Question For Former "Sporty Car" Owners.....

Ask her what car she wants.

 

I have taken two road trips so far in my Prius, and I still have my temp tags on. And by road trips, the first was picking it up in the Tri-State area (in PA but very near to New Jersey) and then driving 1800mi in just under 30 hours back to Colorado. The second was me leaving for L.A., California this Monday morning and returning back in Colorado Wedensday morning which was close to 2000mi round trip.

The seats were plenty comfortable to whole time. Not the same as our Lexus obviously, but I wasn't numb in the butt. I also averaged 45mpg+ and this is driving through mountain passes at speeds generally no less than 80mph (satellite speed recorded as 80mph, spedometer reads as 82/83mph) and usually less than 105mph except in parts of Utah where there are no places for cops to sit and wait where they hollowed out the side of a mountain for 4 lanes of traffic

No other car can do that without European deisel efficiency.

I have spent many many hours in my new car and added quite a few miles. I am more than happy with the Prius. And I didnt even testdrive a single Prius before I bought mine and even then I didnt testdrive it.

 

Well, imo, if you want well-bolstered seats in a Prius, you need to go IV or V (lumbar support). I found the II sorta like sitting in a trough, bad on the back. YMMV of course. The lumbar support does it for me.
~T

 

The only thing I will say is that the traction on wet grass or mud is dreadful, I tried putting a blanket that me and Pedro had been using uner the wheels but the blanket slipped and the wheels span coverign Pedro in mud, as a result he had to come back to mine so I could wash him off!

Anyone got any tips for pulling off in wet grass?

Thank you

 

1) Gentle foot on the accelerator.

2) Better tires.

Tom

 

"Finesse' To get the best out of a Prius one drives with finesse, not force.

We have an '06 and have driven up our Minnesota driveway on glare ice that we didn't dare walk on just using the very sensitive electronic CVT and just letting the car inch it's way up the drive.

Mash the throttle and the car simply slides backward down the incline, but inch it up and the car will take you to the top.We found the the very same thing is true on wet grass. At a camp site on a hill a few years ago, mashing the throttle and letting the traction control do it's thing, got us no where, but just inch it along and it crawled slowly up the hill. Give it a try. Finesse is the word.

 

I come from a BMW M3, Jaguar XJ and Porche 911. Still own the XJ and 911 - weekend cars.

It's taken a life altering experience to make the trasntion to the Prius.

But I enjoy the Prius for what it is - a solid comuter car.

Would never get a VW. Wrong image.

 

Things to watch out for if trading your VW (with comfortable seats and handling) for a Prius, with great gas mileage.
The drivers seat in the GenII is the worst thing ever.
I do not know about the Gen III, someone made a comment about lack of lumbar support until you reached the IV or V, I guess I would check that out thorougly.

Handling is not something you can compare in these two vehicles. I did not have a GTI, I had a beetle and it was like a go-kart, the Prius is not like that, it does have it's good features, they are just not the same type of car, and each provide a different driving experience.
As soon as finances make it possible, I will most likely go back to VW, the seat issue for me is too much.
Those are my bare boned facts, based on my experience with the Prius, other peoples experiences may vary.

Good luck with your decision.

 

My car was more sport-"ish" than truly sporty - Accord Coupe. The Prius is more average in handling and whatnot that sort of thing (the AC had very low center of gravity, and you felt it), but acceleration is really not bad at all, especially on the lower end (below 50mph).

The bottom line is, if you have the need to drive everywhere like it's the Grand Prix, the Prius won't get your blood pumping - that's not what it's designed for. But if you want a car that can hold the road reasonably well and have plenty of acceleration to jump into the traffic flow, AND get great mileage, the Prius is perfect.

As others have said, borrow your friend's Prius again, put it in PWR mode, and drive it like you mean it - you may be surprised. The Gen III has a lot more punch than the 2009's.

For me, I guess I'm getting older but I've lost interest in trying to push my car to the edge and risking putting it into a tree or something else which, even if it doesn't injure me, will cost a lot of money. More interested in getting where I'm going in a reasonable time without a scratch, and using the gas money I save for things that I enjoy more.

 

I have a pretty similar situation to what you are considering. I went from a german sportscar (2002 Mercedes Benz C230 coupe) to the 2010 Prius II. I have about a 70 mile round trip commute. Since you're getting better MPG out of your 2008 GTI than it's rated for even though you're driving it in traffic a lot of the time, I'm guessing you aren't going too crazy on the accelerator anyway. I worried about missing the handling and luxury of the c230, but I'm too busy looking at all the cool displays on the new car. I'm still cruising around 70-75 on my commute like I was in the old car, but now I don't worry about hitting traffic since my mpg just seems to go higher when I do. Since money seems to be part of your considerations, another advantage of the Prius to consider is the reliability. I'm glad to get away from the huge service charges for my benz.

 

2006 Lexus IS350. No comparison performance-wise. We got the Prius for the fuel economy. The bonuses include the extra room inside and the tech stuff. When I need a shot of testosterone, I drive my Dodge 3500 Cummins turbo-diesel.

 

50mpg makes up for going fast. You also cut way back on speeding tickets and the need to buy r compounds for autocross or track days. New focus is to get higher mpg. Green Grand Prix at Watkins Glen on May 8th this year, if you still must compete.

 

I took a new job in a new city. Commute went from 20 miles r/t to 100 miles r/t, every day. I was driving my truck (diesel, which gets about 20 MPG), but $15/day was too much.

I kept the Duramax, but traded in my 2008 Audi RS4 for a 2010 IV.

You're not alone.

I was a little worried about the prices of fuel this summer, and the Prius is cool in its own way. That having been said, I'm not a "green" person. I just wanted something cheap to operate and reliable. I was a little worried about VW diesels reliability and diesel fuel can be a PITA to get where I live.

 

My other car is 2004 BMW M3, and there is absolutely no comparison between the two in driving dynamics. The Prius is very slow, off the line, mid range, top end. Handling is numb and sluggish, braking is poor. That said when it comes to my 35 mile each way commute through LA, I am much happier in the Prius, and it's not about economy. The Prius is a relaxing drive.

I was intentionally harsh in my comments above, because if you get into a Prius expecting it to compare in anyway to a "sporty" car, it will fare very poorly. It's a totally different driving experience. Would I want to take it canyon carving on the weekends, heck no. But do I want to battle a twitchy nervous rocket through heavy traffic every day, also heck no...

Of course, I have the best of both worlds. I can drive the M when I need some release. And the Prius when I need to stay calm....-)

 

THIS.

I started to pen a reply but this echoes my sentiments completely ... alas we gave up our BMW Z roadster, so I dont have the choice like maddog ....

hell, even our BMW X5 is thousands times better handling / features / safety than prius ... but thats not the intended purpose of the prius ...

that said Prius is worth every penny and so are the BMWs ...

p.s. to give you an idea these are the ones I cross shopped : 328xi / 335xi / g37x - couldnt justify (multiple reasons) - esp. the epa.gov website side by side comparison ... over 5 yrs a 3xi is $10k more than prius just in fuel costs ... couple with the fact its a company purchase and will see much mileage and stop-n-go trips ... prius wins on $$$ - loses on every other count.

there that should make ur decision easier

 

I recently went from a 2007 350Z to a 2010 Prius III w/Nav and solar package, couldn't be happier. Yeah, i will occasional miss the 6 speed manual and 320HP when I see one go down the interstate but, I'm loving the $25 fill ups and 500+ MPT.

 

The Prius is The most fuel efficient car you can buy today. Make sure to try the Power Mode - I think you'll be surprised how it gives a nice response.

The Prius II, III or IV will not handle as well as the V with its 215 width tires and 17" rims, sharper steering.

Definitely check out the models with JBL which is a pretty decent factory sound system. It shakes the rearview mirror pretty well!

If you're really tall, pay particular attention to the steering wheel placement which is currently a knockout factor for me. If you're more average height, the steering wheel will likely get close enough to you.

If you get a Prius, it should draw you in to love the car. You'll have a car that averages about 50 MPG.

Yesterday I gave a coworker a ride in my car. I emphasized what it's all about - how the engine turns off at a stop, how you can creep forward on battery, even maintain 40 MPH on battery sometimes.

There is no doubt in my mind that Toyota's hybrid is monumental progress in car technology. More and more mfrs are coming out with hybrids. It is no fluke or passing fancy, it's seriously good.