Considering jumping onboard the Prius

If your commute is only one mile, you are not going to get great mpg with the Prius, mid-20s if you are lucky. Also, the cabin heater won't provide much help in the winter time with such a short commute. The gasoline engine won't heat up in a one mile drive and the supplemental electric heaters won't provide much relief.

Given your circumstances and assuming that you are interested in maintaining mpg in the mid-40s, you'd probably be better off keeping your VWs. Good luck.

 

I would recommend a 2006-09 Prius with just over 36,000 miles. The reason is many of the early problems were corrected by 2006 and it just kept getting better. Just over 36,000 miles avoids a warranty issue so you won't feel any counter pressure against 'opening it up' and seeing what ticks. You'll also get the improved traction battery.

Many Northern Prius owners use a block heater and one Canadian has both a block and transaxle heater. Just rig up a timer or switch in the house to turn it on say 30 minutes to a couple of hours before getting ready to leave.

Good, fast, cheap, pick two. Although we have an NHW11, the 2003 Prius, and get good service, we also live in North Alabama. The 2004-05 Prius had some early problems with the multi-function display. In used Prius, the 2006-09 would be a good buy. The 2010 would be excellent but again, Good, Fast, Cheap, pick two.

Not really, with the 2006-09. The 2004-05 had a weak solder joint in the multifunction display; many folks are not happy with navigation unit (I use Garmin nuvi); some NHW20 folks think there is a brake pause (still researching) and; ZVW30, 2010 Prius, is really, really nice.

Our first Prius is a 2003 model bought used in 2005 with 49,000 miles. It continues to provide excellent service and is my primary commuting car. My wife has the 2010 model, which I use at night for errands. It is super nice, especially on the highways.

BTW, many NHW20s have been converted to plug-in operation and it sounds like your employment is close enough to work. Also, you might consider getting a 'stiffen plate,' that makes the body less flexi --- handling improvement. There is a lot of accumulated knowledge about the NHW20s (2004-09) so a used one would be a reasonable 'first hybrid.'

If you get serious, you might also consider "AutoBeYours" who rebuilds salvage Prius and has branched out into plug-in Prius. We know they are a solid supplier (and some of us think a visit is a vacation ... especially if we get to 'turn a wrench.')

Bob Wilson