Trading in 2012 ford focus for a prius?

Are you driving a VW or a Focus ?

If the Focus highway MPG is that much below EPA it is more likely your driving habits rather than the car. How fast do you drive, and how much braking on the highway do you do ? I mention this in part to help you get the MPG you want in the Focus, but also to prevent missed expectations if you switch to a Prius.

The steering complaint would certainly bug me too, but I'd look for solutions before eating the depreciation cost on a trade-in. Perhaps other tyres ? As for the "numb" steering Toyota is often accused of, you may want to check out the Prius 'C'. People who like to comment on these things are much less critical of the 'C' than the regular Prius.

Lastly, if you have the money to spend check out the Lexus CTh. Pretty close to Prius fuel economy (at least in my hands,) and pleasant driving dynamics with good fit and finish. Oh, and really good seats

 

Intelligent parking assist is gone from the 2012 models. You'll need to buy an '11 or '10 for that.

You can read http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...uth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates.html about the EPA tests. Given how slow people drive in the Seattle area (lived there for >9 years), if your commute is steady and not stop/go and w/little braking (and it is long enough, by time), I think you should be able to come at least close to EPA highway numbers on your Focus. If it's stop/go and like a parking lot, well, that's nothing like highway driving at all.

You will take a HUGE bath on depreciation by getting rid of your Focus now.

You can see how the Prius and Focus did on CR's FE tests at Best & worst cars review, fuel-efficient vehicles and The most fuel-efficient cars. Last page of http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf describes their tests vs. the old EPa method.

I wouldn't say people complain about the Prius' handling. That's an overstatement. It's merely adequate and not significantly better or worse than other non-performance/non-sports cars. Compared to a good RWD sports car (I used to drive a Nissan 350Z and have test driven a # of BMWs before), of course the Prius' handling sucks. There isn't much steering feel.

 

I got that.
I was more wondering who the main driver of the Focus is, I was just not blunt enough

You present an interesting point comparing the VW and Focus MPG. What are the EPA numbers for each car ?

 

realbug,

Hit the Gen III forums (modifications?), there is a thread about adding a rear sway bar and its impact (positive) on the car's handling performance. You might want to check out the package 5 during your test drive as well (17" tires and quick ratio steering). The package 5 will cost you some MPG compared to the 15" tires.

Here's a question. If you bought a Prius (MPG estimate 50 mpg) and you got a package 5 (17" tires) and added a rear sway bar and maybe lowering springs to give the car adequate handling characteristics but it only got 42 mpg during your normal day to day driving, would you be satisfied?

For your current Focus, have you checked the tire inflation? Is the car tracking straight (or are the wheels out of alignment). These are some things that can impact MPG's. Cold weather is also a MPG bugaboo.

For my car, I got the 15" tires (to keep ownership costs down and mileage up), I inflate to Max PSI, and keep my top speeds on the freeway down (60 mph or less). My commute is about 65 - 70 miles roundtrip. I'm averaging above 59 mpg. This is kind of the extreme that the car can do in MPG.

Visit www.fuelly.com and check out to see what other Focus drivers are getting with their MPG. See where you fall on the bell curve. Then go to the Prius side and look 1 2010 Prius (because there are 300 of them) try to find the same spot on the bell curve that you were in the Focus. This would give you an estimate as to where you might fall in the MPG spectrum.

Good Luck!

 

Try renting a Gen III for a day or so, I know that you can at enterprise rent a car etc. I did that before I bought (I live in Seattle) and drove it up to Snoqualmie pass and was amazed at the ability to drive 85+ up the grade.

 

If you really want a car that has 'agile handling', 'steering feeback', 'fun to drive-ness', etc... for daily driving, then the Prius may not be for you. Your best bet would be the Prius Five with larger wheels, tires and quicker steering.

Journalists need something to draw people to sporty or so-called fun to drive cars. Perhaps if you live in an area with lots of open road or you get to drive curvy roads everyday on the way home, a fun handling car will be more appreciated.

The Prius has very secure handling for safe daily driving, but if you're looking for BMW or Mazda-esqe excitement, don't expect it out of a Prius.

 

I don't know how you guys get 55mpg. I put my car on cruise at 75 and it averages between 42-46mpg at the most. I have never seen 50 unless i am doing 45mph cruises.

 

Cossie, Check your air pressure.

 

realBug,

--- Another thought to explain the poor fuel economy of your new Focus in highway driving: perhaps it is out of alignment ?

 

* Inflate your tyres to close to or at sidewall max
* Slow down to 70 mph
* Avoid CC if you have hills; vary speed with a target of constant ICE load (not possible, the closer the better.)

50 mpg easy

 

How many miles is your commute? The reason I am asking is because short trips do kill MPG, even for the Prius.

 

Springs and sway bar will make a huge difference. I have a GT3 as my other car and wanted the Prius to be more stable and better steering feel. Springs/sway bar and the strut bar will give you that.

 

realbug,

I'm a Seattle driver with a 2010 Prius IV. RE your Focus MPG: Hills have a significant impact on FE, so look at how many you have to climb. The EPA spec measurements are apparently done in Kansas. Hills tend to hold down my MPG, but I can hit 50+ if I omit them.

RE handling: the stock Prius really handles fairly well, but you can get some impressive improvements on handling with a few hundred dollars in aftermarket suspension parts or get the Prius Plus package. Stay with 15" tires if your goal is max MPG.

 

Whoa, you will never hit 50+ average MPG cruising at 75 MPH. There's plenty of discussion on this site about how FE drops with speed, and above 65 it drops pretty fast.

 

It makes a huge difference. I just added Eibach springs, TRD rear sway bar, Tanabe front strut brace & 2-point chassis brace. The car feels so much better & I'm still on the stock wheels & tires.

 

handling is just fine really. it is not a sports car as others mentioned. i work as a tech at a different make dealership and drive all makes and models regularly and the prius drives well. you do not get in it and say man this sucks, but I have gotten in a lot of vehicles and did say that when I was driving.

you questioned how could 42mpg not be considered good? in a prius it really is not. especially since you are on this forum and see others get 50, 55, 60 then it becomes a game maybe even an obsession on how you can do it. so yes 42 would turn into a thread of my prius gets crappy fuel economy.