So why did you buy?

I bought one to minimize use of petroleum and minimize emissions. Added benefits have proved to be: it's lots of fun and it's highly reliable.

 

We had moved into another phase in our lives: empty nesters with our children living downstate. Our big minivan was no longer needed for carpooling kids to sports. Almost all of our driving is an occasional trip to Traverse City (30 miles away) or on road trips of hundreds of miles. The Prius was an obvious choice when it came to mileage. That got me looking at it. Once I saw the engineering I knew no other car would be acceptable - I had to have one. There was also the federal tax credit.

Tom

 

MY main reason was to attract hot chicks that also drive prii(JK), but in my town everyone that drives a prius is over 50 it seems. haha I'm 25 yrs old.
I wanted an enviromentally friendly car,and also to get great gas mileage. I was tired of paying near $70 for gas every week as well.(now that # would be over $100.)
I fell in love with all the cool techy things it has and finally bought one after about 6 months of lurking and taking test drives. I have taken 4 or 5 test drives in the prius. I was hooked.
You can fit a bike inside the car. you can fit a 9 foot ladder as well (I haven't but a friend of mine says he has) I have loaded a dresser with 15 boxes of shoes and 3 large boxes of clothes and some other things all at the same time to (ex moved out!). The main reason I didn't get a kayak/roof rack is not because of mileage but because I don't want a big metal thing scratching my roof.

 

I had always driven a truck. Being a biologist, though, I started feeling bad about driving a huge gas guzzling vehicle when my work involves understanding changes in fish communities affected by climate change. But I really liked having the capabilities of the truck when I did need it. So I decided if I was going to get a "regular" car, I wanted the best gas mileage/lowest emissions I could get. Only other car that came close would have been a Civic hybrid but I wanted the hatchback of the Prius to retain at least some of the cargo carrying capability I was used to.

 

I'm almost ashamed to say that I wasn't thinking about an environmentally friendly car when I bought my Prius. I just wanted something good on gas, period. I commute about 50 miles one way to work and filling my Mariner with gas was painful since I was at the gas station every 3 days. I went to the dealer looking for maybe a Camry or Camry hybrid and while I was there asked to test drive the Prius. One test drive and I was hooked. Bought the car and took it home that night and still love it!!

 

Four years ago I drove a friend's Prius for a couple of miles around his neighborhood and fell in love with it. Two years ago I went shopping for a Prius, simply because I liked it. (The MPG was pretty good too) They Toyota salesman talked me out of a Prius saying I wouldn't be happy with it. Something about my driving profile. So I bought a Camry.

Ever since I have felt the Camry was too big. I regretted not getting a Corolla at the time. When gas was sneaking up on $4 I decided it was time to trade up to something smaller.

Once again the salesman didn't want to sell me a Prius and drove me around the lot showing me all the pretty Corollas. I left! Finally I contacted the General Manager asking to please sell me a Prius. That worked! A few days later I had my car.

So I guess fuel prices and just loving the car were the reasons. Plus the fact that I just wanted one. It was only later that I learned about the low emissions and environment advantages. They are just a plus.

Bob

 

My wife has a 2006 package#6 and I have driven it several times and liked all of the gadgets. I commute 52 miles each way and need a car that got better then 24mpg like my saturn vue did. I did not get it for any enviromental reasons. When you compare it to other vehicles that get good MPG... hands down the PRIUS wins. I am 37 and have friends that say they would buy one but it is not tuff looking enough.

 

I'll save you all the details but after doing the math on our transportation needs and costs...it was clear that we could save over $5000 per year by switching from two guzzlers to two Prii. That math included gas at $3.60 per gallon. As fuel goes up the savings are greater.

Yak

 

I bought for a variety of reasons. Number one reason was for the great gas mileage.

Second reason was I love Toyota cars and trust them 100%.

The next reason, is that I did want to help the environment and it made me feel good knowing I was driving an Eco-friendly car as good as that excuse will go with some people. Many environmentalist types would argue that any car is bad for the environment, but heck, I do need a car, it is necessary living in the suburbs.

The very last reason, is that I was getting sick of my SUV, never liked it in the first place and after 3 years I was fed up with not being able to see very well while backing up, and got fed up with putting so much gas into it, and wanted to dump it before it started needing repairs, tires, brakes, muffler, etc.. In the 3 years I owned the SUV I never once had to change anything on it, and just did basic oil change kind of stuff. So it was about time something was going to blow on it since the warranty had just run out.

I am very happy to be a Toyota owner again and just LOVE my Prius!!!!!

 

Tired of paying $90 every 4 days to fill my V8 Tundra.

Somebody at work tried to trade in his 2006 Ford truck (loaded) over the weekend.
The Blue book on it was 16K. The dealer said they don't use the blue book on trucks any longer since most trucks have depreciated by 60 percent at auctions. They offered the guy 8K. I guess there was a shouting match and my coworker was ordered to leave the dealers office. There are going to be a lot of pissed of Truck owners looking to downsize if this becomes defacto.

I am glad I just got under the wire 3 plus weeks ago and unloaded my truck at Blue Book while I could.

 

This is my 3rd prius and just love the car. I commute 2 miles each way to the train station and don't have a huge gas savings benefit. I just love this car and feel like i am doing my part to reduce gas consumption.

 

We bought the Prius for all the reasons stated.. We wanted a family car that was good on gas, low emissions and just the right size for us. We live in an urban environment, have no commute to work, one dog and one child....It got better mileage than the Civic and we hated the civic's two tone interior on the hybrid. Once we got used to the car, it's hard to imagine giving it up for anything other than a better hybrid! Of course, right now.. that doesn't exist. We've upgraded it a bit to make it a bit more luxurious and we're sort of sorry we didn't get the leather package. We tinted the windows, added mud flaps and bumper protector, side moldings... took off the horrible plastic rings on the wheels. the only options we didn't get are nav and leather.. we will definately get both on our next toyota hybrid. When is that new one coming?? or the lexus?? has to get as good or better mileage though.

 

That sucks about the truck. I am going to trade mine in if they will give me anything decent for it. I am in Texas, so it shouldn't be as hard.

I am buying a Prius for a simple reason. I can go 500 miles on a tank of gas. With my two gas cans I keep in the garage thats 1k miles. I'll never recoup the money I am going to lose (well maybe if gas hits $8/gallon) but at least if it does ever get bad I will still have transportation.

 

Primarily economics. Environment friendly is an added bonus.

Most comparisons say that the gas cost reduces from $3K to $1K per year and this is not such a bug deal. Looking forward I am not sure if this will be the case. Copy and paste from a news article:

Goldman's primary oil analyst, Arjun Murti, is smart enough not to grant many interviews these days (why provide fodder for lawsuits?). But his colleague, commodities analyst Jeffrey Currie, is happy to defend the firm's oil-to-$150-to-$200 view.

When prices soared in the '70s, the Iranian revolution and subsequent Iran-Iraq war took 10 percent of the world's oil off the market. Demand had to be trimmed because supplies were cut.

"This time around, supply didn't collapse like the '70s. Rather what we saw was demand in emerging markets exhausting the capacity of the system to deliver or produce oil. That separates this period from what we've seen before." It is, he says, "much more of a demand shock this time around."

I hope they are wrong. Then all I have is a really cool car with slightly better gas mileage. If they are right there will be no question regarding why I bought a hybrid.

 

We had gotten my '99 Isuzu Rodeo thru seven winters, and had been watching the gas prices go up all winter. I was paying @$100 - $120 per week in gas in February (15 mile commute, Adirondack winters.) I knew after the down payment I had about $450 per month for both the payment and the gas to drive it, so we couldn't get anything with 4wd, it had to be front wheel drive for the mileage & winter driving. When we ran the costs of gas + payment in the Matrix and the Prius at $3.50/gal, $4/gal, and $5/gal, it became clear we were either paying for the gas or paying for a nicer car. Personally, I'd rather have the car!

The emissions are definitely a benefit, but for us, it was a financial decision with great timing. My Prius is a damn fine car that gets rockin mileage and has a surprising amount of space inside. We were very fortunate - got the car March 13, demo off the lot, with 1500 miles on it, from New Country Toyota in Saratoga, NY at a great price. They were awesome. I went back for my 5000 mile service the other day and was told how lucky we were... no more Prii on the lot and a 3-5 month wait!

 

im sure you can buy a detachable bike rack that goes on the back of you trunk instead having a permanent one the roof.

 

I bought my Prius so I could save money while enjoying a high quality car.

My 94 Stealth seemed to be entering an expensive phase again, so it was time for new. Great car. Keeping it 12 years, getting good prices buying and selling, doing some work myself and internet ordering parts saved me lots over the 12 years.

I went through 10 vehicles in my 3-4 week research spree. At least 5 were serious as I felt "that's what I'm getting". Subaru Legacy Turbo was the start. Wife preferred cheaper so I swung lower: Civic, Corolla, Civic Hybrid.

Civic Hybrid got me calculating $4k rebates here in Canada. Add the gas savings and the Hybrid pays for itself.

I ignored the Prius initially because of it's looks, and it was priced higher than Civic Hybrid. Then I wondered why Civic Hybrid leases go UP in 4 and 5 year leases versus 3. Then I noticed Prius's were flying off lots and Civic Hybrids were rusting on the lots.

Then I saw how special the Prius engineering was. I saw the ability to turn your car into a home generator. I saw an EV or PHEV just waiting for the battery technology to become cost effective.

I saw a vehicle rated by Edmunds as lowest total cost of ownership in the sedans under $25k class. I saw the Consumers Reports kudos. I saw a car that is proven and seems almost bug free, now in the 5th model year of it's waning 3rd generation.

Seeing all the above, I began to "see" the Prius differently. It was no longer a "funny, ugly looking little economy car". I was seeing a highly efficient and cost effective marvel of engineering.

I consider the Stealth Turbo and Mitsu 3000GT VR-4 to be "Showcases of Engineering". Twin intercooled turbos, all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, electronic control suspension... It was the "affordable supercar" of the 90's IMO, albeit heavy and more GT than true sports given the 4000 lb weight.

The Prius, I think it might be conceivable to call it a "Masterpiece of Engineering". The simplicity and flexibility of the Power Split Device seems ingenius. I'd liken it to the departure from tradition that was the Wankel, or Rotary engine. It can be driven like any average car and the MFD ignored. Yet, it also has plenty of features that appeal to the techie or hyper-miler.

The reliability records are phenomonal. The mileage is higher than any other car available in Canada or US AFAIK. Higher than the diesels, the Geo Metros, the mini Smart Cars. I think you need a tiny motorbike to beat the Prius in mileage.

So how could I not pick a Prius ?

Main reasons that clinched the deal: economics and quality. (Quality means I have more time in my life not wasted waiting for or doing repairs, in addition to cost savings.)

Secondary reasons that are "mere" pluses: lower environmental impact, cool features and project potential for PHEV, computer upgrades etc.

 

Last September I was beginning to toy with the idea of replacing my 2001 Honda Passport SUV within the next year and I was seriously thinking about a Prius, but hadn't done much research. At the end of September, my SUV was "customized" (read totaled) by a sixteen year old who was pretty sure she could cut across my path from an opposing lane without notice. She was wrong. Nobody hurt.

Got a decent (not great) settlement for the SUV and within five days I had purchased the only Prius on the local Toyota dealer's lot - a 2005 with 36K miles. Went from 20 mpg to 45 mpg overnight and couldn't believe the roominess and comfort of such a small car (I'm a big boy). Never looked back.

With the trade-in values of SUVs dropping like a rock and Prii becoming as scarce as hen's teeth, I've come to believe that accident wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Nick