Coach's Test Drive of the Prius III

And then there's the PHEV Pruck.
A right-down-the-middle-of-the-road compromise:



Info here:

Prius Truck from AutoBeYours

Pruck? Priubaru? Prius-Baja Mashup Defies Your Silly Names

Pruck this: Toyota Prius gets the El Camino treatment (and a plug-in powertrain)

Meanwhile, I'm beginning to suspect that your declaring the truck the
"winner," is an equivocation in the form of the Politician's Syllogism:

"Something must be done.
This is something.
Therefore, this must be done."

At any rate, life goes on.

Stay in touch.

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivocation[/ame]

 

As far as the nav goes, it is pretty straightforward to put a 3rd party device into a base Prius. Lots of threads with instructions and advice when the time comes

Coach is obviously not your average character, but it has to be something of a milestone in Prius mainstreaming for a *any* football coach from the deep south to even consider a Prius, let along know what PHV is.

To the future :cheers:

 

Do you really want a first year PHV?

 

Sounds like a sensible decison to me.

For future reference regarding the Cons.

The infernal beeping in reverse can easily be set by the dealer to a single beep which is not aggravating at all.

I suspect that the nav is probably not a direct issue for you (many of us use a Garmin). Loss of the bundled rear camera may be of more concern but maybe the 2011 III will offer a rear camera with the picture in the rear view mirror (the corresponding Canadian model does) . If not some people have retrofitted this into non-nav US cars.

 

There's a point,
Keep the truck, save what you would have paid for a Prius and pay cash for a new one in a few years time.
Benefits, In 3 years you will have a new Prius paid off rather than a 3 year old Prius on payments.
Is the "truck" a Toyota? It has a few decades left in it!

 

Absolutely!

I've purchased a 2001, 2004, and 2010 immediately upon availability and had no regrets.

Of course, having already driven a PHV for a few days, that advanced preview makes it a no-brainer anyway.
.

 

Smart salesman. Probably happily married.

 

Coach does need to bear in mind that Prius prices are likely to be relatively higher in 2 years. As gas prices rise there won't be any crazy deals on the table.

But, as is typical keeping a vehicle longer saves money.

 

Hi Coach,

If I would have had more time for my decision (I only had 4 working days to buy the car after the insurance company totaled my 2006), I would have found out about the Head-Units that fit into the 2010 Prius II, which give navigation and back-up camera for about half the cost of the factory unit. The car electronics gurus on here say these head-units are better (Garmin Navigation) than factory unit also.

The 2010's are selling very cheaply now, as there is a surplus. If gas does go up to near $4 / ga by this time next year, the Prius will be in demand, and MSRP will be the going sale price.

But, I would not recommend taking a loan out either. Which would mean trading in the truck. One can always rent a van for the times one needs to haul large stuff. Menards, Home Depot have such vehicles, besides more traiditonal vehicle rental facilities.

If gas goes up, the value of the truck as a trade-in might go way down, also.

Just some things to think about.

 

Have you thought about a CT200H?

No one will think it is a hybrid

 

Why not look into the Ford Escape Hybrid? You'd still get good gas mileage (for an SUV), and still have the ability to haul anything you need to haul. I'm sure as a coach, you do have times you need the space and ability to carry equipment, etc. It might be a good compromise between the Truck and Prius. Of course, in 2 years, I get a feeling the entire playing field will be different as far as hybrid vehicles go.

 

I look at an escape but could not fit a 6 ft ladder in side without folding down the front passenger seat
So it faulted

 

I think you are making the right decision. If my 4runner had been paid off, or even close to it, I would have kept it, 16mpg or not.

No loan is almost always the better financial choice.

 

after all that and you still didn't buy? smh.

 

When the Prius PHV comes out, it will be in short supply and high demand, meaning it will not have any discounts and may even have high dealer markup, it would be two years probably before it will come out in numbers enough to bring cost down.

 

I agree with the other posters. We have an F150 truck (2204). It takes care of hauling big stuff. We use the Prius for winter and every day. We drive a Z4 35I for summer fun. If you can afford it, do it and KEEP THE TRUCK.

 

Sorry, truck is 2004 typo..........

 

Passing along the vehicle to your son is what a lot of people I know have done. As a parent that would probably be getting his son a vehicle anyway, at least in this scenario you know he will be driving one you know the condition of. If you trade the truck in and get a Prius, it'll still be new in 2 years and you'd be stuck trying to find something in decent shape for him. Make him pay for the gas in the truck, and I bet he won't be venturing out too much, either!