Toyota Prius

[powerpace]

Like anything else there will be those for and those against, and a certain percentage from each group will overstate their side's case. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

Around here if they're not driving postal Jeeps the rural carriers mostly drive Jeeps, Chevy SUV's or Fords. We've recently had two that drove Crown Vics. Apparently the increased fuel costs are more than offset by lower maintenance costs.

I have a friend that's an engineer and I'd say he's very conscious of how he treats the planet. He's done a lot of research on the hybrids and electrics. He says the making of the batteries is a huge environmental issue that is mostly being swept under the rug, and in time will become a more prominent issue.

One of my customers has a hybrid car. I don't remember what it is. He indicated it got 47MPG on the highway. He said the car was expensive. I asked what the payback was. He laughed and said gas would have to be about 7 bucks a gallon for it to make financial sense to buy that kind of car. He said you don't buy these to save money, you buy them to save the planet. If that's what makes him happy, more power to him.

So I wonder what the OP did? I hope he found something more suited to carrying a load than a Prius. While they me be a fine car, what he had in mind wouldn't be a safe set up.

The preference and purchase of Hybrids is definately regional. I see that you are in Illinois, definately Ford, Chevy, Chrysler country. Research!!!!!

 

[brain55]

Obviously driving needs and location is going to determine the payback for the hybrid. If you are driving 10k miles a year and live in a part of the country where gas hovers closer to the $3/gal mark it is going to make far less sense than our 30k+ miles/yr with gas consistently pushing the $4+/gal mark.

Oh, and just to throw it out there. Though I live in a blue state I certainly have red state beliefs.

 

[IslandTractor]

Well houstonscott, I asked my wife and she doesn't know anyone using a Beemer for delivering mail; can't figure out why, they're only $20k more than a Prius. It is doubtful we would have bought a Prius for other than the mail route. The really good laugh would be watching someone with more money that brains driving a BMW to deliver mail or other similar delivery service, diesel or otherwise.
.

Houston is an All American boy who'd never buy a foreign car.

 

[txdon]

Want a good laugh Prius guys watch this...You got duped.

BMW M3 vs Toyota Prius MPG Competition - Video

HS

They said the Prius got 17mpg. I don't think so. There is a inflatable bag in the gas tank (an EPA vapor thingy) and that probably skewed the results by being collapsed or expanded differently at fill up after just 10 laps, or the Prius driver had his foot on the brake the entire time.

You are going to have to come up with something better or I'll have to buy another one. 105,000 miles, no repairs, Avg.45mpg. That's like 40K miles free gas the way I figure. I don't care how un-green it is.

 

[brain55]

They said the Prius got 17mpg. I don't think so. There is a inflatable bag in the gas tank (an EPA vapor thingy) and that probably skewed the results by being collapsed or expanded differently at fill up after just 10 laps, or the Prius driver had his foot on the brake the entire time.

Hahaha, I just watched that video, that might be the dumbest comparison I have ever seen. Prii are never driven like that, the small V8 driven at partial throttle will obviously get better mileage than the 4 cyl driven wide open, the batteries in the Prius were never in the equation. Where the Hybrid truly shines is in city and commute type traffic where you have the ability to use battery power while the engine is shut off not using any fuel.

 

[txdon]

Where the Hybrid truly shines is in city and commute type traffic where you have the ability to use battery power while the engine is shut off not using any fuel.

Only do 1% city driving and that's too much.

 

[brain55]

Only do 1% city driving and that's too much.

I bet the other 99% isn't done at wide open throttle either, lol.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Hahaha, I just watched that video, that might be the dumbest comparison I have ever seen. Prii are never driven like that, the small V8 driven at partial throttle will obviously get better mileage than the 4 cyl driven wide open, the batteries in the Prius were never in the equation. Where the Hybrid truly shines is in city and commute type traffic where you have the ability to use battery power while the engine is shut off not using any fuel.

Exactly. As Jeremy said, "At that speed, an M3 is more economical than a Prius." Run the Prius all-out while the Bimmer lopes along at 2000 RPMs and of course the Prius will fare badly. The moral of the story is: don't run a Prius at full throttle 100% of the time, and don't try to pace an M3 with a Prius.

 

[Pops15]

The preference and purchase of Hybrids is definately regional. I see that you are in Illinois, definately Ford, Chevy, Chrysler country. Research!!!!!

I have 4 local friends with hybrids. 3 of them Prius. The 4th I can't remember what he has. I see several others around town.
Yes, the big 3 still have a strong presence here as do Nissan and Toyota. My unofficial research (what I notice while driving) shows Ford is probably #1 and Nissan #2 in this area.
I visited my sis in CA this summer. I noticed an inordinate number of Toyotas out there, but interestingly not many hybrids.

 

[brain55]

I have 4 local friends with hybrids. 3 of them Prius. The 4th I can't remember what he has. I see several others around town.
Yes, the big 3 still have a strong presence here as do Nissan and Toyota. My unofficial research (what I notice while driving) shows Ford is probably #1 and Nissan #2 in this area.
I visited my sis in CA this summer. I noticed an inordinate number of Toyotas out there, but interestingly not many hybrids.

Here in the SF bay area Prii are plentiful, so are many of the other makes of Hybrids and electrics too. I joke that the only time I'm allowed in Marin county or Berkeley is when we drive her car, otherwise they wouldn't let a conservative like me in, hahaha.

 

[troutsqueezer]

For the longest time, my Prius was worth more than I paid for it due to a gas crunch at the time. You couldn't find a new Prius for sale anywhere due to the demand. It was also worth more because it has an HOV sticker on it, allowing me into the diamond lane during rush hour. Wouldn't surprise me to see that scenario again, when gas hits $5/gal. If that happens again, I might sell you my 2005 Prius for $25k if you're lucky. Now that's cost effective.

 

[RichZ]

I never expected this thread to be revived 2 years later and become controversial. I'm the original poster, and I never did buy a Prius. Just by chance shortly after I posted this thread, a friend of mine offered me his 2006 Caravan for a very cheap price. That's what I bought for my milk transporting vehicle. The Caravan is a 4 cylinder, and it usually gets between the low 20's and 30 mpg. My wife loves minivans, and she's the driver for milk delvieries, and the Caravan just worked out perfectly, we just took the back seat out to make room for the transport tanks. It's a little underpowered when it's loaded with milk, especially in the mountains in upstate New York and Vermont where we're located but it's worked out well for us.

As for the Prius, our sheep shearer drives a Prius. He shears sheep all over upstate New York and Vermont, and he swears by the Prius. He carries all of his shearing equipment of course it's no where nears as heavy as milk, but he does carry a lot of equipment. He puts a huge amount of miles on it, and he's never had any problems with it in 2 years. He says he'll definitely get another.

 

[txdon]

Our Prius had no repairs and never got below 43MPG. Sadly after 5 years and 130K miles, because of the gravel and dirt roads out here, we had to trade it in for a AWD vehicle.

 

[houstonscott]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?autoplay...uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5hh8hW6jK_E%26autoplay%3D1

HS

 

[txdon]

HS, I viewed the video and that is how the Prius is designed to operate and it does so very efficiently. I would not have called that a problem, he should read his owners manual.

 

[houstonscott]

HS, I viewed the video and that is how the Prius is designed to operate and it does so very efficiently. I would not have called that a problem, he should read his owners manual.

Reading owners manual doesn't change complaints. He is pointing out basic design and software deficiencies. HS

 

[RalphVa]

For longer distance driving, a diesel is more economical. Our VW TDI gets 45-49 mpg on trips and up to 54 mpg on trips that are low speed.

A lot better driver than any Toyota. Toyota makes nice appliances called cars and pickups, but they aren't too exciting to drive. I know. I have had 2 of their pickups and have test driven a Prius and have driven several Toyota rentals/lease cars. Had a Corolla for 4 years in Singapore.

Ralph

 

[houstonscott]

For longer distance driving, a diesel is more economical. Our VW TDI gets 45-49 mpg on trips and up to 54 mpg on trips that are low speed. A lot better driver than any Toyota. Toyota makes nice appliances called cars and pickups, but they aren't too exciting to drive. I know. I have had 2 of their pickups and have test driven a Prius and have driven several Toyota rentals/lease cars. Had a Corolla for 4 years in Singapore. Ralph

Without government buys (25% of total sold) and subsidies they would drop out of market. HS

 

[IslandTractor]

Without government buys (25% of total sold) and subsidies they would drop out of market. HS

Nah, they are selling many many of the Priuses around the world. There have been about 4 Million Prii sold. Not a flash in the pan. It is one of Toyota's best sellers and not just in the USA as they sell at least as many in Japan and are starting to sell big numbers in Europe. By the way, where did you get the 25% government buy figure for USA??? I've never seen a government owned Prius here in Boston or in DC.

I drove one for the first time a couple of months ago. It was (compared to my expectation) remarkably sturdy and was certainly smooth. Acceleration was OK for commuting in a city. Overall though the driving experience was boring beyond belief especially when compared to a Golf TDI or a number of small hatchbacks like the Mazda 3. I guess if I commuted only in suburbs and urban areas and if it was not my only set of wheels I could understand the benefits of having one. But, I'd much prefer a diesel like the Golf or Sportwagen or Passat or the new Mazda 6 for any significant road travel outside an urban area.

 

[txdon]

Reading owners manual doesn't change complaints. He is pointing out basic design and software deficiencies. HS

Wow! If Toyota can design deficient car that I can drive without one repair for 130K miles why can't Ford. I really don't think "he" knows what the car was designed to do. HS you are putting a lot of blind faith on a youtube. Take it from a fellow Texan, Toyota Prius works good.