Is Prius for me or not?

The big question would be, do those start/stop deliveries include turning the engine off for any length of time or are they quick "run inside and back to your car" type of deliveries (think mail carriers)? If you are able to leave the car running then the mileage drop won't be bad. If you have to turn the car off and repeat warm up cycles over and over then the mileage could be terrible.

 

Well it sounds like we do similar sort of useage in different jobs. I get around 49 uk mpg, 42 us mpg or 5.7l/100km out of my gen3/2010 Prius, over a 10 hour day and get more mpg if I get a longer run. Most of my jobs in my small town are in heavy traffic and are less than a mile long.

I started working the car at the beginning of Nov 09 and now have 27k miles on her and hope to keep the car 5 years or 180k miles (290k km). The winters arn't as bad here in the UK as in Canada but there are quite a few Canadians on the forum who can account to how the car performs in the serious cold. You will find that the economy drops in winter time, but I still think it would be better than the Civic.

I can't say whether the Prius is for you or not, but you do similar usage to me and I personally find it a very suitable and very economical car to run.

 

The prius excels in stop and go driving if you leave the engine warmed up. The Gas engine turns off everytime you come to a stop as well, which saves you gasoline.

Since you average 24mpg on a civic, i know you'll reach at least 40+ mpg. And im sure the car will last many years. After all, priuses make up many taxi fleets around the planet. I'm sure their driving habits are "worse" than yours =)

Good luck!

 

You will drain the main HV battery many times a day, but it charges itself up as you drive. Don't worry about how and when etc - it just does. There are some indepth explanations on here how the hybrid system works and I'm sure some other members will post relevant links.

 

If the roads you travel are not cleared quickly after a snowfall then you will definitely want to invest in a set of winter tires and probably 4 wheel rims as well to make switching them out easier.

I live in SE Michigan and have only been through one winter with my Prius. I don't have winter tires, but then I don't make deliveries for a living either. I haven't had any problems getting where I want to in bad weather, but then I don't drive as much as you either.

 

There are plenty of Canadian and northern US owners, apparently all of them very happy with it. I'm surprised more of them haven't chimed in here. Buy a set of better tires, leave the car ON and lock it using the mechanical key during deliveries, and you're good to go.

 

Hi neighbour and welcome. We have lots of Prius taxis here... one local owner says he saves $10k per taxi per year on gas in Kingston. His are driven more around the clock than yours is likely but still...

The only winter issues are that the mileage isn't great until it warms up which takes 10+min instead of the 5+ it takes in the summer, and you will want snow tires due to the aggressive traction control.

We don't get a lot of snow here, but I had no trouble with the snow during a weeks vacation in the Haliburton Highlands last December.

 

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...68-rural-mail-carrier-seeks-advice-pruis.html

 

It may worth to invest in an engine block heater to help in cold mornings. Good luck!

 

Which can be found at the parts counter at any Toyota dealer in Canada.

 

I live a ways north of you, which always puzzles people who didn't pay attention during geography class. We also get a lot of snow. Our Prius handles the snow pretty much the same as any small front-wheel-drive car. It doesn't have a lot of ground clearance, so don't expect it to wade through deep drifts, but otherwise it works well in the winter.

One word of caution: the model year of Prius that you are considering has very touchy traction control. Without good winter tires the traction control will cut power every time the wheels slip a bit. This makes winter driving a nightmare. Use good winter tires.

From 2006 on, the Gen II Prius has much better traction control. It's still a bit touchy, but not anywhere near as bad as the earlier ones.

Traction Control on the 2010 Gen III is entirely new, and by all accounts works very well.

Tom

 

Being raised in Washington state, I moved south to live in the Great White North (Toronto, Ontario) then moved east to live in the Wild Wild West. (Elko, Nevada)

This time I got my directions right, and moved south to the Deep South. (Greenwood, Mississippi)

 

Let us know what you choose - and pictures please

 

A bit late to the party but thought I would chime in since:

a) I lived in Brampton (Toronto adjacent) for a while and go up multiple times a year
b) normally live on a mountain with lots of snow/ice in the Colorado Rockies
c) Use my car for delivery 5-6 hours a day 4+ days a week
d) My previous daily driver (that I still have too) was a Honda Civic (2001)


so...

The Prius is perfect for deliveries. When making deliveries, I too never shut the engine off and in the civic, I actually installed a remote start so I could keep the engine running while I took the keys out and made the delivery. With the SKS system you just keep the key in your poche and walk away. It is sooo automatic, it is great. Stop and go driving is what the Prius was made for, and delivering is the perfect use for it. When you leave it, the car is still READY but the engine turns off. Driving like a maniac gets me 46mpg. Driving with jackrabbit starts, but long slow braking to lights and timing this better (not any slower since you would otherwise just be waiting there) gets me 49mpg. All of this is through a very mountainous terrain with a 1800ft elevation change that I drive up and down 3-4 times a day. When I fill up at "the bottom of the hill" and drive down there for a while, I easily maintain 55mpg.

As for snow, the Prius is fine. Even with crappy all-season tires it is fine. I have driven in snow that was so high I had to move it out of the way of the door to open it with no issues. The VSC is annoying though, so in really bad icy weather which you get alot, I turn it off.

Keep in mind the Prius is as heavy as a tank, so it may look like a smaller car but it will NOT stop easily in the ice. Just be careful of that. I nearly crapped my pants the first time I tried in the ice. The little 2dr civic was a tad lighter!

Buy the prius, be happy.

Definately get one with SKS and the backup cam (means a higher res screen). Also, I would look at 2006-2009 since the interior updates make it a bit more refined.