Why did you purchase a Prius?

In my previous life, while not a fan of the Prius, I was always fascinated with the claims of incredible fuel mileage. I've had plenty of other cars. Several VW NewBeetles TDIs, four cylinder Mazda 6, nicer, higher dollar cars with poor fuel mileage. The biggest scam going, the smaller the car, the better the fuel mileage. At this point in my life I was open minded. The more I thought of a Prius, the more sense it made. Fuel mileage first, and proven, reliable technology. Later in life, I "LIKE" (the new love) Prius.

 

That's a real shame because diesel engines in the old MB W123 (240D, 300D, & TD variants) were known for their longevity & reliability if given regular basic maintenance.

 

At first just another toy to play with, thought the hybrid technology was interesting. Then both my wife and I fell in love with it. I can't get the key off her hand, she is hoarding the Prius.... Looks like I need to buy my own Prius soon.

After her first fill up, she said "Why didn't we buy this car much earlier?"

As a direct result of buying the Prius, we are selling both Porsches and possibly the Ferrari too. Crazy, right?

The vision I have now is we have 3 cars. (all white), his and her Prius and keeping the X5M for just in case we need a SUV....

 

I always wanted one ever since Gen II came out. I'm sooo glad I waited till the Gen III came out cause it looks A LOT better IMHO!

 

I just liked it. I could never justify paying extra for a hybrid just for the sake of having a hybrid, but I was happy to consider one if it fit in with the other cars I was shopping in terms of price and features.

Test drove 7 cars one afternoon, all in the "small SUV/hatchback" segment in the mid-to-upper $20k range, starting with the CRV. The CRV was my hands down winner all day long until I hit the Prius v at #6 on the agenda, and I just liked it better...the lower "station wagon" positioning, the big cargo area with low floor, the Prius gadgetry, I even liked the way the HSD and CVT drove...if I couldn't have a stick shift, it seemed at least better than a geared automatic.

So I can't really pick some single thing that led me to buy it...I simply drove it alongside the other cars that "ticked the boxes" for me and picked the one I liked the best.

 

Nice vision...an all white stable!

Crazy...no! Sensible...yes! (Think of all the money you are about to save.) At least you are keeping the X5M!

Are you planning to get the plugin or "regular" Prius?

 

Definitely plug-in. That was the only regret with our current Prius, but since the original intent was to buy another "Toy", $40k for a Plug-in didn't really fit that profile, but now the purpose is different $40k is reasonable.

 

I would hope so after selling 2 Porsches and a Ferrari!

Hopefully you have enough remaining to buy the mods for the PiP.

 

The last two VW diesels I owned were self-destructing on their own.
Oh, and the transmissions were right behind them.

 

We had two NewBeetle diesels. The 1999 had starting issues and mass flow sensor problems. Excellant fuel mileage, much better than the 2006 which we still have. It's been problem free after almost seven years.

 

I bought my Grey Ghost when gas prices were going up in Jan/Feb of last year. My 51.9 mpg is more than double of my Subaru Baja. Yes I have driven more, but it was comfort and utility. and saving $ to boot....

 

For me it came down to economics and my obsession with getting better mileage.
I had a 2011 Highlander for AWD and snow etc. which worked really well the year I got it (we had a lot of snow that year.)
But it was expensive, I traded it in, got a great value for it, and got a little Scion Xb because it got better mileage and saved me about $150 a month in payments.
They I started trying to milk as much MPG out of it as I could, and no matter what I tried I just couldn't get more than 26-28 out of it on my commute.
HSN had their one day event where you could get $1000 in gas if you bought a Prius, that was my tipping point, I was on the fence before but that did it.
I traded in my 9 month old Xb I know ouch right... but I got like 1500 less then I bought it for when I traded it in, my trade ins are always immaculate so they give me good prices. They sold it used for more then I bought it for new lol.
And since then even in Winter in the PNW I still average right around 45mpg everyday, it really depends on the weather and how cold it is, plus I am using snow tires right now.
I cannot wait for it to warm up and put my regular tires back on.
And I have spent $127.80 on gas since I bought it in October, that's nothing. Now if I could stop spending money on other things for it lol.

 

I live 1 block from Santa Monica. When driving my Explorer, I'd got stares (probably only in my mind). So, I thought it would be best to be more environmentally friendly. Plus, it's a good car (I read posts here before buying).

 

The rotary pump diesels were ok. My '06 with the PD engine was a little bit of a handful with things breaking, but after 45,000mi, I pulled the valve cover because it kept leaking and found that the cam was eating into the lifters. I traded it in for an '09 CR Jetta and I went from the frying pan into the fire. What a POS, everything was going on that car. That car was back to the dealer after the first tank of fuel because the DSG kept banging. VW even flew in an engineer because I kept raising hell with VAG in Germany. After its third mechatronics unit, I traded it in for a Prius and couldn't be happier.

 

Why is (fuel) efficiency not an option on the survey? That seems to be the most obvious and common answer. It's not the same thing as economic, environmental, or technical either.

 

Technical.

Not knowing what the future fuel prices would be, the spreadsheet couldn't convince me it would be more economical.

But I live on the opposite end of a four-year construction project, and the useless idling of the engine in the RAV4 was driving me nuts.

So I gratified the OCD gas-saving freak in me and paid more for a car that would capture and store or avoid the loss of some of the energy that would otherwise lost in braking or idling during stops and coasts.

The geeky thrill of discovering that full torque off the motor was available immediately off idle has kept me entertained for months, as has the car reading my text messages to me and proposing mostly-inappropriate pre-made responses.

Really I hardly even consider it a car.
It's more a device that also provides transportation.

Oh, and I forgot to mention how much I love driving past the gas station, especially when the weather is abysmal.
The 450 to 500+ mile range allows one to pick a decent day to accomplish the refill, rather than being forced to do so because you won't make it home otherwise.

 

The main reason I bought the Prius Gen II, other than listed, is because used Prius price is reasonable. I will not buy a new Prius to save gas but get hit with depreciation.
Fortunately, used Prius is very reliable including the hybrid components.

 

MPG was the only reason. Reliability yet to be tested as I have yet to experience the "legend" that is Toyota, yet.

 

For me it was the technical gadgetry of the Hybrid system and I wanted an economical Automatic.
I love the HUD, the Voice control and the Intelligent Park Assist.