I traded my 07 Prius on a 08 Lexus ES350 on March 1st this year (I couldn’t stand the drivers seat not having a height adjustment and the steering column not having a telescoping adjustment any longer). I realized shortly thereafter that Indygo (public transit) put a bus stop near my neighborhood – so I have been riding the bus! Just thought this was a funny situation worth sharing….. I am using less gas now than I was with the Prius. Thought you would all be proud that I actually did not increase my consumption after all. (The Prius was a great car for me – nothing but good things to say about it - with the exception of the issues above).
i also use the bus to commute to work, its about 30 mins longer but i get to read the paper and dont have to worry to much about filling petrol every week, i use the bus 3 out of 5 working days and drive into work the rest.
Not as funny as spending 10's of thousands to get drivers seat height adjustment, steering column telescoping adjustment and worse mileage
....it was no where near “10’s of thousands of dollars moreâ€.... and I was being nice with my short list – those were the most important differences to me. Please don’t confuse that with me saying those are the only two differences between the cars – because that is certainly not the case. (Forgot how smug a select number of Prius owners are --- sure don’t miss that….)
Hi Matt Can't stand the seats either. Lumbar and heated seats would be the ticket. The Lexus is nice! I looked at them but I drive to much so the Prius was the clear choice for me. I miss the bus too. You can always get some good exercise running to meet the bus on time.
Norcal - you are right on... if I drove more I would have thought longer about selling the Prius.... I drive somewhere between 10k and 15k a year and a lot of that is interstate. The 350 has been getting 30-31 (interstate) and with my driving style (around 80+ mph) and general climate (cold Indiana) - I was getting around 43 average with the Prius. I have no doubt Toyota will correct some of these small items (seats, etc.) with the Gen III Prius. The Prius is such a neat car, I really like following its story even now that I don't have one. We have a ’96 4Runner as well and my partner is not as bothered by the seats of the Prius, so we may have another Prius in the near future (that damn 4Runner has had bullet proof reliability though..). (He didn’t like the white/tan of my Prius or we would have traded the 4Runner for the Lexus).
MHawkin1 - I went the other way. I traded my Lexus in for my Prius (just took delivery last Saturday). My Lexus got good mileage (26MPG) but I get 49MGP with the Prius. I have 900 miles on the Prius because I commute 120 miles RT daily. I find the Prius to be very comfortable for me. I did keep my other Lexus though. It too, is a great car.
Matt, Sounds like you got it figured out to me. I had a 1989 Toyota 4X4 for 11 years and some 200,000 miles. Never a problem. I changed the oil sometimes but Toyota makes great vehicles. We did keep our Infinity FX 35. Gas mileage sucks at 18mpg, but comfort is the key sometimes. I see it as sometimes you can stay in the Holiday Inn and sometimes (for us.. more often) we stay in the Four Seasons. Rusty
I wish it was more efficient to ride the bus daily for me...but the 12 miles to work takes me 20 minutes to drive, and 90 minutes if I ride the bus. I don't mind a little bit longer ride, but more than 3x the ride is too much out of my day.
