Prius - not the car for all occasions?

I have owned both an E Class Mercedes and an S600 Sedan. Also a Honda and VW Beetle.


I loved the Mercedes, but life is not about a $$$$ Car. I got tired of the perception, being taken advantage of at dealership for repairs (S600), and later, lack of dependability. I was always worrying about the cars in some fashion.

I drove the S600 with a lead foot, and I don't need to be going down the Highway in Autobahn fashion. It was no fun to drive it at slow speeds

I don't compare the prius with any other car. It is what it is, and it is pretty damn good.


I can't justify or afford 2 cars at this point in my life.

 

Some of us have never owned a luxury vehicle such as a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Jaguar...etc..etc..etc. I moved up from a Chevy Malibu, and to me, the Prius IS a luxury car in comparison!

 

I hope you realize that a car does a lot of damage to the world even when it's not being driven. The manufacture, maintenance, and disposal effects are huge. So a car that's driven 1/10 of the time does much more than 1/10 the damage. It may actualy be better for the environment to not have the second Prius at all and just drive the guzzler.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't get your dream car. It's your choice. But please don't fool yourself.

 

I don't see anything wrong with your feelings. It is most definately not the car for everyone.

What I will say is that what one views as uncomfortable can change depending on their mindset, worldview, and perception. I originally thought I would not like the Prius much but I bought it anyway because of the efficiency and the lighter long term impact on the environment and because it really pushes car efficiency into the mindset of manufactures. Once I started realizing the positive impact I was making I started to like the car more and more. I truely loved it after a couple months and to date it is the best car I've ever owned. I will say that your comment "a drivers car" falls right into this perception thing. What is a "drivers car'? Is a "driver" someone skilled at driving or is it a label used to provide esteem to those who require such notions? I would argue there is more skill required to hypermile a hybrid than swinging a sports car through turns or driving beyond the speed limit. I'm not trying to belittle you or anything. I'm just providing a different point of view from a former and current racer.

I can relate to you in some repects because I almost bought an 02' M3 when the new model was just coming out. At the time I was driving an 01' GMC ext.cab 4wd or my '00 Corvette C5. Going to the Prius after selling the C5 was odd to say the least but with my new mindset I never looked back!

I think it is great you went through all the effort to try and lessen your impact in the world. Maybe someday soon there will be a better alternative car for you. I read some place that hybrids will be getting adapted to sportier models just for people like us.

As you can see I couldn't leave well enough alone so I added mods. It really transformed the car for me. Especially the ride.

 

No matter how good some foods may be for me I simply can't eat them all the time and no matter how bad for me some of them are I enjoy the special times when I can have a treat.

The Prius is a fine car. From a luxury car background I understand completely the perception. My background is performance cars and I think the Prius is quiet and rides quite well. At age 48 I have enough hearing loss so the stereo is fine and i like the hatchback. However it truly has no pickup although it is safe and fine for most people and as such I could not tolerate it as my sole source of transportation.

People are all different. This week my wife is driving the Altima hybrid and trying to like it. We drive all sorts of vehicles. I do agree with the person who suggested trying a hybrid Camry as that seems to have more of the luxury car feel in an economy package.

I agree with not liking the seats in the Prius, although i don't like the ones in the Camry either, or the Altima or Civic... Howeverver the aluminum layback buckets in my camaro are fine for a 900 m ile trip to Ohio and back... Go figure... We are just all different.

I like having use of low emission and high gas mileage vehicles for every day driving while using vehicles with more performance for testing, racing, and fun stuff.

 

Well, no, the Prius isn't exactly a sports car. It can be modified and driven to feel somewhat more like one, but it's not the same. I used to ride a motorcycle, but the traffic and the speeding tickets took all the fun out of it. I get most of my 'performance' thrills now from a bicycle, strange as that may sound. There are some really long steep hills around here, and I still get the occasional ticket.

 

My last car was an Echo, and before that was a Geo Metro, so the Prius is the first Luxury Car I've owned.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(robincx @ May 12 2007, 06:44 AM) [snapback]440480[/snapback]</div>

There are 2 or 3 in Washington State. One was at the autoX at the Seattle racetrack a few weeks ago....let me dig up the pic...

 

You may enjoy the Hybrid Lexus coming out soon. 39-50K. Just a thought.

 

I drive the Prius Mon through Fri and then drive the Porsche turbo on the weekends for my "fix".

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(donee @ May 12 2007, 05:26 AM) [snapback]440511[/snapback]</div>

All these comments about the engine/road noise are interesting. I guess I don't notice a problem; I like the interior, and I think it's a comfortable car.

OTOH, my previous car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I probably have some hearing loss, so maybe that's the reason these things don't bother me.

I love the handling of the car, particularly the high-torque starts the electric motors give me. I'm sure people are surprised by how fast I can pull away from a stoplight. I suppose I could do that in a Porsche as well, but that wouldn't surprise anybody, now would it?

 

Cox, your fleet is fine by me. Buy and drive whatever makes you happy and that you can afford. In my experience I don't notice any road noise with the stock Integrities on asphalt but she wailed like a banshee through Ohio and Indiana on concrete. In the tire threads there are lots of recommendations for alternate tires. I try to split my driving 50/50 between the two cars but it really doesn't break that way.

 

For me the prius is my luxury car, it got everything, roof, backrest, aircon, radio, for my scape i ride my motorcycle

 

Really interesting perspective, I thought. I kinda like that little
Atkinson sewing-machine up there, and after removing most of
the intake plumbing to the air box, even with the increased intake
noise I don't perceive it as a "drone" particularly. My own style is
*so* different -- I like coming up to a given speed and then holding
exactly in a set of steady-state conditions for mile after mile, or
compensating exactly the right amount at the right rate for the
terrain -- but only up to the self-imposed limits that keep things
in the efficient ranges. You'd *hate* my driving style, I'm quite
sure -- but it predates my Prius ownership by many years, too.
.
Have you been in a plane recently, large or small? Once you reach
altitude, it's *all* about steady state at optimized conditions.
.
_H*

 

I'm a pretty new Prius owner -- just 3 days -- so perhaps I too will feel your pain. Probably not, as it is to be my daughters car, but I've been doing all the driving as she's still a few weeks short of her license.

We own too many cars -- most pretty inefficient. I too own an M3, a 2003 Convertible. We also own a 2003 BMW 540 wagon (supercharged) and a 2007 Corvette.

The Prius is by far the most advanced and the fit and finish is far superior to either the Corvette or the two BMWs. The nav/bluetooth/etc is light-years ahead. I could understand that with 4 year old BMWs, but the 2007 Corvette isn't even as advanced as the 2007 Chevy Cobalt. How sad is that (OK, 400hp is fun).

Anyway -- it is all about you being happy, not us. If the Prius doesn't do it, then change. Simple.

Tom

 

You are absolutely not alone. I would not drive the Prius every day myself if someone gave me one for free, and I certainly would never buy one for myself. In fact, I'm amazed you can drive it 9 days out of 10 if you feel that way.

Not to say I don't enjoy driving the Prius, I do and I like the Prius very much but it could only ever be a second car for me.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clearview22 @ May 12 2007, 09:52 AM) [snapback]440542[/snapback]</div>

I'll admit brand is a factor for me, but its not all or even the biggest of the problem. I would for instance happily drive a Camry, an Accord, or an Avalon. Its not about making people envious, its about driving a car that is comfortable and enjoyable to drive. The Prius is uncomfortable to ride in and to drive for me. I drive too much and enjoy driving too much to drive something I don't like, and I don't like the Prius enough to drive one.

Also, if you think people are all of a sudden going to stop being interested in brand in America, you're completely out of touch.

 

The funny thing is in the SF Bay Area, evryon who wants to get to a place fast durign commute hours drive a Prius. Saves me on average 20 minutes one way on my commute, a lot faster than my BMW ever was

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bulldog @ May 14 2007, 12:36 AM) [snapback]441455[/snapback]</div>

OK, I have to ask. Was this sarcasm? How would a Prius get you through rush hour faster than any other car? Does your Prius fly perhaps? Teleportation? Drive on the sidewalk?