Guest CAS` Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 With the steadily raising gas prices and my car steadily deteriorating, I'm considering investing in a Toyota Prius. I test drove one last week and recognize that it doesn't have the power of my current non-hybrid sedan, but I think I'm OK with that. Any thoughts? Personal experiences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 With the steadily raising gas prices and my car steadily deteriorating, I'm considering investing in a Toyota Prius. I test drove one last week and recognize that it doesn't have the power of my current non-hybrid sedan, but I think I'm OK with that. Any thoughts? Personal experiences? A couple of years ago they were in short supply and it took up to a year to get one and people were willing to pay over the listed price to get one. Do they have them in stock now?? I like the way they get higher MPG in City driving than highway driving! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 If you are looking for a commuter car only, then go for it. If you load the car up and go on frequant trips or load it up just to keep stuff in it, then it is not a good idea. If you live in a rural area, I wouldnt do it. They are dependable and great on gas but they dont have much of an undercarriage to them. Not very rugged. They dont tolorate constant dusty and dirty roads either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 Ever consider the Honda Civic NGV? Fills up off your natural gas in your home. Gets aprox 250 miles to the gallon. If you travel you can get maps with filling stations for it. I beleive there are a few around here too. The city buses run on natural gas ( at least used too ) and I hear other companies using them also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 Not worth it - It will cost you more in the long run - short and simple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carperson Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 With the steadily raising gas prices and my car steadily deteriorating, I'm considering investing in a Toyota Prius. I test drove one last week and recognize that it doesn't have the power of my current non-hybrid sedan, but I think I'm OK with that. Any thoughts? Personal experiences? Here is my thought. With all due respect a car is not an investment. It is a depreciable asset. Only if you own it out right. A CD, treasury note would be an investment. Why do you want a Prius? If it is just for gas mileage, just buy a Toyota Yaris. 40 miles to the gallon on the highway and it costs about half of what a prius would cost you. Your overall value (bang for the buck) would be better served with a Yaris or a Scion XA. Example a $23,000 car payment with tax down will cost you about 420-450 per month for 60 months Example a $14,000 car payment with tax down will cost you about 240-260 per month for 60 months depending on the interest rate. You can still buy alot of gas for $200 a month. your savings over a month. however, if you like the tech WOW factor, gadgets then buy a prius, they are wonderful cars. thank you, just my thoughts. Steve @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aphoristically Moderate Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 My wife and I own an '07 Corolla. It already has about 55,000 miles on it. She drives it most of the time. I don't know what kind of mileage she gets when she drives it by herself, but 2 weeks ago, we took it to Delaware with 3 people in it. Doing the math in my head, I figured we were getting almost 40 highway. It might just get its estimated 41 highway with 1 person. We looked at the Yaris before we bought the Corolla. We also looked at the Scion XA. The Corolla won us over. It felt the most relaxed out on the highway. We were only looking at the 5 speeds. We weren't interested in automatics. If I remember right, the Corolla was rated at better highway mileage than the Yaris even though it's a bigger car with 20 more horsepower. It runs a nice 2750 rpm at 70 mph on the highway. By comparison, my Hyundai Elantra spins about 2900 rpm at the same speed and it has a bigger motor. That's probably one of the reasons the Corolla gets such great mileage. I know someone who has a Yaris with an automatic. He says it's just a 3 speed and it could really use a 4th gear. Also, the Corolla has had a body style update, if I'm not mistaken. Hope they didn't do anything to the engine/ transmission. The hybrids seemed very expensive for just a few more mpg. Also, the batteries could be very expensive in 5 years, when it's time to replace them. Scott @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 There are lots of practical energy efficient vehicle choices out there, and many of these vehicles have a hybrid option available that helps maximize operating efficiency. Choosing a stick shift over automatic transmission may be a better choice for open road driving, or choose a hybrid if you do a lot of city driving. The Toyota Prius is the only hybrid car model I can think of that has a distinctive signature body style that says “hey look at me, I am driving a hybrid car” Most other hybrids look like any ordinary car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Prius Owner Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 As an owner of two prius vehicles, one with over 40,000 miles and another with less than 9800 miles. Beware thou that during the cold months of October-March your gas mileage will drop off by as much as 12-15 MPG. The Prius is just not suitable in my opinion for the upstate NY winters. You may ask why I have two vehicles? I won one vehicle, and purchased the other one from my neighbor who hated the vehicle and gave me a deal that I could not refuse.... @ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 The Euro Smartcar launches this week on the American car market, will blow the Toyota prius out of the water on gas mileage and price. Around $13,000 new, all gasoline powered. Will not turn into a rolling toxic waste site when its major components wear out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 Here is my thought. With all due respect a car is not an investment. It is a depreciable asset. Only if you own it out right. A CD, treasury note would be an investment. Why do you want a Prius? If it is just for gas mileage, just buy a Toyota Yaris. 40 miles to the gallon on the highway and it costs about half of what a prius would cost you. Your overall value (bang for the buck) would be better served with a Yaris or a Scion XA. Example a $23,000 car payment with tax down will cost you about 420-450 per month for 60 months Example a $14,000 car payment with tax down will cost you about 240-260 per month for 60 months depending on the interest rate. You can still buy alot of gas for $200 a month. your savings over a month. however, if you like the tech WOW factor, gadgets then buy a prius, they are wonderful cars. thank you, just my thoughts. Steve @ HEY Scott, I totally agree my corolla is a bit over that- I heard the yaris is the best option. My friend just bought the new honda compact, the fit. We are testing the numbers following this weekend after him and the wife took a trip down south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aphoristically Moderate Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 HEY Scott, I totally agree my corolla is a bit over that- I heard the yaris is the best option. My friend just bought the new honda compact, the fit. We are testing the numbers following this weekend after him and the wife took a trip down south. I liked the looks of the new Yaris. It's been my observation that car models tend to get bigger as the years go by. It looked like the Yaris was what the Corolla used to be (size wise) before it grew over the years. The Yaris was also a couple thousand dollars cheaper. My wife does a lot of highway miles and she just thought the Corolla was more comfortable. The Corolla still had a highway estimate of 41 mpg verses the Yaris' 40 (go figure). We also went to Miller Dodge Honda Hyundai. I don't remember getting a strong impression about the Fit. The Civics, though, seemed just as good as any of the Toyotas... the best highway estimate I saw for a Civic was 40 highway and that was with an automatic. For some reason, we just didn't see any 5 speed Civics there at all and that was what we wanted. The Hondas were just a little more expensive than the Toyotas, so we went back to Jack Sherman and bought what she wanted. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted April 28, 2008 Report Share Posted April 28, 2008 With the steadily raising gas prices and my car steadily deteriorating, I'm considering investing in a Toyota Prius. I test drove one last week and recognize that it doesn't have the power of my current non-hybrid sedan, but I think I'm OK with that. Any thoughts? Personal experiences? I have a Saab with a 5 speed and av. 35 on the HW with 250 HP. I rented a Chevy Impala last week in Fla and got 30 HW with a six. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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