Main reason for buying a Prius?

A friend of mine got a Prius, and when I checked it out I just fell in love. So much room inside! What a cool instrument display! "I gotta get me one of these!"

Well lo and behold, a year or so later I really needed a new car. I did tons of research and the Prius ended up working out for me.

The superb gas mileage and environmental friendliness are a big part of the car's appeal to me, I admit. But the main reason I like it is its so freaking cool!

 

I actually was dead set on the Ford Fusion, I thought it looked sharp and it is American. So my dad just happens to get free tickets to the cleveland car show and I soured on the Fusion. The EPA numbers were no better than my 10 year old car that had just broke down, the interior was ok, but seemed a little ho hum, and then I looked at the sticker again and it said final assembly point Mexico. After being at the show it seemed that the domestic manufacturers really only cared about higher dollar vehicles like SUV'S and although they have made great strides in those vehicles compared to 10 years ago they aren't doing much for family cars. We wandered over to the Toyota booth and I wanted to check out the Yaris, (didnt realize that the hatch version was so ugly, the 4 door model costs so much more, and it was too small for a family. So out of curiosity I looked at the Prius, didnt know much about hybrids other than that it also had a battery pack and an electric motor. So I look inside and was floored on how much space is inside. It had door compartments, a huge console, large glove box, another large compartment above the glovebox, a place for sunglasses, a dash slot under the radio, 2 front cupholders, and a drawer under the front cupholder. So I test drove one the next day and fell in love with it.

I still thought later about saving a little bit of money on the car by getting something cheaper, but the more I went thinking about the price of gas seems to be steadily going up about .50 cents a year, I wanted to be prepared for that.
summer 2003 - gas 1.50
summer 2004 - gas 2.00
summer 2005 - gas 2.50
summer 2006 - gas 3.00
summer 2007 - gas 3.50

I see a trend, but once it spikes and then goes down a tad people forget about how badly their large vehicle really costs them.

 

First and foremost, I wanted to save on gas money (vs a 12mpg SUV) and still drive something that was civilized. If I was going to spend around 22K, this looked to be the best option.

Second, I like giving a middle finger to Middle East oil.

Third, I'm not contributing as much to the fact that you can't breath the air here in the summer due to ozone levels.

Everyone who's ridden with me in the Prius has been impressed. I don't know that Toyota has done a good enough job marketing the tech and performance of this vehicle. It's pretty cool that I can outrun a Mini Cooper (maybe they lost it off the line, or out of shock) and still be sitting at 51.3 mpg.

If Toyota made their cloth interiors more like a VW GTI (ballistic nylon-looking, instead of velour-looking), it would really class up the interior... but I digress.

 

The person who posted before me said it so well!

"I like giving a middle finger to Middle East oil"

That's my reason number One.

Two: save money on gas (long commute every day) even though I can afford it, the idea of being gouged for gas makes me ill.

Three: it's the right thing to do for the environment

 

got the prius to save money on gas!!!! we go on several longish trips and life in BFE... so even things like going to the mall.... sam's club.... movies... etc are all quite a distance..... as much as i loved all the creature comforts of our MDX.... it was killing us in gas! i'd rather take that money to buy more cycling stuff instead of putting it in the gas tank!

 

1. Save money on gas.

2. Have an awesome backup generator for my home.

3. Send less money overseas to nations that don't really like us much.

......

314,159. AlGor wants me to.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(softhands @ May 2 2007, 01:32 PM) [snapback]434073[/snapback]</div>

The MONEY!!!! Then the responsibility.

I was spending $1100 a month on gas and maintenance for a Ford Taurus (I drive 75k miles per year).
For that same amount I get a new prius ($361 monthly) and about $450 a month in gas...I am saving almost $300 a month and I get to drive nicer, newer car!!!!!!

 

My answer's a little more complicated... but I think it's more for social responsibility. I'm not a militant environmentalist or anything, but this is my way of doing my little part in trying to reduce my "footprint." I had two cars, actually a car and a Jeep, and each one was going in for a repair every few months, so I decided to sell them and buy a new car - my first ever - and turn two cars into one... and the Prius fit my budget for that perfectly. I am not a commuter and really only drive a couple thousand miles a year - although I will try to drive extra now to break the Prius in, but will most likely go back to my old driving habits once I do that. My live is deliberately structured so that a car is a convenience - but I can get by without one if necessary. And I do believe there is writing on the wall with gas prices, and this insures myself in the future, if (when) they continue to climb... so the money/gas savings played a role, but I think the real reason was to help reduce my emissions a little. Plus, it's a very cool car - and I think it's very competitive for the price range in terms of overall features and values.

 

Money.

The only statement I was worried about was my monthly gas card statement.

 

As someone else said:

There are 3 types of Prius owners: Cheapie, Techie, & Greenie. Pick 2. I'm Cheapie & Techie. The Greenie is a bonus.

 

Here's our reasons in no particular order:
Wanted the dependable Toyota Quality experience again.
Help encourage the improvement of the technology versus buying a straight ICE equipped vehicle like a corolla
Fuel savings similar to my old diesel golf.
Mitigate some impact on the environment although my preference would be to eliminate a car altogether.

 

Hhhmm I thought I was a cheapie + Techie also, but does getting solar panels on the house make me a greenie + techie?

 

I reject either/or arguments since they are, ipso facto, errors in reasoning. If you've ever seen Too Hot Not To Handle, you'll notice that there are more than the two reasons for buying a Prius. Also, have you ever considered that someone could buy a Prius for more than one reason?

 

HTTP 404 Not Found

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JimN @ Jul 18 2007, 08:42 PM) [snapback]481339[/snapback]</div>

In my case it's all of the above. I think Toyota's success in designing of the Prius can be summed up thusly:

1. Technological
2. Economical
3. Ecological

Of course, the federal tax credit in 2006 and the various state HOV privileges did give [2] a nice boost as well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(thebrattygurl @ Jun 1 2007, 09:47 AM) [snapback]453205[/snapback]</div>

Agreed! However, a slight modification to #3, if it helps the environment, then great.

 

Hi definately an environmental issue with me, I live in country Australia I guess you could say I am a greeny, but I do tend to see both sides of the issues at hand.

What can I expect with my Prius? good and bad please, don't hold back lol.

Cheers Carole...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(carole11 @ Aug 1 2007, 05:16 AM) [snapback]488540[/snapback]</div>

I bought mine for 2 reasons:
First I am concerned about what alll the oil money in the Middle East is used for.
If we really support the troops, we would not help fund terrorism.
I am also concerned with going green.
EM
PS I like the money saved on gas and consider it my reward.

 

I bought mine for the environmental impact and to put my money where my mouth is. I wanted to support Toyota for offering the Prius. Hopefully in the future there will be more like it to choose from.

I don't drive it enough to actually save money with it.

 

My reasons for buying my Prius were, in priority order:

1. I needed a new car
2. I wanted a reliable car, so probably a Toyota or Honda
3. I wanted a car that I fit in, that my family fit in, and that stuff would fit in (e.g. a hatchback with folding back seats was a requirement)
4. I wanted to at least consider a hybrid for low carbon emissions (gas prices were not the main consideration -- I'm only saving maybe two cents a mile to get down to about 40 cents a mile)
5. The woman had to like driving it
6. I had to think it was cool

The Prius really fit the bill. She liked driving it, and as an engineer, I loved the technology. The interior space is surprisingly large. Overall, it's a really well designed car.