Prius for long highway commute?

I'm not a Prius owner yet but I have done about six months research on my next car purchase. I even have an excel spreadsheet comparing car costs over a ten year period with 60% highway driving. A three year old used Prius purchase beats everything I compared over ten years including predicted maintenance costs. I looked at VW diesels also. One thing that really entices me about a hybrid that nobody mentioned is the ability to sit in the car long term in an air conditioned environment without the engine running. Whether waiting for kids to finish soccer, catch some sleep at a rest stop on a long commute from work in the middle of the night, or finish a phone call before getting out of the car. A hybrid simply lets you sit idling in the car for long periods.


iPhone ?

 

You can also sleep overnight in A/C comfort very cheaply.

 

And run essential electrical devices in your home during a power blackout.

 

Based on my experience with an Avalon Hybrid, I'd say a Camry Hybrid or Avalon Hybrid will match any Ford Hybrid in mpg and with Toyota reli

 

If you keep it under 60mph on CC, electric assist comes on and off here and there. More importantly, hybridness enables the engine to be turned off often. On downhills the engine will either shut off or turn without burning gas, since power steering, AC, brakes, etc, do not need the engine to continue operating.

 

The ability to sit or nap in the car waiting for someone is an extra on these cars that shouldn't be underestimated how useful it is. It would be hard for me in a regular car not to be able to do this anymore.

 

They aren't ignorant. I know one of those guys personally and he's a brilliant automotive engineer and a HUGE Prius backer. He was a big motivator pushing me to get a Prius and he knows I do mostly highway driving.

I think that video segment is just... well... one of them really pushing a miniscule point too far. They are engineers after all, data points, reproducibility of testing, etc. etc. A case can be made for diesels if you care to.
Also, when you are forced to come to conclusions about a bunch of cars that all, frankly, are reliable, get good mpg, and don't need a thing before 100k miles, you really have to dig to find differences worth talking about.

We have almost 90k on our Prius in 4 years. LOT'S of hilly highway driving and long winters = lifetime average or 44mpg. We are extremely pleased with that, though some on Prius Chat would puke if they saw averages below 50.

When I get below Manchester NH and the world flattens out, I get 50 easy, highway or in-city. It will dip some in the winter (get 4 good winter tires!) because of increased friction and the gas engine running more to keep you (and itself) warm.

I'll say this on the diesel front because I get wrapped into these "Hybrid vs Diesel" arguments online way too much.... there is room for both on the market. One does not need to be "best" because everyone's situations vary so much. It is great that there are options for whatever you value most in your driving experience. I hate that both sides have so many evangelists that feel they need to disparage the other just to feel better about their own choices.

 

All i can say is my experience with our 2011 model 3 just under 75,000 miles only expense oil changes every 10,000 miles , second set of tires , engine and cabin filter every 15,000 miles and constant average upper 40's mileage just under 50 and we drive everywhere , trips to Florida , Nebraska , Wisconsin , Michigan . Wife drives daily to work 60 mile round trip and it sits outside in northern Illinois . It even has original start up battery in trunk . I have friends and relatives that had VW's they liked them but way more $$ maintenance and a few things did break . The insurance is also low on our Prius don't think too many owners hot rod in them and they are not altered buy the fast and furious crowd of tuners along with being among the lowest being stolen , not cool among the car thief street creed . Finally the best overall car i ever owned and that says volumes .

 

my wife is currently at 49.8 mpg on the display of her hycam. proxy translates to 47 or so. we're happy.