Does everybody else just LOVE their Prius?

I had a 2005 Prius Gen 2 prior to purchasing my 2010 Prius Gen 3 Package IV.

I like the newer look, had to have the leather seats and like the general layout of the interior.

My downgraded reply to "JUST OKAY" is due to the incessant rattle I have when I go over any significant bump in the road. It is driving me crazy and I am still troubleshooting where the rattle comes from.

If it wasn't for this problem/defect, I would rate it LIKE IT A LOT.

 

I voted "It's OK". It's just a daily driver for me. It inspires no lust. Still, it's great for what I use it for and I wouldn't hesitate to buy a third one. (This is my second.)

 

Hum... that's odd. Do a search... many folks here complaining about the Prius seat... Those who don't have lumbar support and do long trips, like I do, know well that the Prius seat is awful. I drove a Malibu for 2 weeks during a recent vacation in Hawaii and was impressed by it. I did lots of trips on it and thought the seats were comfortable, definitively a lot better than the ones in my Prius. The car also handles well, has good interior quality (unlike the Prius), and it is amazingly quiet... it felt like a luxury sedan to me. Very nice car to rent, but not to own though... still can't trust on GM...

 

Most vehicles I've driven long distance, I just put a cushion behind my back and go...no problems.

The Prius seat is fine for my daily commute as-is.

 

I like my V. Love is reserved for something like a Lamborghini Reventon.

 

I 'like' the car because of its gas mileage. The only time I drive it is my daily commute to work (40 miles round trip). My other car (Acura MDX), is the one I really enjoy driving. Very comfortable ride, great sound system, big screen nav, and reasonable mileage on the highway. The Prius is just a matter of economics, the fuel money I save allows me to enjoy trips in the Acura.

 

i know someone who went from "liking it" to "loving it".

when my SPM was wrecked, it spent 6 days in shop. we got a Mazda Forenza as rental. after 6 days of having to unlock car with keys. nothing but an 11 mile RT commute plus a couple local errands and still having to pay $20 for gas (normally is about $30 every MONTH) she swore up and down that she would never make an even remotely unpositive remark about the Pri again

 

I read a lot of people talking about how expensive the car is. The car itself is a 22K car. If you add 9K of accessories and it tops out over 30K then you have a 22K car with a lot of extras. Although I don't have mine yet it seems like a pretty good deal for a 22K car.

The real problem is how crappy the extras are. I saw the nav system and read all the comments and there's no excuse for the poor quality of those extras for what they charge. There's no questions to me I'm going with an aftermarket HU for half the price and twice the function.

 

The cost of the most basic Prius model available to date is $23,150, not 22K. Add taxes, registration, floor mats, etc to that and it easily hit the 24K mark.

With 24K you can almost buy 2 basic Hyundai Accents, which are indubitably not comparable to the Prius but it is a nice compact car with good FE. I recently rode one of those, rented, and heard no rattles, unlike my Prius. I go further... with that money; you can buy a loaded, brand new, 2010 Hyundai Sonata with interior quality way better than the Prius and a very comfortable and responsive car.

 

I agree, for a non-compact I think the base price is right inline.

 

You can always trade your Pri in and get one...

 

I like my prius...kinda...sure the mileage is great, but mine just feels like a dud of a car:

Poor build quality - i.e. poor fitting plastic parts, TONs of creaks, rattles, etc.

Bad ergonomics - uncomfortable seat, terrible positioned steering wheel, center console, and arm rest. My left arm has nowhere to rest. Arm rest is way to low, window edge is angled too much. Really poor storage compartments or lackthereof.

Wimpy feeling car...even in PWR mode it just seems like it works SOOO hard to go up a hill. I live in SoCal and its hilly here. My car screams just trying to go up an offramp.

Am I unrealistic? I dont think so. My wife's $16k Honda Civic is put together much better, is much more comfortable, and flies around the streets with ease while still getting 30mpg+. Everytime I get in her car I feel like I'm in a BMW compared to my Prius.

Should I have spent more time considering my decision? Probably, but Toyotas dealers around here suck about giving a decent test drive. 5 minutes around the block at 25 mph doesn't tell me much. I should have rented one, I guess. I also gave Toyota WAY too much credit based on their reputation of building solid, high quality cars. This car feels much cheaper than my 1987 Mazda B2200 with 200k miles or my 1998 Isuzu Rodeo....both crap cars that felt nicer than my Prius.

Cheap gas bills only account for so much...unfortunately I'll have to drive this thing for 200k miles... :-/

 

Well, if I did not have a commute of over 100 miles per day, yes I would be dying to trade it... that’s the only reason that keeps me away from buyers’ remorse...

Remember in an early post when I said my purchase was totally financially justified? I meant it…

Oh, BTW, like stated in the post above, I have to drive it at least 200K to make trading make sense financially...

 

i think a real evaluation can be made in 4-7 years when we have all changed cars. resale value, longevity, etc. all plays a part. would be interesting to see what gas is going for in 3-4 years as well

 

Have been reading posts for months, don't need to research. After 7500 miles in my Prius, I can say I've never felt as bad as the week I spent in the Malibu for about 500 miles. Driven them both. While my Prius seats are not nearly as good as some I've had, they do not cause me pain. Try a longer trip than a hop around the island. The two hour trip from the airport to the house in Florida was aweful. I had to stop once going down as my legs were going numb.

(as for GM quality_ spent the week with an inch of water in the floor in the back seat. Bailed it out with a cup and the placed a towell in the floor wringing it out often. Not from rain, must have been the A/C drain? It is a handsome car but I didn't see the quality interior you mentioned. Seriously, felt like a luxury sedan?)

 

Maybe your Prius has the lumbar support? If so, this is not really a fair comparison...

I agree GM reliability is not good, I did not say otherwise. What I did say though is that the Malibu which I drove felt a lot more comfortable than my Prius… That’s all...

 

For you newbee's reading this forum, please take these comments within in context of the discussion. I like my Prius. I would buy another one (or at least a camry Hybrid). I wanted an economy car and have never found one I was willing to live with. The Prius has met my expectations in all aspects. I love it as an economy car. However if this was 1960 and gas was cheap I would be driving a Cadillac Fleetwood I am sure as my everyday driver and have a split window StingRay in the garage for weekends. Unfortunately, though I am old, I was born just a tad late to have my money match up most of my dream cars. The Prius is a great economy car, just a little overpriced to be considered in an economy car class. The V is really an economy car for people who wanted a little more than what a Corolla has to offer. I am a little surprised that several of you that are "on a budget" made this choice.

 

I do have lumbar support. I can drive the Prius for a couple of hours and be comfortable, but the road noise and seating would make this a car I don't want to drive on a long vacation. It was indeed purchased for my wife's 2X 20 mile per day commute to the grandkids to babysit. Unlike many, I truly do find the looks of the V as pretty cool.

The Malibu was a lot quieter and other than the seats would not be a bad driver for a long trip. The car I rented had a raised cushion around the edges of the seat (similar to my 1998 Olds 98 except harder) and as much as I tried I could not get comfortable. I got 25 mpg driving in the Keys and Miami at fairly low speeds. I did not find that impressive at all.

 

Best car I've ever owned. Once you've gone hybrid, you don't want to ever go back.

 

Yes, loud and clear. I know you bought the car for financial reasons and you would certainly take a hit on a trade-in, perhaps not as much if you sold it privately. But man if I felt the same way about the car as you do (derived from your posts), I would not hesitate doing something about it. Being a day away from suicide it not my idea of fun. I'm just saying, life is too short.