My Prius Exit Interview

Thanks for your candid review! I haven't owned sports cars but many sport bikes for backroads burning. I guess a Prius might be something like a Honda Silver Wing automatic which likely wouldn't be a whole lot of fun on the loop.

I've got this little doggy dialed up as possible replacement to the Prius. I'd like different things in a hatchback - more power, sport type interior, sexier styling, some rear seats legroom not a biggie back there, all on a budget. 26 MPG at the pump is ok.

 

You're welcome but it has been a team effort. I've learned so much from the Prius pioneers and am only too glad to share what they've offered to the community.

I understand the lure of handling but at age 60, one's eyes get a little foggy and reflexes are not quite as sharp and hearing a little softer. I've alway found flying more engaging and don't begrudge the fun of others.

The irony is only the serious gear-heads at work understand what I'm saying when I babble about my home-made BSFC charts and transaxle oil test results or tire studies. And I enjoy hearing about their rebuilding and mods. So it is a fair trade and exchange.

GOOD LUCK with your new ride and happy motoring!

Bob Wilson

 

Best with your 370Z nissan. There are also some forum sites on the 370Z.

 

all the best with the Z, i'll be thinking of you when icky comes up with his next climate change rant!

 

RE: "fun to drive"

I get where the OP is coming from, and for me, I keep a 12-cylinder Jag in the garage for such thrills.

However, I've swung the other way. That is, on a daily basis, for 90% of my drive time and distance - in traffic and congestion - driving a high powered, agile sports machine makes ZERO sense (for me). The Jag comes out on nice, weekend days in the Spring/Summer and Fall. But that's pretty much it. For many of us that live in urban areas, it's rare during the morning/even commute to get room enough to exercise your ponies. Adding to the inconvenience (for me, at least) is any self-respecting sports machine is, and should be manual...not automatic. Not paddle shifters, etc. If you're gonna do it up right, go manual...and manual is one royal pain in the butt in stop & go traffic.

Just my take coming from the OTHER direction....enjoy the Z.

 

Ironically I traded a 350Z for the Altima hybrid. Found myself driving excessively over the speed limit all the time with the Z. I kept my 4X4 tacoma and drive it during bad weather. Who needs 4 cars anyway.
Congratulations on your new ride.

 

Nothing like $10/gallon gas to convince otherwise. It will be here one day...maybe soon, maybe later.

 

Into the sunset--classy "exits" are the best. Appreciated you thoughts, enjoy the Ride, and don't be a stranger.

 

You say that, and it is logical (not necessarily $10 but more than now), but the government has been pandering to its base support for so long now that I am not sure they have any political will at all. Just as an example, I am originally from another country where the price of fuel (even in bongo bucks instead of US$) is half the price that it is here. It is a Caribbean country that has absolutely NO petroleum source other than purchasing from OPEC yet when the government tried to raise the price (at the time it was about 50 cents per gallon) by about 10 cents per gallon to defray their trade balance, the people went nuts! The entire capital city was in turmoil. They demanded the right to keep driving their generally large, fuel inefficient barges at a government subsidized rate and so they backed down.

The amount of taxes on gasoline is still calculated based on really old gas prices and in most places does not rise and fall with the price of gas as most taxes that are on a percentage do. Why is that? Because they don't want to tick off a single voter.

Congress is dysfunctional...PERIOD! Most state legislatures are too.

Even when gas goes up to twice what it is, the taxes per gallon will likely still be less than 50 cents per gallon INCLUDING the Federal excise tax of a little less than 20 cents per gallon.

Hell, in Alaska the state collects about 8 cents per gallon. Look at these figures:
http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/upload/July_2010_Gasoline_and_Diesel_Summary.pdf

I never thought I would be advocating higher taxes on anything, but people that use the highways need to be paying for that "privilege" and we are getting crappier and crappier (if that is a word) highways because of this.

Of course, they will probably raise fuel taxes and use it to pay for private planes for the state to use for politicians.

My rant for the day...there, I feel better now!

 

Ummm, not to nit-pick, but even if you were only getting 40 MPGs in the Prius (many get 60MPG, most get in the 50's, so 40 is way, way low for the G3)...and then add in the (approx) $0.30 more per gallon for premium, versus regular gas...I think your "gas costs" will more than double.

For me, when I went in the other direction, and went from a car that got about the same MPGs as your Z, and also used premium...to the G3...my weekly gas bills dropped from about $58/week to about $19/week, or about $39/week x 52 weeks = a gas savings of about $2,028. These numbers represent many tanks of gas averaged over many months of driving...so any errors would only be +/- a few dollars per week.

In addition to the gas savings, my insurance premiums dropped a bundle (~$750/yr). For me, just driving to/from work, I figure the prius is saving me about $3,000/year compared to what i was driving...and if one factors in the reliability, well, the savings are significantly more than that - on an annual basis.

No offense, but i think you are significantly underestimating the $$ savings by owning a Prius. But on the flip side, you are driving a car that's "more fun to drive". But don't fool yourself into thinking your cost of ownership will be anything close to what the Prius is - it won't.

 

Well first of all I view Prius Chat as a community of Prius Enthusiasts, most of which are Prius owners, but I don't see Prius Chat as limited only to discussions focused ONLY on Prius or only on issues that would pertain only to Prius. You get discussions on everthing from Enviroment, Hybrids, Electrics and the entire automotive world as a whole. So I'd say your continued participation is not moot. Especially as an Ex-Prius owner. Like any community, cyber or otherwise diversity in my P.O.V. I think enriches the whole. I do not currently own a Prius, and there are many specific discussions I simply excuse myself from participating in, but I find many situations and topics inwhich I feel confident commenting. Sometimes the ex-owner, or non-owner I think can offer an opinion or viewpoint that might get lost among the Prius faithful.

Respectfully, I'd also ask this question. Please believe me when I say I'm not presenting this question with personal motivation, it's simply something I have never quite understood.

It's the whole idea that The Prius is not fun to drive. Or maybe more specificly the whole "Fun to Drive" equation.

I decided in the final hour to buy a Honda Fit. I like it. It has the reputation of being a "Fun to Drive" vehicle. I'd say it is. While not powerful, it's "quick and agile" feeling. But I've owned a diverse history of vehicles, trucks, sedans and now a sub-compact. I've driven everything from Jeeps to Sports Cars. Sure there is a difference in feedback from a truck to a sports car.

But as populations increase my experience is that so much of our "driving experience" becomes defined not by the capabilities of our vehicles but by the reality of the enviroment inwhich we are driving. In other words, I don't value vehicle feedback as much as I used to, or my priorities have changed. I find little difference in driving experience or feel outside of ammenities, climate control, air conditioning, seat comfort, between one vehicle or another for most suburban driving. 45 mph or less, or stuck in a traffic jam what difference does it make whether I'm in a Prius or a BMW or for that matter my Honda Fit? Give me a comfortable seat, an open feeling driving position, a good stereo.

In my opinion as congestion, and clogged suburbs become more and more the driving standard for more and more people, The Prius becomes one of the best vehicles for the enviroment...unfortunately. The Prius uses less gas than anything in that enviroment, it offers the driver a quiet enviroment, with a plethora of ammenities. So I'm sure it's not an advertising slant Toyota would adopt, but I think it's a reality that for a traffic jam? The Prius is a great vehicle...and unfortunately...congestion, stop and go, and traffic jams are far more common for more people than the proverbial open or winding road that enjoys a roadster or sports car.

I also admittedly have never understood the entire concept of "fun to drive". Yes every vehicle feels different and offers different feedback, but "fun" is subjective. When I owned trucks? I enjoyed the higher driving position, the firm ride from the utilitarian suspension. But after X amount of time, or depending on the enviroment you are mostly driving in, you start to miss softer seats, more forgiving suspension and you want "less" feedback from the road.

I guess my long winded point being, everything I've owned has been "fun to drive" for a period of time. But eventually that "fun to drive" simply becomes the norm. So I don't quite get criticism of any vehicle for not being fun to drive.

Admittedly I don't have the economic freedom to own multiple vehicles to simply suit my each driving mood or predicted immediate driving enviroment. I suppose it would be "fun" to have The Truck, The Sports Car and The Prius....but to criticize one because it's not the other? Just seems like self created justification and not reality. If you value efficiency and comfort in the most common of urban driving enviroments...what's more "fun" than a Prius?

 

"Fun to drive" can mean different things, to different people. I've heard people say that their truck is "fun to drive".

Please.

For me, and I suspect most sport's car/sedan enthusiasts, fun to drive means:

(1) Fast. 0-60 (in the 6 sec range, or less), 40-70 (3-4 sec) and top end (150+).
(2) 0.89g (or greater) cornering ability
(3) responsive steering and suspension. This can be subjective.

Inorder to be "fun to drive", for me anyway, I think the car has to have all three attributes.

The Prius, nor does the Fit meet any of these categories. But those are my criteria, and may not be someone elses. Whatever works for the buyer.

 

But that IS kinda my whole point. Fun to Drive is subjective regardless of the personal parameters people apply.

And driving feel, becomes "expected" or "normal" with any vehicle if you drive it enough.

Even with your personal applied criteria, which of course you are free to apply...

Unless you live near the Autobahn...how often do you need, or are you even in a situation where you can go from 0-60 in less than 8 seconds? Unless on a track? How often do you need top end 150 mph capabilities?

I just think often people spend large quantities of money on vehicles that have performance capabilities they hardly ever even tap. Whether it's the HUGE SUV that get's used most often as a single person transportation device OR the super fast sports car, that the middle aged guy putts around town in....

I don't know how many times, I pass or out drive the expensive sports car simply because I'm "driving". I often get "stuck" behind the Z car, or BMW or other vehicle that would easily be able to out accelerate me, or supposedly offer the driver some thrill born out of sudden INTENDED acceleration only to find the driver evidently only bought the car because it matched some psychological image profile they wanted to project. (not saying this IS you...but I often wonder why someone spends 100,000 on a vehicle that CAN go 0-60 in less than 8 seconds...only to go 60 mph on the wide open freeway?)

Bottom line, whatever your imagined parameters for "Driving Fun" happen to be, it's still all subjective.

I look at this way, you ride ANY rollercoaster long enough? It becomes a boring rollercoaster. And IMO with most driving experiences? You pretty much get out of it what you put into it, regardless of what you are sitting in.

 

For me, and I suspect most folks who live in, or near urban areas....getting to drive in the "fun mode" is rare, except on weekends. So driving a Z, or in my case, a Jag to work made little sense. In that case the only fun, or enjoyment I got was from watching other drivers admire my vintage jag.

There is a traffic circle on may wy to work...that was the ONLY place in my commute that I ever got the chance for an adreneline rush. On the weekends, however, it was a different story.

 

I don't get it? Why would you drive a BMW or a jag for fun or for speed to show off to a Prius??!?!??

The ferrari, buggatti, and maserati all are faster than your average BMW and more luxury than your average jag. If you really wanted to show off, drive one of these instead.

 

Yes, you don't get it.

Who said anything about "wanting to show off to a Prius"?

As for your last comment, I will if you give me the money?

 

Much later, I bet. And if it's sooner the economy will be in such a mess that the Prius' gas-sipping will be little consolation. The ONLY way $10 gas hits within the next several years is via major inflation or a terrible war, there is absolutely no other way, period. If not inflationary, it would cripple the economy so severely that consumption would plummet anyway.

I am on a similar page. I enjoy a fast car for sure but 99% of the time I either cannot use it (too much traffic) or it would be absurdly "dangerous" to do so (read: cops). It's an unfortunate irony I never fail to reiterate: my belief that as cars get faster we also have the reality that traffic enforcement is getting more diligent. I am positive that it won't be much longer before we have fairly prevalent use of GPS by insurance companies. It's been tried already but will definitely gain ground because it really will let a company nail down exactly how one's driving habits are. Consumers will agree to this in great part when they see what lower rates they can get.

Traffic is heavier all the time, too. I wait with great anticipation for near-total automation of our roadways--another inevitable (though slower to fruition) eventuality. We'll get in our car, hit a few buttons, and then spend the rest of the time either eating, napping, or surfing the net while the car drives itself. And we'll wonder how the hell we ever lived like savages having to control the car ourselves stuck in traffic that can be automated with a few sensors and software.

 

Nice post.

One comment on the highlighted sentence, however. I think if you were only able to get 40-45MPGs on the G3, that should have told you something about your inner-self/needs? Only with the most aggressive driving habits can I even begin to approach those low of numbers. For me, even if I average 10 mph more than the posted, I still get in the low 50's in cool-to-warm weather.

By the way, while it's hard for vintage sports cars/sedans to compete with new cars (in terms of techno gadgets, comfort and some performance attributes) ....I assure you that cars like the Z, will never be able to compete with the "wow factor" you get from most true car afficiando's, when eyeing a well maintained vintage/classic automobile. Some cars are timeless.

For many of us, however, practicality takes over the buying decision. Enter cars like the Prius.