What were you driving before your Prius?

[tinkjoe]

So we all know that fuel economy is tops, but what about the intangibles? How does your Prius stack up against your previous ride? Thanks!

[finman]

'89 Nissan Pathfinder. I miss the almost 17 MPG. I miss the nimble handling. I miss the smooth acceleration. I miss the gas fumes and exhaust. I miss the quiet when stopped at lights or in traffic. I miss the comments 'cool car' or ' what is that'. I miss the touchscreen and digital dash. Most of all I miss the sarcasm! Drive on, drive clean, drive Prius.

[HTMLSpinnr]

We sorta covered this here (url) a while back.

I traded a 1999 Ford Contour SVT which got 17-18mpg on Premium, maybe 23mpg on the highway on long trips, for my 2002 Prius. I then traded my wife's 2002 Hyundai Elantra (which she got 21mpg, I could get closer to 30mpg w/ Prius-like techniques) for the 2004 Prius and my wife gladly accepted the 2002 Prius (which she now gets 35-42mpg in due to heavy A/C usage - I was averaging 44-46mpg in it)

[harryg]

04 Prius BC, Port Townsend, Wa

Previos car: 95 Isuzu Rodeo
best combined milage under 19 mpg.

Last 3 fill-ups with Prius: 48.6, 49.7, 47.6.

Harry

[autoxic]

I previously drove a 1997 Saturn SC2 5-speed, which was too loud at over 70 MPH, and rattled quite a bit, and had a small trunk. MPG was "good" at 33MPG. Handling felt slightly better in the Saturn on curves.

The Prius is much nicer for my long commute, and gives me free HOV access in VA. Yay!

My other car is a 2001 Celica GT-S, which is much sportier, but louder and smaller. A fun car.

[jamarimutt]

Previous car: 2002 VW GTI 1.8 turbo.

I miss the acceleration, the whistling of the turbo, the automatic door lock at 8 mph, the telescoping steering wheel, the six-way adjustable seats, the lateral and curtain air bags, the rear disk brakes, the 16 inch wheels, and the quality of the interior materials (dash, doors and seats).

I don't miss the shifting, the 25 mpgs, and the many visits to the dealer for various repairs. :mrgreen:

[randalla]

My trade in for the Prius was an '03 Saturn Vue. It was the 4 cylinder engine with the troubled CVT transmission and AWD. It was EPA rated at 21/26. City mileage was generally 21ish and on the highways I was getting 25 if I had a tailwind.

[twenty8moons]

Previous Car: 2000 Volvo S70 Turbo, Avg. 23 mpg

We still have this car as a back-up second car for days when we my husband and I don't carpool (very rare) or when we need to transport my niece and nephew in their two car seats with and adult in the back seat with them. We commute about 100 miles a day together, now in the Prius.

I miss the sunroof, the smell of the leather seats, the turbo and the way it really sticks to the road. I am a big fan of the Volvo and if they ever make a hybrid I will be first in line. BUT, I am really amazed at how much I don't miss it. When we first considered the Prius, I thought of it as a compromise to save money and do something responsible, but I don't feel like I am compromising at all. I feel very safe, have plenty of room and love all of the little touches, like the place to put my sunglasses and the stereo controls on the steering wheel. Every time I get into my car I feel very lucky, which is a nice feeling. I love it!

[Huck]

I drove a 1992 Honda Civic EX. It was the first car I ever bought. Cost me in the $13,000's. It served me faithfully and efficiently for nearly 160,000 miles. Today will be the last day I drive it, because I'm selling it to a friend, so I propose a toast to the car for its steadfast service through 12 often tumultuous years of my life.

It still runs great, gets in the low 30 mpg, and is a wonderful car for me, but my family's needs call for something newer, roomier, more comfortable, and even more efficient. The Prius was the obvious choice.

I think I will most miss the peppy 5-speed manual transmission, the very responsive handling under a range of driving conditions, and the sunroof, but in most other ways, I expect the Prius to match or exceed the ol' Civic. I'll be pleased if it is as reliable.

Bye, Civic. You will never be forgotten.

[XX5owner]

First a 2002 X5, but at 10.4 mpg and more than 3 months in the shop for a variety of ills, it was lemon lawed; i took the cash from the settlement and got a 2004 Volvo S60R, a rare beauty, which averaged 16 mpg (mostly due to having 300hp and 0-60 in under 5.6 second capability combined with my foot made of pb)...then a partially unfunded move, courtesy of my Uncle Sam, to San Diego CA forced me to finally be pragmatic and embrace the green side. I got the call 1 week ago from Koons Toyota Annapolis and am the proud owner of a new White #9. My first tank of gas went nearly 400 miles averaging 45.0 mpg. Delighted! and it has changed the way I drive (especially since I have exactly 1/4 the horsepower my Volvo had!) Glad to be here.