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

I lived in Kensington for about 6 months (No. 11 Queensgate & Queensgate Terrace) and really enjoyed the many beautiful European estates that we Americans have been denied. I especilly loved the Alfa Romeos of about 10 years ago....Never were there lovelier cars that the DeSilva designed Alfas...

 

LOL you are cracking me up. Alfas! Yeah they look lovely but no one would touch them except you! I guess you are in it for the thrill We can't afford such a unreliable car besides others will laugh if one would actually buy one.

Sounds like you lived in one of those expensive areas.

 

It was an awsomely expensive 400 sf flat decorated in 1970 by Grandma Moses herself...not a single view to the outside world just an interior lightwell...location...location...location. But it was a great experience. I worked for the Heathrow Airport LTD on the T-5 inquiry...given my experience how the British ever build anything is astonishing...

 

Yes very astonishing indeed. ACtually T-5 is not so bad.

 

No...Lord RR did a pretty good job...the working style was so different though...no over time ever...missed meetings no big deal...deadlines who cares...a 7 month programming exercise taking 4 years....but the results speak for themselves...it is very attractive.

 

Sold my 2008 VW R32 and am loving my 2010 Prius V much more... I don't think you'll miss the GTI much.

 

maddog2020, if you're willing to give it a shot, change the tire pressures to 40f/35r (cold pressure). I have been bumping up the front pressures every few weeks/months to test out the handling, and just today I moved it up to 40f from 39f. Finally today the handling on some tight turns is starting to actually feel nice & not as much understeer. If you do, let me know what you think! I know everyone seems to like the rears 2 psi less than the front, but my hunch is that it doesn't help the understeer. This is for the 15" rims.

 

OK OK... my 2 cents...


<------ former daily driver



It is not a Corvette, but for commuting in slow traffic, I saved over $400 per month in fuel alone... the Corvette gets horrid mpg in slow traffic, yet I got more than 29 mpg out of the Corvette when driving at 70mph on I-5.

I do not miss driving a sportscar... I still do when I want to... this little Prius was never meant to compete against a sportscar for driving feel or response... and I don't try to pretend I am in a scooter-car when I am behind the wheel in the Prius... although, I did beat a fella in a Mustang he thought was a hotrod off the light for 60 yards... my son said I will try to race a wheelbarrow if I could... I didn't have the heart to tell him I did that kinda stuff in the fair when I was a kid.


Good luck in your search for the right car for you Bra... for me, this little Prius is a damn fine addition to my driveway.

 

I traded a V8 Phaeton in on a Prius V. With respect to Tarantino, when choosing between the two "R"s, the one I experience the most in "Relief".

 

Haven't been on here for while..

We actually have a 2010 Prius V as a commuter (65 miles/day)
&
As a fun car a 2010 Hyunday Genesis Coupe 3.8 GT 6 speed Automatic
(my wife uses this one mostly, and I take it every Friday)

 

I lived in north kensington above a SmartCar dealership. yeah, lots of nice "Saloon"s out there

 

Former Boxster S driver here, 295 hp, and I am very happy with the Prius. The Porsche literally steals your souls (and your wallet), so I am glad I have a less morbid relationship with my car and a more friendly approach to driving. I considered many sporty or sportish cars before choosing the Prius, but then I would have made comparisons and felt frustrated... I needed a radical change. Very happy with the change so far. Do I miss not having a sportier car?... not really, not now at least. Sometimes when I corner a bit fast (to keep my momentum!!!) I miss the agility of the Porsche. That's it.

 

My former car was a 2002 MINI Cooper with CVT. I miss those magic parking spaces in San Francisco (now taken up by Smart Cars), and the ability to drive my car like a go cart around corners. However, my husband (13 years my senior) had been pissing & moaning for years about the firm ride hurting his back, and getting in and out of such a low car with giant doors. (He drives a 1998 F150/Triton so he's used to a high-up, smooth riding tank).

Now that I have the Prius IV, we are both much happier with a quieter ride, smooth suspension (no more going airborne over bumpy roads), and an overall feeling of luxury. I've been very careful about cornering too fast, and the slightly uncertain feel on the highway is a bit disconcerting, but overall I'm a happy camper about my decision, as well as getting 20 more MPG. :thumb:
(Attached a picture of me and the MINI with 120,200 miles on it just before I drove it to the Dealer to trade in for my Prius last month)

 

While I might catch heat, I can name several things that detract from Prius' sportiness as compared to your GTI -

1) GTI has a very large left footrest dead pedal, plenty of room for planting your left foot for serious driving. The Prius footboard is still a bit small and there's a plastic panel that comes inward, impeding room for a big left foot. To add a bit more salt, a new Civic left footboard and foot room is a little more substantial than the new Prius.

2) GTI steering wheel with its contours and flat bottom -very nice. Prius steering wheel not contoured, but has flat bottom.

3) The new Prius leaves a glaring problem for very tall drivers (I'm 6'2" tall) ...

when I slide the seat all the way back, the steering wheel does not telecope nearly close enough. I do not see this in other cars I've been looking at - Camry, Accord, Civic, Golf/GTI, Mazda 3, Venza, Impreza, Jetta, and others.

I have to slide the seat 3 clicks forward from full back on the new Prius to get reasonable reach to steering wheel. At that point, the legroom is a bit compromised. For tall drivers, it's the steering wheel placement that dictates how much legroom will be available.

4) Tires and wheel on Prius are nothing like your GTI, so you may want to change them.

5) Steering response is pretty docile on the II - IV Prius - nothing like your GTI.

and more, but it's a nice car.

Unless you want to work putting in a sound system, you might want to spring for the Prius III. I think the JBL in the III is pretty darn good. No booming bass, but it sounds nice, and it blows away a so-called Bose sound system in a Mazda 3 < junk.

 

I'm not sure I can add much more to this that hasn't already been said. I find the power adequate ironically. The seats (gen2) are also fine for long drives. I would spring for the lumbar support if I had the option. It's really the sitting position that I dislike. It's very high and the non-telescoping steering wheel means I have to sit closer than I would otherwise so I feel a tad cramped in the leg area. The feeling does vanish though after a day or so.

The suspension is very soft (especially the rear) and the car feels slightly tall at times as crosswinds affect the car alot. The car actually handles pretty good despite this, but lacks the point and shoot "go cart" feel that some have mentioned. The only time I felt as though the suspension might really need some improvement was on a mid speed (30-40mph) left hand sweeper that was downhill and went back uphill right at the apex of the turn. The car settled into the turn like usual, but when it hit the "bump" at the bottom, the soft suspension oscilliated a little instead of absorbing it which made the car feel pretty unsettled in the rear. Granted I was going a bit faster than most would, but at no time was it ever near the limit or tires squeeling. It was enough to make me wonder about the emergency maneuvering capabilities where one must make more than 1 steering/braking adjustment - like avoiding something at freeway speeds.

The brakes are really solid.

 

There was much to admire parked in the middle of the street. I especially like the Ford Ka. I just wanted to pinch every one I walked by. Instead of Smart we should have gotten Ka!

 

Hopefully this car is good looking to you (it's a hatchback) -



I rented one of these in S AWD trim - it was reasonably quiet and offered secure handling up Hwy 9 / Skyline Blvd. Nice cargo room. One review said they fixed the seat track travel in this new model - no. Not a tall friendly car. It's 173" long and has lousy driver's legroom.

A GTI is 165" long and has great legroom front and pretty good in rear. Go figure.

Eventually Toyota will hybridize the Matrix, but it's going to be a long time.

Closest thing coming up will be the Lexus CT200h

 

The fronts seats in the 2004 - 09 North American Prius, esp. driver's seat somehow work well enough for a large number of people, but as compared to a another compact car , a 2010 Civic, the Prius seats are
- small and narrow
- do not height adjust yet are fixed 2" up
- steering wheel does not telescope and is quite close to the dash
- so bad for some, they have spent hundreds to well over $1,000 to modify or replace the seat, and many hours modifying them

and IMO, the 2010 Prius driver's seating / wheel is still not quite as good as the current Honda Civic / Civic hybrid's. That is what I have found. 2010 Prius seating is not even close to an Accord / Crosstour.

But, it getS 50 MPG and is HSD.