At an Earth Day Event last Saturday in Morongo Valley, CA, I had a woman ask me many questions about the Prius. She explained that she worked as a courier in the desert area around Palm Springs, CA, and she drove 300 miles each day. She would stop at various locations during the day, leave her current car running (but with the air conditioner off because she was afraid of over heating) while she took about five minutes to leave or retrieve a package. She drives this route five days each week. Her current vehicle gets about 22 miles per gallon on this route. She liked the 48 mpg number I told her my Prius achieves. My inclination is that she should not buy a Prius, because at 78000 miles per year she will quickly go beyond the warranty, and fixing the Prius could be expensive. Also, heat is the enemy of a battery. She would probably want to leave the Prius air conditioning on at each stop (to keep the battery cool), and certainly she would want to leave the system running (to avoid startup hit to mpg). This would decrease mileage some. What do you think?
I don't see why she shouldn't consider a Prius. The mileage argument is not relevant to the discussion, as it will affect any vehicle she purchases, not just the Prius. At present, there is no evidence that an aging Prius will be any more expensive to maintain than the average vehicle. (In fact, there is much hypothesizing to the contrary.) Unless the Palm Springs desert is now averaging 180 degrees Farenheit, the heat-battery argument doesn't jive, either. The traction battery is comfortable over a wide range of temperatures, and is actively air-cooled. (Yes, this should still work at high ambient temperatures.) There would be no start-up mileage hit for her short stops. This "hit" only happens when the vehicle is cold. I'd say the only danger would be leaving the vehicle on during a stop (in order to keep the cabin cool for the driver, not the battery) only to discover that someone has absconded with her new Prius. Given how quickly the A/C can cool the cabin, this probably isn't an issue, either.
Boy, I think the Prius would be ideal for these conditions. The gas mileage in Palm Springs temperatures would be wonderful. And I agree with xevious -- just leave the car off. (I forget -- can you run the air conditioning when the car is in Accessory ACC mode? (I'm forgetting the names of the 3 States of Prius "ON"...))
like the other poster i can't think of any reason why this person shouldn't give the prius a try. i live in southern cal and thus far have found my prius OK in temps from 65 on upward. it doesn't get that hot out there, does it?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bookrats\";p=\"84721)</div> You could run the fans at Ig-On, but you need READY mode to run the high voltage A/C compressor.
i drive 200 miles a day. i leave my car on. i have a BC package.. nav helps... if i need to walk away from the car with the A/C on ( since it makes noise ) then i'll open the drivers door and lock it. take the fob with me. use the key to get back in. it's easy and the car will stay cool. you're only away from the car for a min or so. the battery will lower but you'll still get decent gas mileage.
[font=Verdana:97c0027515]Do you have to unlock your door with the metal key on the fob? Or can you simply press the unlock button on the key fob to re-enter your locked Prius with the engine running?
I put 75 miles per day on mine in the Phoenix metro area - mine's working out just fine so far. At highway speeds, the A/C works just fine too - though at lower speeds, airflow through the condenser doesn't seem quite enough to get the A/C blowing really cold. I'd recommend the car as well - and concur with the mileage comments above. Any car will take a beating at high mileage. And given that she's in CA, she'll have the extended hybrid warranty which may help as well.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(V8Cobrakid\";p=\"84871)</div> i wonder if you left the fob in the car and used the spare to remotely unlock would it work? i'll have to try that
if you have a BC ( what i have... BC is nav equipped ) then nothing works but a key when the car is shut and on. you have to use the key.. only the key will work.
You didn't say what type of car she's currently driving, BUT: Point 1: With the numbers you gave, she'll save at LEAST 1/2 on gas. Point 2: Minor point - but she'll polute 90% less. Point 3: Previous points are valid that the Prius is likely the same or LESS on maintenance even after many miles. Point 4: A point not yet made - She clearly does a lot of "stop and go" driving. The Prius RULES over other cars under these conditions. Point 5: Again on the stop-and-go... Maintenance of the vehicle will likely be LESS since she's clearly doing a lot of braking. Prii use regenerative braking which LESSENS the normal wear on the pads. She will have less expense on having brakes done all the time. So - I guess my main point is - She ABSOLUTELY should buy a Prius. Yoda
sparks plugs are less.. oil changes are less.. gas is less. many things are less.. she will "quickly" recover the purchase cost of the car. I've saved several grand already. ( i drive about 200 miles a day )
I do not know... at 300 miles per day I'd probably be renting a car at some < $100 weekly rate with unlimited miles.
This decision is a no brainer. Absolutely, yes. Lets see: there are 242 work days in a year thats 75000 miles per year on a 150,000 warranty. So for two years youre set and the Vancouver taxi guy was still going strong after 180,000 miles. Now for the fun part. At 45MPG vs 25MPG (being conservative) that saves about 3000 gallons of gas. At $2.50/gallon (CA prices) thats $7500 in gas savings. Even if the battery DOAs at 150,000 miles, youre still way ahead. The more Prii, the more better.
Won't all the mileage and the car itself be a tax write off for her business? Additional savings include no DMV smog checks until 2010 and longer if that law gets extended.
