Prius Demographics

It's funny I read so many Prius owners are 28 now or were 28 when they bought it. I'm 28 and considering getting one.
I really want to get one, but I'm so used to driving high performance cars that I don't know if at this stage I'd be able to enjoy the Prius. Well, it definitely has better handling and accerelation than my H1 (oh and don't attack me now. My H1 polutes less than your Prius! It's called: Biodiesel
So I'm renting a Prius on Monday and that'll help me make my decision.

 

I'm 46 years old. My wife's 1991 Camry DX was stolen in December 2006 and after the third week of it not being found we didn't expect it back. (Our other vehicle is a 17mpg gas hog 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee with ridiculous amount of maintenance and will be our last Chrysler product. It's great to drive but the quality and long term dependability/reliability just isn't there. Not enough research ahead of time. We won't make that mistake again. We're sorry we didn't buy a Toyota.)

As far as fast or great handling cars. Without risking a huge ticket you really can't take advantage of these cars and there is always going to be someone who can afford a faster/better handling car. And most cars these days don't take a lot more than pushing down the gas pedal and turning the steering wheel. Gone on the days where you --really had to drive-- the car to keep it on the road unless going really fast. The suspensions of today are better than the best in the 60s or 70s.

My wife really wants a convertible. Long story short (I've rewritten this five times) there just isn't a --long term-- reliable convertible that is within our price range (under $40,000) that isn't ugly. We looked. They aren't out there.

Brands of cars. I could go down the list but there are really only two that meet long term reliability (Toyota and Honda) and there is just something about all the Honda vehicles that I don't like. I can't put my finger on it. It's just ... something.

So we go look at Toyotas. The Camry's butt is UGLY. What were they thinking? The other models higher and lower ... not so good. Toyota used to make decent looking cars but now either the exterior and/or interior ... yeck.

The last car we looked at was the Prius. Everything we heard about it was that it was gutless and small. Obviously that wasn't true but we had never actually seen one up close except in a dark parking garage.

We had to have the salesperson go get the keys so we could look inside. Hey, this isn't small. I can actually sit in the back seat with the front seats all the way back (I'm a fraction of an inch under six feet tall), the hatch storage space is really big, and I can stretch out my 34" inseam legs in the front seats (it could use a couple more inches but it was adequate).

Short version of the story is that we found a dealership with the color and model that we thought we wanted and they actually let us take a real test drive and the salesWOMAN knew 50 times more than any salesman we had talked to. She knew --everything-- about the car. Everything. Did I say everything? I think I did.

So ... Prius. Toyota quality. Mid-size car with lots of leg room front AND back with lots of storage space in hatch. Car is NOT gutless even on hills or the freeway and is fun. It's also a good looking car inside and out and it wasn't over priced considering what you get.

We bought it and have not been disappointed at all.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AussieOwner @ Jul 13 2007, 07:22 PM) [snapback]478417[/snapback]</div>

I'm 55 and already been through hot cars and convertibles. I've been a Toyota fan for years and only wish I'd bought a Prius sooner.

I have changed from a left lane driver to right lane, though. And I am a techno geekette.

 

I am 50 this year and moved out of a Ford Fairmont for my Prius without any compromises. To think I was actually going to replace the Ford with a new Territory instead of the Prius.

I bought the Ford new in 2000 for $41000 and could not get $6000 for it in 2007, even with climate air, power everything and an in car phone kit and tow package.

The I-tech 2007 was $41000 (lease through work price) and at that price was a steal compared to the Territory (top of the line). My fuel bill has gone from $100/wk down to $30 ($1.35/ltr).

I truly love everything about this car.

 

I sold a BMW 330ci to buy my Prius.

Needless to say, I do miss the oooomph I had with the bimmer. My driving habits have changed considerably.

Now I've become an MPG greedy bastard, seeing how much I can squeeze out of every tank on every trip.

People passing me? All the time. Ability to make a quick pass myself? Negligible.

Funny how i don't care now.

 

Sorry that isn't true. Does a bush fire make smoke?

I'm 46 and purchased when I was 45 but my car is used so no one cares what I do.

 

I see your Fairmont had tow pack, what do you use to tow with now?

The territory would have induced fuel shock, I hear they can be very thirsty. We have a fleet of Commodores and due to the Commodore's shrinking boot we needed to find an alternative. We are trialling a Territory and it is performing very well in the roll but for the fuel consumption, it is considerably heavier on fuel than the Commodores.

I was going to ask the boss to trial a Prius, we have several in another fleet but the load space is 50mm too short. We are looking forward to the diesel Territory. We tried a Falcon wagon but it was dangerous with a heavy load in the back.

 

I'm 28, and bought my 05 when it was new, so you do the math. I bought it because I work(ed) in the environmental field, and I wanted to get the most environmentally friendly vehicle I could, while still being practical. We tend to keep cars for a really long time, so I wanted a car that would be reliable for a long time, and I also wanted a car that would be good for a family. Our carseat has plenty of space in the back seat, and I can haul the stroller and lots of other crap in the hatch back.

 

I'm 60 (crossed that dreaded threshold in September), I bought my Prius new in late November.

I bought the car because (in no particular order):
--I'm a Toyota fan (had a wonderful, but gas-hungry 4WD Matrix before this)

--I have a 50-mile (one-way) commute

--I'm a sucker for new technology, although I don't really understand most of it (Back in the 1970s, I bought a Mazda pickup truck with a rotary engine--SUCKER!)

--because I feel like I should be doing something to be reducing my carbon footprint.

As for the commute, which was costing me $80 a week in fuel: Well, I'm going to be laid off on March 1 (cut from full- to part-time), so that won't be a problem, although survival may.

The car has been a delight so far, although I do miss the warmer feet from a stronger heater of my Matrix, and I'm so happy to have stumbled on the Priuschat website: I've saved more than $1,000 by getting a warranty from Toyota of Greenfield, and I've saved my toes by blocking the grill.

Oh, I've changed my driving habits so much that my wife (who's a year older than I am) now says that I "drive like an old man."

--Joe

 

i bought one to save on gas for all the cool tech im 25

 

Smack dab in the middle of JDP survey's biggest group : 46.

Never was a power-driver. I'm the very patient sort that never honks, except to say thanks.

 

well, I'm 51, bought my Prus way back when I was only 50 (ok, 2 months ago). I had a Tacoma pickup, which I really liked, my wife liked it too, but I'm totally satisfied and then some with my Prius. My primary reason to make the change was gas prices, but I like the fact that I'm using less oil for environmental reasons. It does everything I need it to do; my children even bought me a nice bicycle carrier for me to use with it for Christmas. I'm good to go. We just took it out of town for a couple of days, all loaded up with our stuff, and we loved it. And got 51.0 mpg! We'll be driving it to florida this may on vacation.

 

I'm 33 years old, so I fit in the first age bracket still.

Being one of the last admitted neo-cons in existence, I didn't exactly buy this car to "save the planet". The realistic impact of one used 2007 Prius out of tens of millions of gas-guzzling SUV's on the road is miniscule. I am satisfied though, now that less of my money is going into the coffers of Hamas (via the Saudis) and Hezbollah (via Iran), but I know that even that doesn't amount to much.

It's the overall innovation and technology of the car that pulled me in, and I'm here to stay.

 

Demographics and intelligence: I am 72 and graduated from an Ivy League college.

I found that when I was at the wheel of a powerful vehicle, Lexus GS 400 and GS 430, I felt compelled to prove how well these cars accelerated. The feeling in a Prius is totally different. It can be driven with a heavy foot, but it seems pointless to do so. There definitely is a certain distain for vehicles that get excellent gas mileage that shocked me initially.

"Hey, you guys, what I drove before could so easily have left you in the dust! I’m still the same person, but now I drive an environmentally-friendly car that uses very little gas. Why do you judge me by what I drive?â€

It seems that global warming is for other people! I love my Prius and am only sorry that I didn’t get one sooner.

 

I'm 48 and purchased a 2002 model 3 months ago to commute to a new job and as a car my older son (now 14) will learn to drive on. It nicely balances out my other two cars: a Suburban and a 1968 Pontiac GTO.

 

Due to the pitiful $6000 value, we kept the Ford for my wifes car as she only goes around the local area (school, shops etc) and that way we still have towing capability.

I have found though that I would have hooked up the trailer for some loads that fit fully in Prius.

I amused the guy at Bunnings last week when I backed into the loading area to recieve many 3m lengths of timber. He asked where I was going to put it all and to his utter astonishment the car was converted in a minute and all the timber dissappeared into the cavernous interia of the little Prius and the hatch closed. He could not believe his eyes.

LOL

 

Rudy became part of our family on my Dear Hubby's 48th birthday.

I am the primary driver... and I look MUCH younger than I really am!

At the time, I was driving a Malibu that was not comfortable, got *merf* MPG, and was getting to the point of trade, sell, or keep forever. Not wanting to keep it forever, we sold it.

 

I similarly shocked the guy at the loading dock of JB Hifi when I slid a 116cm(46 inch) LCD TV in its box into the back of mine and closed the hatch.

 

33, Computer Consultant

Replaced my 2002 Honda Si with a new Prius in october 2007.

We needed a family car because my wife got pregnant (5 months now). I absolutely LOVE my Prius. It also changed the way I drive... more relaxed, more carefull. Or maybe it is because I'll be a new dad ...oh well. I just want to add it's a wonderful car in every aspects.

 

I'm 58 and still ride motorcycles when I need a bit of speed. I just picked up a used 2000 Insight and tonight noticed the hostility of the local brain dead stupid duty pickup truck drivers.

I'm afraid this thread rather typifies their attitude.

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