My wife and I are looking for a used car in the $14k range that gets good mileage to use as a second vehicle for errands around town and occasional 90 mile round trips to Salt Lake City. I was told in a non-Prius forum that the mileage benefits of the Prius decrease significantly on the freeway and that due to noise and comfort issues, I'd be better off with a used Camry. I was under the impression that Priuses were rather quiet due to the smaller gas engine and electric motors. Would you recommend a used Prius for occasional longer commutes and suburb/city driving?
well, if you can stand 50 mpg over 32, you'll be better off with a prius. if you want quiet comfort, the camry is the way to go. if you're trying to save money, you'd have to do a fairly complex study of your driving habits and all the costs involved. right now, prius are cheep, due to low gas price.
The Camry will beat the Prius hand down in comfort and being that has a roomier interior. Prius in the other hand, will give you 48 to 50MPG in the freeway and if you choose your tires wisely, the ride is very good. Mostly of the road noise is because the quality of the pavement structure and composition. Most roads concrete surfaces are noisier than black tops finish.
My 2 cents. We rented a 2010 Prius (model 2 or 3) back in 2010 and drove 1,100 miles over a weekend. I knew then that we would not buy one unless they offered better seats. After a 7,400 mile trip with just the 2 of us and a shorter weekend trip to LA with 4, I can say that the Prius will probably be a bit noisier than some other cars because of the hatchback design that creates more interior volume without a trunk to keep rear noise out. However, I believe our Prius is as quiet as our Montana van was, or would have been, over similar roads, even with what I consider the harder Goodyear tires over the van's softer Michelin tires. The Prius might feel cramped if you are not used to cockpit-style designs and the standard seats leave something to be desired for a lot of people. We have the Softex power seats and they were as comfortable, if not more comfortable, than the ones in our van, in spite of the more confined space, etc. The major selling point for us was the hatchback design so we can continue to carry the same amount of luggage as we did with our van. That doesn't mean the Prius cargo area is as big as the van's by any means, it just means that we could get everything in that we normally take on a trip. Admittedly, it is a bit cramped for 4 people though because that limits cargo to the back vs putting the rear seats down and spreading things out. We've got 10,000 miles on it since late July and I still can't believe I prefer it over our old van and my Dakota.
I would. The Prius is a great around town errand car and does fine on shorter trips. It also did great on a 650 mile trip we took in Oct. to the Great Smoky MT. Park. We also have a 2012 Camry Hybrid and we took it on a trip in Sept . to Glacier Mt. park. It is better on longer trips but for 90 mile trips the Prius would be fine and you can expect 10 more MPG than the TCH and about 20 mpg better than regular Camry.
The interstate here is posted at 75mph, I tend to drive at 80mph on the interstate. I see a slight decrease in mpg because of the speed I drive at. But it is still great mileage. My wife does a round-trip from Maine to DC, twice every year, she loves the Prius. 4 months of the year we have studded tires mounted on our Prius, that makes for increased road-noise. But when we have summer tires mounted, I do not think of it as having much road-noise. Some people may have back problems and they do not like the seat, they will need to be very picky in selecting what kind of car seat they can be in for very long. We have not had any problems with the Prius seats.
The Prius is absolutely the best long "Road Trip" vehicle I have ever owned from a MPG and fuel efficiency standpoint. I don't find the vehicle abnormally noisy. It is a "light" vehicle. You get the road noise you get. The Prius is not he noisiest vehicle I have ever owned, nor is it he most quiet at long highway speeds. It's about average. I find it amazingly quiet in around town situations. Comfort? Some people have complained about the seats and the personal ergonomics of the vehicle. I PERSONALLY do not have a problem. For me? The Seats are fine. Again not the best I have ever owned, but neither the worst. But given the number of complaints about the seats? I would definitely check them out as thoroughly as possible for yourself. That means sitting in them for an extended time. For some people the seats are an issue. My Prius is my ONLY vehicle. Therefore for me it is a daily driver, weekend trip, and vacation road trip vehicle. I think it does well in all categories.
Given how little disposable income we have, it will be nice to buy the car and not have the cost of gas be a factor when driving to Salt Lake City, Southern Utah, Vegas and Colorado (and perhaps Oregon). Thanks for all the replies. Has anyone added aftermarket seats? I am 6'5.
At 6'5", it might be the knees you have to worry about. My neighbor is that tall and mostly legs. He can't sit in the driver's seat and drive safely with the seat all the way down and back as far as it will go. Only a test drive will tell how a Prius will work for you.
I think the taller a driver is over 6 ft. (6'2", 6'4", 6'5") the more problems they are likely to encounter in driving comfort. The driver's seat isn't necessarily the problem since it slides back reasonably far, lifts and lowers ** But, what r you going to when telescoping the steering wheel full out and whoa, it is still sorta hard to reach? .... ** odd, non-adjustable tilt in manual dr. seat can cause problems. Read p.78, Consumer Reports, Best Cars, ISSN 1550-4301 " .... and the steering wheel didn't telescope far enough out for most people." IMO, The Prius liftback has always favored driver's of average height (5'10" or so) or shorter. I find the current gen (2012+) Civic a much better example of optimally laid out driver area, even for my 6'2" bod. I currently have - 2" foam block on Prius door armrest, 1 1/2" foam block on center armrest, 1 1/2" foam pad strapped to headrest, and a clipped on board to lower console to rest leg on. So, my Prius is like a 'padded room'. Good thing as it's driven me a bit crazy at times. Camry, especially the new 2015's are laid out MUCH better than Prius front seat(s) and steering wheel.
In terms of mpg I have found that puttering around town is not conducive to great gas mileage in a Prius. For me it's about 3 to 4 mile trip. By the time I get there the car is barely warmed up, and the mileage is horrible. I try to go to one spot to run all errands, but between the stop & go traffic, and driving short distances over the course of the afternoon, mpg definitely suffers. My experience on the highway, however, is the opposite. Once I get going, and the car warms up and mileage is tremendous. Of course, I don't drive 85 mph, have no need to, but I do a steady 60 to 65, and mpg comes in about equal to my mph.
A lot of Toyota dealers have rental cars whereby you can "rent before you buy". It is very reasonable to rent a car for 3 days. They are new cars but if you rent a Prius and a Camry you will certainly know which car you prefer after you drive both for 3 days. We buy different cars for different reasons.
As far as Camry Hybrid goes, Toyota did major revisions for the 2015 model. You may want to pass up the 2014.5 as they call it and older.
I get that you seem to have more problems than most with the Prius cabin. I'm new here, so if there's a story behind why, I haven't read it. Like I said though, my neighbor is all legs, so his knees are the problem, even with the seat all the way back. I do agree that the steering wheel could stand to extend further, even I would like that. But I'm 6'1" and my wife is 5'3" and neither of us have any problem at all with the power seat and it's relationship to the steering wheel, left armrest, console, headrest, etc. That's why I recommend any potential buyer do a thorough test drive in multiple models to judge for themselves what will and won't work. I'm not trying to say the Prius is the greatest, most comfortable car out there, but it's darned good for the money and mileage. I'd hate to see someone pass one up based solely on comments made here, positive or negative.
When we rented one in 2010, there was only 200 miles per day included. We drove 1,100 miles over 3 days and it ended up costing about the same as if we had we rented from Budget or whoever carries Prius.
The Toyota dealer that I rented a new Camry from had unlimited free miles. I suppose it must vary among dealers. It was very valuable for me. I can not tell anything about a new car just going for a test drive with a salesman beside me driving a couple of blocks. I was shopping for a new car. That was my reason for renting for a 3 day period.
Yes I would recommend any Gen three model for mixed use. We put 11,000 miles on our 2012 hatchback last summer on a trip to Alaska and felt it was the most efficient travel vehicle we could possibly have. Our normal city/suburban driving is very comfortable and still quite fuel-efficient. No problems in 36,000 miles, but some PriuChat folks have far more miles than we do and have generally experienced exceptional reliability. Good luck with your decision!
Could be that rental policies have changed too. The main point is that if someone is really unsure, it's worth a little money to rent one and live with it for a few days.
FWIW the myth that the Prius looses its advantage on the highway is pretty common amongst folks who have no real understanding of the technology. IMHO the genius of Toyota's design is the pairing of an engine that rivals diesel efficiency but lacks in throttle response and low end torque, with an electric drive system that accels at both of those things. The battery and motors do generally help reduce the inefficiencies of stop and go city driving, but they are also the key to making this more efficient engine deliver acceptable acceleration performance. This is a big part of why the Prius still delivers exceptional mileage on the freeway. If the myth were true, steady state driving at constant freeway speeds should be the extreme case where the Prius isn't any better than other small efficient vehicles. Comparing the data from these two source, measured by similar methods tells a different story. I wish motor trend had tested the Prius at the same time for an even more apples to apples comparison, instead of their lame comment that the Prius is not widely accepted technology (despite significantly outselling a number of the other vehicles they featured). 40 Mpg Comparison Constant Speed Chart Photo 12 Updated MPG vs MPH chart | PriusChat At 75mph, the motor trend tested compact sedans range from 35-41mpg while Bob's data puts the Prius at 47-49 mpg. At 60mph, the motor trend tested compact sedans range from 44-52mpg while Bob's data puts the Prius at 58-61 mpg. Then of course there is the minor detail that the Prius is not a compact sedan, and offers more passenger and cargo volume than any of the vehicles motor trend tested. Rob
