New member considering Prius

I left a 2003 Honda Accord 6-cylinder coupe behind, for the Prius. My main reasons being 1) seek better MPG than the 21 average I got commuting, 2) "vote" with my wallet, for furthering alternative fuel vehicles in the marketplace, 3) deliberately move away from the admittedly thrilling 240 hp of the Honda.
#3 was a big one for me... I found that the Honda made me a far more aggressive driver during those 5 years on the road. (Aside from my dad's 68 Mustang that I drove sometimes as a teenager, the Accord was the most powerful car I've ever owned, and I quickly grew to use that power HEAVILY and FREQUENTLY!) It definitely changed me; not only in terms of driving habits---speeding & hard acceleration off the stop---but I noticed that I quickly lost patience with "slower" drivers, and was angry behind the wheel in traffic too often. No horsepower-related accidents during those 5 years, but I wanted a return to more sensible driving!)
The Accord was a lease, and the trade value after 5 years was just a little short of covering the payoff, so I put some cash into the deal to avoid any negative equity tainting my new baby.
I'm only about 1 month into the Prius (this Friday) and I love my decision 100% at this point!

 

I'm a mere 2 months into my Prius, and I adore it. It has made me a more conscientious driver and is just as "fun" to drive as other cars I've owned. Actually, I have to correct myself here.....it's MORE fun to drive than anything else I've driven.

 

Well, I just sold my 1993 RX-7, after buying the Prius. Yes, the Prius isn't as powerful. The RX-7 was like a sport bike in acceleration, turning, and stopping. However, I also had a 2001 Pathfinder (the anti-Prius), and the Prius passes better on two lane highways than it did, and it had 240 HP/265 lb-ft of torque. I also love the nimbleness of the Prius, something owners don't mention here very often. I can weave in and out of much tighter places in it than I ever could in the other two vehicles.

Without even trying, Pearl gets twice the mileage of the RX-7 and three times the mileage of the Pathfinder! Plus you get the entertainment value of watching all the technology in action (get yourself a Scangauge II as well for even more entertainment).

 

We love our Prius, and find it very fun to drive. My wife used to drive a 1969 Camaro, so she comes from the lead foot side of things. I fly planes and race sailboats, and used to drive a Honda CRX. The CRX wasn't very powerful, but it was a real pocket rocket. It had plenty of power for its size.

You should spend some time test driving a Prius. It won't snap your neck, which is deceiving. The transmission, if you want to call it that, works like a CVT, so there is no shift shock or other normal indications of hard acceleration. I find the performance to be just fine. As other posters will tell you, driving a Prius makes you a different type of driver. I call it the "Prius glide". It is so smooth you just glide along, striving for the smoothest drive with the best mileage.

The best thing is to drive one and see what you think.

Tom

 

If the STi is only 2-yr old, it may be worthwhile to wait for the the 3rd-gen Prius.
There are other things you can do in the meantime to reduce energy consumption and emission.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RAMbler @ Jul 9 2007, 01:41 PM) [snapback]475727[/snapback]</div>

I was really skeptical going to a Prius because I would lose the handling that I had in my old car. The stock Prius suspension is decent, but for better response, there are a number of suspension and chassis bracing upgrades you can get. My Prius now handles better than my last car ever did. On a recent trip to the cascades, I was hanging with sport bikes in all the twisties. They must've been wondering, "Wth?!". Of course, the handling may not be any concern, initially, as you'll probably be mesmerized by all the cool technology you keep discovering along the way

 

A lot of owners will vouch (speak up here) that the Prius is a completely different kind of fun to drive. The adrenaline rush will be replaced by the cerebral thinking of how to make a gas tank go farther.

If you go down the Prius path, there is no turning back. Every other car will seem inferior....because it is. Horsepower will be the opiate of the masses. You get the idea.

 

I do have fun driving my Prius, it's just a different kind of fun. Definitely not the same kind of fun I had in my last couple of cars, which were geared at least somewhat toward performance. Driving for fuel economy (while blending in with traffic, per my preference) takes the same kind of concentration as driving at high speeds. It involves a high awareness of your surroundings, anticipation of what the road is going to give you, and generally being completely in tune with your vehicle. But instead of running the ragged edge of your car's handling limits you are trying to judge just the right time to let off the accelerator so that you can glide up to that pack of slowing vehicles without having to hit the brakes. I tend to argue that this kind of within-the-limits fun is a whole lot safer than the high speed kind, too. (Though I understand that the Impreza is a very safe vehicle when driven responsibly.)

So it depends on what you want. I used to like speed and I have learned to like fuel economy even more. If that appeals to you, then go for it. If you aren't sure, look into renting a Prius for a few days as a gut-check.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FL_Prius_Driver @ Jul 9 2007, 04:53 PM) [snapback]475765[/snapback]</div>

True enough. I was slightly concerned about that, but found driving the Prius more mentally stimulating (if you want it to be) than the other cars. I never had a sports car per se, the Nissan SE-R was a very fun car for me, but not in the same category as a WRx-STi. I still miss that stick shift and the grippy tires, but those days were behind me anyway when I got married and had a kid.

I had a bit of a revelation back in the early 90's when I experimented with my commute by slowing down 5 mph. I was attempting to see what difference in mpg that would make, but the real difference (and an unexpected one) was that I was a lot less stressed driving to/from work. Apparently my initial impression that everybody except a few blue-hairs went 65-70 mph on this route was incorrect, and the average speed was more like 60-65 with scattered people (previously including me) changing lanes, speeding up, slowing down, to try to eke out a little faster overall speed.

Then another episode cemented the idea that faster is not always better - I had a colleague who liked driving fast, and we were both heading from the D.C. area to upstate NY for Thanksgiving. We were comparing notes, and he laughed at me, saying he'd save more than an hour each way. Well, I got back to work the next Monday, and another co-worker was laughing at him, apparently he'd had an accident on a sharp turn by the Potomac, almost back home, and ended up with the rear of his car sliding on the guard rail (right over the gas tank). So then he spent some hours waiting for a tow truck and all that inconvenience and cost. Luckily no one was hurt, but a classic case of the tortoise and the hare.

I'm not saying you have to drive slow in a Prius (witness Al Gore), or corner cautiously (you lose momentum, so the hypermilers take the turns hard), but the Prius does give you a certain serenity while driving, by providing peace-of-mind and a diversion at the same time. Then you look at those guys accelerating on the open spots and hitting the brakes when they can't get into a line of traffic, and you think back and shake your head.

 

You should definitely rent a Prius for a few days. That's the only way to know if you could handle the shift to a different kind of driving experience. Most Toyota dealers have a few in their rental fleet.

 

Rambler you may want to wait. That's quite a car, fun factor speaking. If you want you can have my Prius for a week while I , umm test out the sti?

No seriously though, I had an M3 and it provided me a lot of fun and I miss it. Granted, the Prius gives me pleasure and feel good factors and rarely disappoints. (don't care for the seats)

Renting one would be a fantastic idea.

 

Well I traded in my 2006 350z on my 07 Prius. I ended up thinking about how stupid it was to have a car sitting my driveway that I would drive in nice weather and weekends. While it was a blast to drive, it really wasn't good for anything....it required high test gasoline, got terrible gas mileage, you couldn't haul anything in it at all, and the thing was awful in the rain and just forget snow!

So I decided to get the prius, personally knowing my tires will last past 20k just makes me grin, along with brakes that last forever and not to mention running regular gas with getting 48+ mpg has to make you grin

I have just accepted that i would rather drive this sort of car than my SUV which I do need on occasion for hauling all the heavy toys...

Good luck with you decision.

 

I've never driven a sportscar, so I can't answer your first question, but I can comment on your take on depreciation. I agree with you about Subaru. Going for all time four wheel drive may make their cars hot items in snowy climates, but their owners pay a hefty mileage penalty. Two of my co workers drive Subaru wagons which are well made and ride well enough, but they get, at best, 25 mpg. You were concerned that you'd be taking a depreciation hit by selling early. There is a flip side: cars with bad mileage are going to be harder to sell as the reality of fuel prices and gasoline shortages seeps into the American consciousness.

Just as you have had an environmental awakening, so are many others, lessening the demand for the car you now own and increasing the demand for the car you are considering buying. Maybe selling your Subaru now isn't such a bad idea because its value later will decrease in part because of its mpg rating as it will by its actual mileage.

The Prius is a hoot; but it is not a sportscar. It's not my partner Jetta TDI for handling and maneuverability. All cars are compromises. I can virtually guarantee that you will feel better psychologically driving a Prius than you would a sports car because you now have a stronger environmental awareness now that you didn't have before.