I've driven my '05 Prius for 40 months and 81,000 miles and have been very satisfied with it overall. But you know what? I missed driving a car. A real car. The Prius is........what itis. So, after a considerable amount of research I added another Nissan to my fleet instead of buying a Gen 3 Prius. I almost went to test drive a 2012 liftback 2 but I longed for a car instead. So last night, I bought a new 2014 Nissan Altima S. It's a car. Not a Prius. I have exchanged top notch fuel economy for comfort. The Altima is supposed to get 38 mpg hwy. I'll soon find out. It has a CVT that has a feel similar to my Gen 2, but it's much quieter on the road. And the power steering is vague, just like my Prius. I'm keeping my Prius until it dies. I'll still drive it. I still like it. It will be my daily driver. The Altima will be used for long trips and taking friends and family around town.
if there's any room for disagreement here, i'm on my third prius 'car' and loving it! all the best with your altima, very nice car. (i do like taking my wife's hycam to florida tho, nothing wrong with 50 mpg's and quiet comfort. )
and the seating position is better for me, too. I'm 6'4". The Prius has never fit me very well. I know, that's my fault.
Well, It's a Prius like car, I suppose. I never minded the numb steering. I've gotten used to it. And I like the smoothness of a one speed transmission too.
yeah, i've had six foot + friends over the years who drove british sports cars and such, but they were never comfortable. at 5'-7", i'm happy in a smart!
Have fun in FL...we did...but we flew...it was fairly rainy...but we beat the cold...that's a long drive for you Bisco.
thanks! we've been doing it since '04 when we bought timeshare. i like the roadtrip, it's about as adventurous as i get. fredericksburg on night one and savannah on night two. hoping the weather in orlando will improve, it was fairly cold last year. of course, when we bought the time share, it was sunny and 80 everyday for a week!
You would really like a midsize sedan like the 2014 Nissan Altima then. Much more front leg room than a Prius without needing to install new seat rails like you had to with your Gen 2. Let me reiterate- I LOVE MY PRIUS! I told my teenage daughter that she can drive the Prius but she will never own it. This is my Prius. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Prius is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My Prius, without me, will not save me money. Without my Prius, I will not save money. I must drive my Prius daily. I must drive for max mpg even though others are trying to run me over. et cetera, et cetera
Sorry, but I have to say BOO! And I have to say, "Why did you do it?" And I'm NOT talking about getting a Nissan Altima. I could care less that you decided to add a regular ICE vehicle to your "fleet". I hope you enjoy it. BUT.... As much time and effort in casual conversation that I have spent with friends and acquaintances trying to convince them that a Prius IS A REAL CAR....I don't really want the "It's a Car. Not a Prius"- BS from someone purporting to be a supporter of Prius. There is IMO absolutely nothing wrong with wanting and maintaining a second vehicle, and buying and owning a Prius does not obligate you to ALWAYS own only a Prius or a Hybrid. But just tell me you wanted a Nissan Altima...because you wanted a Nissan Altima. Why couch it in terms of "It's a REAL car...as opposed to "A Prius"? Sure your credentials in Prius Ownership are unassailable. But I still say BOO! for your attitude. Toyota has sold 5 million Hybrids...and guess what....they are ALL real cars. Sure the driving experience is different between a Hybrid and a standard ICE. I'd be fine with someone just saying, I wanted something "different" in my second vehicle. Or just I wanted more comfort and room than is available on a Standard Prius. I'm NOT such a Prius snob that I don't appreciate the idea of the differences between a regular ICE vehicle and The Prius. But I just don't think you need to define purchase of your Altima as being "I have a Prius and Now I Own a Car Again Too". No...you now own two vehicles...two cars...one of them is a ICE Altima...with more room and perhaps better appointments in luxury....The other is a hybrid Prius....they are both REAL CARS. I think a very applaudable thing Toyota has done with the Prius is bring it so far into the mainstream. I think it is important to advance the idea that "alternative" automobiles ARE automobiles, and can be viable as fully functioning modes of transportation. When you couch your purchase of an Altima....as now I have a Real Little Boy instead of just Pinocchio...I think you set the whole hybrid reality back about 10 years. Enjoy your new Altima...nice car.-- Enjoy your Prius...IMO nicer car.
Oh yeah, how tall are you? The Gen 2 Prius (with the standard seat rails) is not for those 190 cm tall or taller who are long legged. Some people are tall above the waist. Like my dad. 6' 1" tall with a 30 inch inseam - LOL! To me, a car is a sedan. Sedans are lower to the ground than a Prius and they allow tall folks to stretch their legs a little. Okay, you got me. The Prius isn't a "sedan". Happy now? And yes, I could have bought a Camry Hybrid. But that would have cost me about $10,000 more than what I bought the Altima for (I got a really good deal on it). You can still buy a lot of gasoline for that. And the Camry's hwy fuel economy is not much better than the Altima. Keep in mind this sub forum is for other cars.
See my definition in post #16. When I was a kid, there were sedans, station wagons, vans, and trucks. Only sedans and station wagons could be considered cars in the late 60s (American metal only - I'm not including foreign vehicles like the VW bug, which wasn't a car).
"Our" Prius was purpose purchased and so used. While it is an excellent car, it does not meet all needs. No one vehicle can do that.
Bait and Switch. You weren't separating the Prius from the Altima based on Sedan vs. Hatchback criteria. You can't go back now and say, "I mean it's not a car because it's not a sedan". Both the Altima and The Prius are REAL vehicles...IMO real cars...Sedan or Hatchback.
