs.

The combination of the hatch back and fold down seats offered nearly as much cargo space as our 5 series BMW wagon making the transition from a large wagon to a hatchback easy. The Gen II hatchback plays big. My son and I are both north of 6'. My son has enough leg room and head room even when seated directly behind me.

The Gen II and Gen III styling are acceptable but uninspired. The suspension is passable. All things being equal if the Prius wasn't a hybrid it would not be in our family. That said... we average 52 MPG per tank, we are saving $50 per week, and we love our Prius!

#pulseandglide

 

Not true. I love the Prius and agree with nearly everything Rush says. There are many on this forum like me so please don't stereotype us.