Why did you get your Prius?

I'm a newbie and am waiting for the delivery of my III T-Spirit Prius due for the end of March (if I can stand waiting that long).

My research into buying a new vehicle was long winded to say the least!

My criteria are:

Excellent fuel economy
Eco friendly
Automatic transmission
Lots of gadgets
Good reliability
Good service and dealers
Roomy interior (6'3" tall)
Room for a Greyhound on the back seat (don't ask)


Fuel prices in the UK are nearly as bad as the Netherlands. When compared with my present transport a Dodge Nitro 2.8l diesel Automatic. Over 10,000 miles assuming at a Prius will average 50 mpg (UK gallons), I calculate that my fuel bill will reduce by £934 or $1,461 USD or €1,068.

 

The 540i Touring is super on the highway, but you pay the super price.

But most of the time I am driving on the highway it's traffic all 40km I drive from home to work, going no faster then an average 35km/h. This is where the HSD comes in. I hope I can advance my driving skills so as to use an optimal combination of driving in ECO and EV mode.

The road is basically jammed at every junction, but in between you can get up to speed. I hope the battery can get loaded enough on those stretches.

 

I purchased my first Prius back in 2007 because it would save Time. New York State has a program where only a select few model cars can be classified by the DMV as " Clean Pass Vehicles " Most hybrids can't qualify but two do, the Honda Civic hybrid, and the Toyota Prius. Once you apply the 'stickers' that identify your car as one of those qualified, you can legally drive solo in the HOV Lanes of the Long Island Expressway during rush hours. That is a major time saver. The car itself then grew on me, and at this point with my new 2010, I wouldn't drive anything else.

 

1. HOV access.
2. Toyota's reputation for reliability because I rather buy another car than to get one fixed. I hate fixing cars with a vengeance. This was my commuter car. I need it to work everyday with no trips to the shop. There are cheaper cars out there.
3. High resell value.
4. Prestige and the cool factor - everybody loves a Prius. No?

Well, I still have 1. 2 is out the door now I have to bring it in. 3 and 4 are gone.

 

Perhaps that is a bit pessimistic.
2. Don't you have your car maintained?
3. Have you tried to sell it? Do you really expect resell prices to drop?
4. So one issue with the brakes and the car isn't cool anymore?

We don't have HOV lanes here in the Netherlands, with us it's traffic jams for everyone. And the Prius is one of the most economic cars to deal with that. And I know of no other car the same money can buy you that has so many options and buttons and functions.

 

You are probably right. My feelings towards the car may get better with time.

 

I am new to Prius. I was an original owner of a 2000 honda insight. I drove that for 3 years then traded,traded,traded and over a year ago I ended up with a 2009 cadillac CTS. Though it was an amazing car. I got tired of the high payment and the poor MPG's. I also was annoyed with a couple other things that a car that much money did that you would expect in a cheaper car (rattles, noises, etc...) Though the CTS is an amazing car and drives Fast and strong I never felt it was me though. I always admired the prius and the 3rd generation really made me look twice. I thought about it for a month and finally with the media making noise I thought what a better time to buy a prius. I was right. I got a really good deal on my V and top dollar for my trade. I am happy thus far with my purchase. I love how the prius is another "Gadget" in my life. It is a cool car and I LOVE my new payment and pay-off.

 

That is good to hear, perhaps you could rank your feelings towards the prius on a scale of 1 to 10 and re-rank it in a few weeks or a month.

 

I stumbled on the Prius mostly by accident. Heard about the new PCS technology on Lexus commercials and thought this will be the next generation safety equipment - it will be to cars today what airbags were 10 years ago. Then I had a sticker shock as I went researching into cars that offered "forward collision warning" systems: Mercedes, Audi, Volvo, Lexus, etc. were all mostly >$40 some were starting at $80-$90k. The Prius, surprisingly, came in at the cheapest of all the offerings and in addition promised better fuel economy and low-maintenance cost to top it all off...what, I can have the cake and _eat_ it, too?! The only thing I'm waiting for now...is for all the negative press to drop the price of the Prius V/AT to a more affordable price-point for me. The biggest gripe I have I guess is that they don't offer the AT package in lower trims. For me, I can do without the leather seats, heated seats, SKS, etc. All I want is a reliable simple car w/PCS. Please, Toyota, offer the AT in trim level I or II!

 

Wake up little thread...

I bought mine primarily as my first step towards energy independence. Just trying to do my own little part for my country.

I have too many buddies overseas right now fighting for my right to burn gasoline and use plastic stuff. I would rather have them here in the US protecting our borders. They feel the same for the most part.

 

Like Harold Bien,i too stumbled upon the Prius back in 2004,the Gen II had just gone on sale here in Ireland and the salesman in my local Toyota dealer was driving one,i was in getting some work done on my 2000 Corolla and was having a mooch around the showroom,he knew i was a Taxi driver,had a chat and gave me the keys...i was sold.
I didn't change cars until 2006...but absolutely the best thing i could have done with Unleaded now at €1.33 per litre,so if i'm honest i got the Prius for economic reasons firstly,i suppose the environmental aspect was a good side affect.I'll be hitting 300,000km this weekend.

 

Why a Prius? A question worth answering & re-answering again and again, over the years on PC. We got both our hybrids (and eventually will go EV) for the same reason ... to send Al Queda back to the stone age ... one gallon of terrorist sponsoring-petro dollars at a time. Can there be any better reason?


.

 

No, there cannot...other than for regained American economic strength, resiliency and prosperity.

 

MPG only. Its a bit big for me, and not very sporty driving, lousy instrumentation, but then I was used to CRX's and Gen 1 Insight, and my Insight was getting up there with 260,000 miles. But the Prius beat all the competition (except my old Insight) in MPG on my daily route. That plus the $199 per month lease did it. It also meant only committing to 3 years, when who knows what will be best by then. Leaf? Volt? New toyota 2 seater sporting eco car?

 

I have a long commute and I'm cheap.

 

I'm retired and needed to cut my fuel bill by 2/3. Bought new '72 Datsun PU in '72 and the monthly payment and gas bills were less than the gas and repair bills on my big Chey PU. Kept it for 10 yrs. Best investment I ever made. Decided I needed to repeat that experience.

 

1) MPG
2) Technology
3) Will be converted to plug-in when available
4) Looks
5) Retiring in three years and want to travel.

 

Simply because I want my grandchildren to have air to breath, water to swim and fish in, and the awsome beauty that I have seen on this planet.
Tony Renier

 

Right on, jsmithy! As a libertarian, I think we should neither "invade the world" nor "invite the world." Our need for ready access to oil is certainly one reason why we continue to interfere and get bogged down in the Middle East and Central Asia. If we cut our oil & natural gas consumption to the point where US & Canadian supplies are enough, we won't "need" to fight endless wars over there to secure access.... Let's stop using oil entirely to run our vehicles, and then we can finally start minding our own business, i.e. staying OUT of Middle Eastern affairs.

 

Tips my hat to you mate, covering so many km's, hows, it been regarding general wear and tear ?

We purchased a one owner low km Prius, as we live out in the New Territories of Hong Kong, about 20 minutes drive from the airport. Our main motivation was to reduce fuel consumption, while not sacrificing cabin space, safety and smoothness, while also factoring in that petrol here, costs $2.00US a litre, or close enough to a fraction under $6.00US a gallon .

I am very happy about our decision, and can see why so many people here, who had never experienced a Prius before, once exposed, rave about them. They really are a clever piece of high tech, automotive kit, until larger range EV cars, becomes affordable to the masses...Thanks to the Tesla/Toyota marriage ( TOYESLA ?)