Could really use some input for my parents from owners

this would make me nervous. there are a lot of horror stories out there about people over 55-60 who have trouble with the technology. how about a corolla?

 

What technology? It drives like any other car, with a steering wheel and pedals. You fill it with gas. The only thing that might throw them off is the keyless start, but that is really more of a luxury feature than a technological advance.

 

Oh, pffffff. It's a car. It's a very easy to drive/park/care for car. It's also incredibly easy to enter/exit, which is helpful for people with less flexibility.

Most of the people I see in Prii around here are really, really old.

The only people who have that much trouble with the technology are the ones that can't change their habits enough to use a Power button, and a Park button.

You might consider looking at the ones that don't have Nav. The dash is a lot more plain old car like.

 

Have you driven the car?

A car without Nav and without the AT package available on the Five is really not that high tech. It has a digital dash...but the audio and climate inputs are all pretty standard. The interface with the gearshift is unusual, but easy to get used to.

As for the brakes, braking in a Hybrid feels different than in a regular car, the issue is with that feel and how people reacted to it. They adjusted the brakes for feel, but the differences are going to be there...

They need to drive one and see what they think...

If someone at CNET had issues operating the technology in even a loaded Five w/ AT Prius...they have no business doing reviews for CNET.

 

Agree with bisco...why a Prius? My wife hates driving my Prius because she is not used to it. The push button starter, the keyless entry (and lock), constant beeping on reverse, the grearshift, the braking system, remembering to turn the car off!!, etc.. Someone elderly may not like all of these things. (Yes, i know that some of these things are just a matter of getting used to it and you can turn the reverse beeping off...but, we're talking about people in their 70's!)

I would tell them buy Corolla, another Acoord, or a TSX SportWagon if they need more space.

 

OP: why leather seats? I had leather on my past 3 cars and really like getting back to fabric seats which are more comfortable in both hot and cold. As far as too much technology - others here have nailed it: it drives like a regular car! The only other difference is that your parents would need to get used to the fact that the Prius starts the engine itself when needed. Not a big deal once you accept that.

As far as a Prius shortage...who knows for sure - maybe dealers will start to gouge customers for last year's "black eye".

 

Thats just the thing...there was no failure. The brakes FELT like they had failed but in reality braking force was never diminished.

If all they care about is dollars and cents at the gas pump...the Prius is probably not for them...

What other cars are they considering?

 

Rent one for two days. I just bought mine a week ago, but before buying it I rented one. The rentals are typically the basic ones, without the nav, etc.

For me, knowing it was a hybrid, plus the power/park buttons, and the display rich dash in an odd spot, made it feel different at first. But fairly quickly, it started feeling like any other car that wasn't my own.

 

I am 55, so I fall into your 'really old' clasification. The Toyota engineers did a credible job of emulating a 'normal' car. The brakes seem normal, the engine braking seems normal, the steering seems normal, etc. If you are a fanatic, like me and many on Priuschat, you can defeat the 'normal' features to get even better mileage, but mostly you 'just drive it'.

My worry about Prius ownership is, do they drive it long enough and often enough to need a Prius? The Prius gets great mileage after about 15 minutes into your commute, but the first 15 minutes are not exceptional. If your drive is under 15 minutes, you will not see great results.

The Prius batteries seem to like being 'on', owners who do not drive their Prius for over two weeks at a time have way more issues than those who drive at least an hour a week.

 

Good gosh you're old! I'm a '1957' model.

I think they should go test drive one and see if they like it. If it's overwhelming, they'll know when they drive it.

 

There are a lot of folks at my church with Prii. I guess I don't count for being "old" , but everyone else driving them is in their 60s, and one couple in their 70s. I'm talking about age, not mpg, so easy to get them mixed up sometimes...

Renting one really is their best option to see. The one thing that might seem "new" to remind them of is turning the car on and off. Apparently some people have complained that the car doesn't turn off when you don't turn it off (yes, I typed that correctly), because it will be silent when stopped, but you must push the "Power" button to shut down, it won't turn off by leaving the vehicle with your key.

Otherwise, it's designed to drive like every other car in the world, very straightforward and simple, no special knowledge required.

 

OP: do your parents have a habit of locking the doors when they exit the car ? If they do, then I say no worry because the IMO biggest difference from a regular car is remembering to turn it off. Since the car is smart enough to beep and refuse to be locked if still running, the door lock habit solves the worry.

Do you folks use a computer ? If they think of the car as a mobile computer they will have a practical frame of reference. My wife is not a luddite, but she in general adapts to change slowly and with a fair amount of complaint. To Toyota's credit she had no trouble with the Prius.

 

rental is the best way to go. it's hard to pay attention on a test drive with a salesperson buzzing in your ear the whole time. it's not like your trying to work a computer or something, it's more the pushbutton start, keyless entry, engine turning on and off at will, regen brakes kicking out on decel near 7 mph. things like that you don't experience on a 'regular' car. all the best!

 

+1 for trying one out for a few days.
They'll either love it or hate it.

 

My wife and I are over 70, and I can't believe some of the comments I see here. (yes, we are not too old to be able to read, we drive a Prius, we use computers, cell phones, I-pods, androids, DVD's ). Why---we can even put together a complete sentence without having to say "like" with every other word.

What the hell does "age" have to do with "technology"??

This is disgusting and discriminatory.