Rent before buying?

Did any of you rent a Prius before committing to buy one? If so, what was the ballpark cost and did you rent from a dealer or one of the major rental car companies?

We'll be buying before the end of the year, but have never ridden in or driven a Prius and thought that renting for a day or two might be helpful.

Thanks!

Gerry

I didn't because I was under a time crunch with the CFC madness, but I'm sure it'd be a good idea. I just test drove one to see what I felt. It was between this and a Volvo C30, which I test drove as well, and which are, of course, very different style cars and rides. There was enough about the Prius, in general, that even the sportiness of the C30 couldn't sway me in the end. I think a lot of it will depend upon your driving expectations, and what kind of cars you've owned in the past. I've only owned SUVs, so the modest horse-power wasn't a huge deal for me. But like with anything, the more familiarity you have with something before you buy it, the better. Sorry, I have no idea about price. Good luck.

I drove my wife's before buying mine
I would suggest a test drive before renting. If you like it, or aren't sure after the test drive, renting is a great idea.
I think rentals from the major companies run in the $40-$50/day range?

I did and that's what sold me.

I rented 3 times before buying, all from Toyota dealers. Some have Pri's, some don't.

Much easier to rent a Prius from Toyota dealer than a rental company. It was about $40 / day + tax last year.

But for me, it still didn't make me accept that the Gen2 was just too small in the seating department. I would just recline the seat and think all was well.... until reality set in after about 3 months of ownership.

Gas was $4.50 / gallon, had to have hybrid hatchback, rest is history.

I rented one and it helped me make a better decision with less risk.


Specific things I wanted to learn that would be difficult in a normal test drive were:

• How I would feel after a few hours behind the wheel
  • Would driving it be relaxing or tiring
  • Would I get leg cramping (Gen 2 was a non starter for me due to my lomg legs and old joints)
• Would I be OK with the stereo or want to upgrade it
• How easily would it fit in our store room / workshop AKA single car garage
• Was the rear camera vital, desirable or unimportant
• Would I notice anything else that I might have missed in a normal test drive and was likely to bug me seriously

My conclusions were:

• Very relaxing to drive both in town and on the highway
• No problem with leg cramps or unusual discomfort (and if one emerged, the fit was close enough that lifting the seat front and adding lumbar support would deal with it)
• I could live with the base stereo but would prefer the JBL (more clarity)
• The car would fit in the garage provided I am more organiized in the garage and more disciplined in garage sale buys
• I could live without the rear camera but I would prefer to have it
• Nothing else emerged as a major problem.

End result was that I bought the Canadian Premium model which amongst other has the JBL Premium and the rear camera with display in the rear view mirror.

As for rental cost, I was the first to drive new Prius at the local National franchise and they soaked me but the cost was irrelevant compared to the benefit.

David

Interestingly enough, I only test drove a Gen II. Decided it'd be better to buy a Gen III, located one, said we'd buy it, and THEN test drove it the night we brought it home...

LOL

I rented a Gen II last year from a dealer for a week last year. Convinced me that I wanted one, but I just couldn't make the numbers work. I bought mine the second day of the Clunker program, Gen III
If you can rent one, you would be crazy not too, you really can't tell anything from a test drive, not the important stuff anyway

Rented one a few weeks ago from the dealer for $50 for the day. They specifically have these cars as testers and only allow 1 day rentals. I had taken a few test drives before that but you can't tell anything on such a short drive. I put 260 miles on that car and drove the heck out of it. As cars become more, and more expensive, you don't want to make the wrong decision. The rental was money well spent.