No Test Drive??

I live in New Braunfels, so I know what you mean about having trouble finding one to test drive. Red McCombs Toyota in San Antonio (NW side near intersection of 410 and 10) has one for test drives -- it's covered with their logo so it's not for sale, but driving it helped me make up my mind.

Good luck!

 

If you get on a dealer's list, and get notified one is in, you will be able to test-drive that one before you actually purchase it.

 

Just one note - 6 foot + people are too tall for the back seat (my son and I are both over 6 feet and only ride up front - no problem in the front seats). I do recommend you get a test drive. The test drive sold me on the car, but you need to see for yourself. Good luck.

 

I started looking in mid-April & ran into that same exact problem. I contacted 3 dealers in Austin, 1 in San Antonio, 1 in San Marcos, & 1 in Brenham. Nobody had any that you could test drive & but some would say as soon as they got one in that wasn't already sold they would let you test drive it. The problem that I was running into even then, which I'm sure is worse now, is that cars were being sold before they were reaching the dealerships. The worst was Charles Maund. They said they would absolutely not let people test drive their prius. I ended up putting a deposit down w/round rock just to hold my spot & after I did that a car became available for test drive in San Marcos. When I test drove it in the San Marcos area it handled pretty well on the little hills in that area & it was fairly curvy too. As far as size, last time I checked Maund had one sitting in their lobby that you could look at so you could at least check that out. Good luck.

 

This depends on where you carry your height. Some tall people have no trouble, others are doubled up.

Tom

 

The dealers have no incentive to keep a demo Prius; they sell all they can get. Either rent one or find a happy Prius driver that will take you for a spin.

Tom

 

I live in west Austin in the hills and the car handles great. I bought one at Champion and test drove it for 3 days. I bought in March and they even discounted the MSRP then. I am getting 45MPG consistently but don't have very much mileage yet. Good luck!

 

The only way I got a test drive was that I got lucky and happened to visit a dealership that had borrowed one Prius from their rental fleet for the weekend. Otrherwise, no dealerships in my area have a single one on the lot, they are all pre-sold.

Glad I got the chance because driving it sealed the deal for me. All the misconceptions I had disappeared. I am now waiting for the delivery of my Seaside Pearl Pkg 5. It should arrive a few days before my b-day...Happy birthday to me!

 

Uphill acceleration will be better than any car you have previously driven. The electric motor adds quite a lot of instant-on torque. Most of us here enjoy gradual acceleration to squeeze every last mile from a gallon of fuel, however. It's good to know that it is there if you need it. I enjoy the roller coaster feel of the cruise control when you are going uphill and it pins you back in the seat to maintain your chosen speed regardless of the grade increase.

 

If you're aching for a test drive (I was) note that Hertz's "Green collection" includes Priuses, and in this category the cars are model-reservable, meaning you can specifically reserve a Prius. The midweek rates are $70+/day but i was able to get a weekend rate of $32.99/day.

As a plus I was able to put the Prius through stuff I wouldnt dare on a short or even overnight test drive. I went to Lowe's and bought some 8-foot fence posts, a couple hundred pounds of Quickrete and a few bags of mulch. This satisfied my "haulin' stuff" test.

I spent under $100 for my weekend test drive, which I think was money well-spent in the long run.

 

I can honestly say I have never touched a Prius. But we have one on the way. I'm probably not the sharpest knife in the carnival act, but through information like PC and talking with a couple of owners, I feel sure everything will work out. If not...well, we might find someone who would like to buy it.

 

Good point Fraser. At least for the moment if you don't like it you can sell it for the same price as you bought it (maybe more?) But I can't speak for what it will be like in 2 months when you get yours.

G

 

Yeah, I'm starting to wonder if anyone has yet had the idea of getting on a waiting list with plans to "flip" the car. Might be profitable now.

I bought my last car, 94 Stealth Turbo, in 96 without a test drive. I had read so much about it I was sure I'd be happy and would live with any annoyances or quirks.

I test drove a Prius a month ago and I'm happy with it. Delivery is tomorrow :bounce:

Based on my last month of intensive reading, or even the first two weeks, I'm sure I'd still buy a Prius even without a test drive.

Yes, the handling will clearly be inferior to a 2 ton sports/GT car with wide tires, all wheel drive and steering, but I'm happy with the compromises for low running costs. I'll probably have more fun in the Prius now that I've been bored with 12 years of a Stealth Turbo...

Anyway, with such long wait times npw, consider putting down a refundable (MUST BE REFUNDABLE IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND!), deposit and take your time getting a test drive or reading about the Prius.

 

I rented one from Hertz for 3 days to see if we would like it before adding our name to the now infamous list. The weekend rates are better than weekday rates too. We currently have a 2007 Camry and were pretty much prepared not to like the Prius and were surprised to find that it has just about the same room as the Camry and handles just as well if not better too and not to mention a much higher mpg. Needless to say we added our name to the list and hope to take delivery in 6-12 weeks.

 

Call around and see if you can rent a Prius from a Toyota dealer. Look at toyota.com about their rental car program.

Even the rental Prius' are thinning out due to demand. I'm booked to rent on next Wednesday. This dealer has 2 rentals available whereas they had 5 Prius' a couple months ago.

and renting is better than a short test drive for deciding. I can understand why dealers don't want folks just racking up test drive miles unless they are really interested in buying the unit.

 

Considering the current frenzy.. waiting makes sense to me. If Champion doesn't have a test drive Prius, it means they don't have any Prius most likely. They let you drive any car that is for sale, not necessarily a "demo" vehicle. The one I drove and bought had just a few miles on it prior to my driving it a couple hundred miles. Lexus will have a version maybe in 2009.