Prius right for me?

well if 48-53 mpg in summer and 42-45 mpg in winter averaging 65 mph wont be good enough for you, then the Prius wont be right for you.

but if it is, i think you will find there is really minimal differences in how the car drives. but you will be driving the most technologically advanced car on the road today.

keep in mind that winter mileage is more dependant on the winter mix of gasoline then the car you drive. also the longer your trips, the better your gas mileage will be.

the small short in town trips will KILL your gas mileage in any car including the Prius. however, we are talking 35-45 mpg... not 15 or less like a normal car.

but you need to test drive the Prius to really understand how good the car is. the mpg is a bonus because as i own my car, i have begun to realize that the 53 mpg i am averaging is just a nice sidelight to the real issue of this car. sure part of it is the 6 main computers that control every aspect of the car. the cool touch screen is nice to show off and the "drive by wire" method of control did take a bit of time to get used to, but now, i wont go back to the old method. (i have a ford sitting in the driveway that i have driven once in the past 3 months and was forced to do it that once.)

like i said, you need to test drive one. better yet, rent one for the weekend. if you are like nearly everyone here who rented one because they wanted to do a very thorough test drive, you will not want to return the car on monday morning...

and be warned... test driving the car will make that long wait that much harder to bear...

you have been warned.

 

I agree with Dave and Evan, you should seriously consider the Prius.

If you are not particularly concerned with the pollution-environment aspect of the Prius, the diesels would be a good alternative. I would look into the VW Jetta TDI, which should give you very good mpgs and will be more luxurious than the Prius (except for the smart entry, the Homelink mirror and the rear wiper--the first two are particularly nice to have).

 

I rented one from Enterprise for a week, 2 weeks ago. I did a round trip Burlington, VT to Boston. 99.5% interstate, cruise (dang is that thing solid, doesn't vary 1 mph) set at 69. Obviously there were some speed up and slow down sections in the more congested areas and construction. Averaged over 51 mpg on a 424 mile trip. The car hit 5000 miles a few miles into the trip so it hadn't even hit the "notice the mpgs increase once it is broken in" phase yet.

 

I "only" get around 44 mpg at 75 mph on the interstate. I get 50 mpg at 55 mph.

clean!!!</span>

If clean, cool, efficient, reliable, and geeky are what you're looking for, this is the car for you. No question about it! A VW diesel gets great mileage, but diesel is filthy, and VW is not nearly as reliable as a Toyota.

If cheap is what you need, a late-model used Civic or Corolla will be cheaper over the life of the car.

 

Get A Prius you'll love it

of course you should get a Prius.
I drive a lot of highway too, because I travel from Arizona back to CT or
I go to Vegas and Laughlin and the speed limit out here is 75
I've only had my Pri for about 6days but I drove home going 70 on I-40 and I was getting 47MPG the first day on mostly hwy.
since then, I've been dropping daily because I've been doing shorter trips around town, up and down hills so now my average is more like 41 to 42MPG
what they tell you about getting more doing city driving is a fallacy unless you go 20mph and it's all flat and you leave off your A/C
this car is great for hwy driving, only complaint is driving in high winds you will want to slow down, but then that will only increase you MPG

 

prius

The more Prius, the more better.

Evan is absolutely correct that in the next year or two there will be numerous options regarding other hybrid cars, with no standard definition of what a hybrid is, and diesels. Please keep in mind the adaptability and functionality of the hachback design; its just not a 4 door sedan.

Have had Honda products for 15 years and enjoyed every day, they make a great product. But the Prius has too many options, creature comforts and great MPG, so I bought one. Its a ball to drive and even more fun only going to the gas station every other week.

 

Get a Prius!

I just got my Prius last week, and WHAT A CAR! I'm 50 years old and buy a new car every few years, so when I say this is the best car I have ever owned, even ignoring the gas mileage, I'm hoping it will have some impact with you. My other car is a 2000 Volvo Cross Country (a $40,000 car), and the Prius is a better car in every way (except is doesn't have AWD). The Prius is quieter, better handling, better riding, has more passenger room, is just as quick, and way cooler. I have never bought a car that has had such an impact on me. Granted, I've only had the car a week, but I'm getting 54.5 mpg so far on my 22 mile one way commute, which is almost all interstate highway. I have noticed that I am getting about 55 mpg at 65 mph, but the milage drops off if you go faster. Today, I set the cruise at 77 mph, and the consumption screen was showing 5 min. averages around 45 mpg on pretty flat ground. But you have to drive this car to realize how incredible it really is.

Also of note, I traded a 2001 Jetta 1.8T (gas turbo) for the Prius. The Jetta was quicker, but a lot noisier, smaller, and not nearly as nice to drive. If you get a VW TDI you will get similar mileage, but as nice of a car.

The dealer where I bought my Prius says the wait for one is 2 years. If you want one in the next couple of years, I suggest get your name on the list. I gave the dealer a $1000 check when I ordered mine, and they gave it back to me when I came to pick up the car. All they did was put my check in a file folder, and I could have cancelled my order at anytime without penalty, so it is a no risk proposition. Also, the dealer here is seeling used Prii for over $30,000!

 

i think you would do fine in a prius, but the new diesels coming out look to be just grand, and there is nothing like a diesel out on the open road. they just run and run and run.

and the emissions on the new ones are expected to be quite low, though of course not as low as the prius. i do a lot of around town driving and the diesel would not even have a chance to warm up with me, so the prius is a much better choice.

 

If you are going diesel please consider biodiesel. You can even do it your self if there is not a local source. There are a number of sites on the web that tell you how and a number of people have made arrangements with restaurants to cart off used cooking fat for free or low cost depending on the local situation.

 

Don't you have to filter used fry oil before you can put it in your diesel car? A friend of mine just bought a 55-gallon drum of biodiesel, but it's new oil, not previously used for anything. He says he cannot use it in winter, due to the cold. To use it in winter would require a modification to the car to pre-heat the fuel. He says it smells like French fries. And of course, since bio-anything takes its carbon from the atmosphere, it has zero net effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide.

 

i saw the "french fry" car on Discovery!! that thing is great, but dont get one if you have a weight problem!! many people commented that just being near the car when it was running made them hungry!!

and yes the oil has to be filtered but the guy used a few layers of panty hose and a then a normal water filter.

best part is that the oil he got he was charging restaurants to dispose of so his fuel costs was a positive cash flow!~!

 

Cool.

And to clarify, my friend's biodiesel smells like french fries even though it has never been used to fry anything. Apparently the smell derives from the oil, not from the food that might have been fried in it.

 

we are completly off subject here.. and as a moderator.. i should correct it.. but i like biodiesel. :mrgreen:

there is a processs to clean the biodiesel when you get it. It's all very simple and the net cost of biodiesel is about a quarter a gallon. It's made up from cooking oils.. so.. peanut oil.. corn oil... whatever.. it's natural. Plus.. since it's more of an oil than desiel, your engine will last longer. Some say it will make a new engine last almost a million miles.

I was going to set up a biodiesel machine to make biodiesel.. but i have not done this yet. The two main chemicals you need is pure alcohol.. and lye... or i believe it's lie. it takes a couple days to make.. but it's 60+ percent cleaner than diesel in many ways.

The smell.. well.. if it's peanut oil.. your cooking peanuts.. if it's corn oil.. well.. you're popping popcorn... i wouldn't mind.. it would smell much nicer than current diesel fumes that make their way into my A/C.

Here are a couple useful Biodesiel sites

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel.html
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
http://home.swbell.net/scrof/Biod_Proc.html
http://www.veggieavenger.com/
:mrgreen: