It's kind of weird having a 16k dollar car that gets attention like it does. You could park in a line of 40k luxury cars and people would walk by and talk about it instead of them. It's a very fun car which also has its quirks (much like the Prius) but in the end the fun and economy win out every time.
A lot of these new little cars are getting positive attention. I really like the Elantra and the Fiesta.
I personally don't see the point of buying a small car that doesn't get GREAT gas mileage (and 30 isn't great)....if its small enough to fit in the back of my 4runner, it better get 45mpg or better
Or it better be able to melt tires when the throttle is punched at 100mph. Maybe like this thing. It'll fit in your 4-runner! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbZt9-xtuU]YouTube - ‪gixxer kart gsxr 1000‬‏[/ame]
nah...crotch rockets are NOT my thing.... you know what they call bikers at the ER? . . . . . . . . . wait for it...... . . . . . . . . ORGAN DONORS!
I used to ride a Gixer 750, Superbike Heavyweight. Wicked fun but not now with a family at home that needs daddy every day. I should go drive one of those Fiesta's. They look so darn neat. Always a head turner when we see one on the Interstate The elusive Elantra...gotta find one first at the rental place. Went in last time and they were out of them so I had to drive another Prii Mike
judging from this one comment, you seem to have an issue with the prius...so what's keeping you here?
You are going to get very different mileage also based on the length of the trip. The longer the trip the more the Prius shines, if your commute is say 15 miles, your average mileage will be lower than if it was say 30 miles (all other things being the same). When I had a 25 mile mostly stuck in heavy hiighway traffic commute, I got around 50 MPG. When it went to 45 miles, it was mid 50s. When my commute went to 7 miles, my mileage dropped to the mid to high 30's. Now my commute is 31 miles, and I am getting in the mid to high 40's. As for driving in the hills, if you cars are warmed up, depending on the grade of course, the Prius shouldn't be as affected as the Fiesta. Both will use more feul than normal as they climb the hills, but If you have say 10 miles of hills up and down the Fiesta engine is running the whole time, sure sometimes nearly at idle, but it is always burning fuel. However the Prius, will shut its engine down for maybe half the route, using no fuel during that time. I have a large hill on my way to and from work, from about 0' to 1100' and back down again, my ICE doesn't run for half the hill (basically). The stop and go stuff will kill you. It is the accelerating that kills mileage. I find my mileage is best when there is thick traffic as it limits my speed to maybe 35 to 45, but when it is stop and go, forget it. And when it is clear, I am doing 70, so it is worse too, but not as bad as the stop and go. Not to disparage the Fiesta it is a great little car, but I am not sure it can be compared to the Prius. Yes the fiesta is certainly cheaper, but I beleive the Prius also is larger inside and has more amenities than the Fiesta. No? All that stuff costs money. Is that even with the "Eco" package? I know a lot of people seem to think they are all rated at 40MPG, but it is actually a special option package or version of the Cruz that you have to get to get that mileage. Off the top of my head that makes the minimum price like $18 or 19k. Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. Although I get better mileage in my Prius than on my bike, I definately smile more often on the bike than in my car. Besides, the joke is what do they call motorcycles at the ER? Donorcycles.
The biggest problem here is there always seems to be a light right where you would start your gliding. My wife has a 15mi commute, mine is 9, currently I am driving the Prius because I got the windows tinted in the Fiesta for her (she has a UV allergy) and she is finally able to enjoy driving it again. I agree that the Fiesta is better suited for the short trips, I have gotten the average gage to over 34 while she is lucky to get it to stick around 32. The distance doesn't change for the Prius much...45 or so me, 46 or so her.
Nope, not one problem at all. I have been renting Prii for three years now and now will be renting Elantra's to decide which car I get to buy in May or June 2012 when it is my turn to get a new car. My wife & I take turns on who gets the new car. Next spring it is my turn. I was 100% set on buying a Prius Five then the Elantra came out and now many Prii owners on this forum are saying with my driving routine that an Elantra is the car to buy based upon total cost of ownership. I have to drive the Elantra first to see how it compares to driving the Prius. I have yet to get my hands on a Prius Five to check out the interior or how it drives compared to the Prius II that I have been renting. I was to rent an Elantra this last trip until I got to the rental company and they said they did not have any That's why I posted the Smiles above. Nothing wrong with a Prius. Mike
thanks for the clarification, I understand your stance better now.... FWIW, I traded in a 2011 fully loaded Hyundai Sonata SE with Nav that had 12k on it for my 2006 Prius package 6 with 77k and wouldn't look back.... first off the build quality on the new hyundais is very disappointing. My console started to rattle 4 mos after purchase. My gear shift went into Park 80% of the time. The others, it wouldn't go (known issue). My driver seat stitching came undone (I'm a dude and I don't wear jeans so nothing snagged on it) My gas mileage started out GREAT, getting 40mpg highway in a 3300lb+ car with 200hp. but the mileage started to dip down...to the point where I was getting 23mpg combined.....My 1995 Acura Legend with 160k gets 29mpg on the highway...I realized I was paying a car note on a car I didn't need since it didn't save me a dime. The prius is worlds better, worlds more reliable and worlds better at resale value...you'll always be able to sell a prius (since gas will only go up, not go down) but will you always be able to sell a Hyundai?
Wow that sounds like a terrible experience That is why I want to rent the Elantra and put thousands of miles on it and others before making a definitive decision. I have over 10k miles on rental Prii both Gen II & Gen III and feel I know the car pretty well. I drove the Prii I am bringing into Hertz today, a bit over 1600 miles since Sunday My avatar is a pic from last February when we drove a rental Prii to Florida & back to Minnesota. Fun trip To find a Five to drive is going to be something difficult I believe. Maybe I can find a local owner to let me have a look inside at least. Thank you for that feedback on the Sonata Mike
You are very thorough! I suppose I should be a little more thorough with my car purchases but our Prius test drive was about 1600 miles when we ended up with a 2009 as a rental accidentally. I had rented a midsize and they tried to give me an Escape, I told them no, I was renting a car to get away from an SUV (Explorer) for our trip and I wanted something that was comfortable and got good mileage. She said, well, all we have is that Prius out there and my "Oh dear, what have I gotten into" alarm went off (I was a hater). We fell in love and bought a Gen III 2 weeks after our vacation, we had not even really given much thought to a new car prior to that.
