Decisions, Decisions - Need Help.

hybrid camray 30mpg
older prius 40+mpg
new prius 50+mpg
what's to decide?

 

It's a myth that the Prius doesn't do as well in terms of gas mileage on the highway as it does in the city -- but it depends on one's definition of city and highway. The bottom line is, both the Gen II and Gen III Prius far outranks other cars in both highway and city mileage as tested by both the EPA and Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports in fact found the city mpg to be quite a bit lower than highway, which mirrors my personal experience, though many would disagree. But anyway, 60 mph is a very comfortable and fuel-efficient cruising speed for the Prius.

The Gen III is supposed to achieve higher mileage on the highway than the Gen II. I have had both and haven't seen much difference yet -- but most of my driving is stop-and-go hilly city driving, where it is definitely NOT at its best. I have been able to achieve around 62 mpg on the highway, but that trip must have been mainly downhill because on the return trip the mpg dropped to under 50.

As for whether it's worth buying the Gen III vs. the Gen II ... it's really dependent on what you can comfortably afford and whether the new features of the Gen III are important to you. I doubt that the improvement in gas mileage is going to outweigh the initial extra expense, but the Gen III has many new features and options that were not available with the Gen II. I traded in my Gen II for the Gen III, even though I loved the old one, just because I was excited about the new features and styling, and especially wanted the solar roof. All my previous cars have had moonroofs and I really missed that on the old Prius, but the solar roof on is much neater than your usual moonroof.

 

The Camry and Prius both have comperable cabin space. You will do better off price and in mileage with a Prius.

 

I too wasn't sure about what hybrid to buy. I went to my Toyota dealer intending to but a prius V but I would have had to wait over six weeks to get one. They had a new 2009 Camry hybrid and I bought that. I average > 40MPG and love the car. You have to take your hat off to Toyota. This is great technology. I don't think you can make a mistake with either car. Both are winners!!

Steve

 

Hi Downunder,
I know just how you felt. But I have just started the purchase process for a Gen III prius here in Brisbane.

For a little more local knowledge you may wish to also contact the Qld prius group: priusclubqld.org

Admittedly it is a smaller club but the folks I have meet have been very helpful.

Cheers Warwick

 

The 2010 Prius will cruise comfortably at highway speeds. There will be almost no engine noise but there will be a bit of tire noise. I would expect the Camry to be slightly quieter from a tire noise perspective.

As far as highway fuel economy is concerned, I think the 2010 Prius would likely get about 4.7L/100km (50mpg US), or perhaps even a bit better. I don't think you will find another vehicle in the same class as the Prius that will give you that kind of fuel economy.

The Prius ride is a bit firm so I'm not sure how it would do on your rough roads. As long as they're not too horrible, I'd expect the ride to be fine, but everyone has their own opinions on this. I'd guess that the Camry might provide a slightly smoother ride, but maybe not enough to matter.

I'd get the 2010 Prius over the 2009 Prius since it's a bit more refined than the previous generation, and being a current generation car it should retain better resale value.

For the first 5 years/160,000 km you should expect very high reliability from the Prius. However, due to the added complexity of the hybrid drive train and the very high repair costs that have been reported on a few of the older 2001/2002 cars (some up to $8,000.00 US) , you might want to take this into consideration if you plan to keep the car much past 7 years or so.

 

I was also deciding between a 2010 Prius and a 2010 Camry Hybrid, but taking them both for a test drive totally sealed the deal for me to purchase my new 2010 Prius IV, which I love.

The Camry Hybrid has a SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER trunk space than the Prius, which was a dealbreaker to me to begin with, but then once I took them both for a drive, I knew I could never own a Camry.

The Camry Hybrid is just a gigantic vehicle -- TOO gigantic, in my opinion. It's a real boat. I mean, the Camry is huge and it feels like you're driving a cruise ship down the street. It also felt so wide that it was difficult for me to make turns around small mountain roads. For parallel parking purposes, I could only navigate into the largest of possible parking spots. It felt like a car my grandfather would drive.

The Prius, on the other hand, is zippy, light, the perfect size, modern-looking and modern-feeling, and is just overall wonderful. Plus, not to mention the better gas mileage from the Prius.

Just my two cents.

 

that is a tough choice. on a steady 60 mph cruise (which is the speed i normally drive since that is the speed limit thru out this area going North anyway) in the 2006, i would get around 57-58 mpg in summer, the 2010 around 58-60 mpg so there is a difference and for the driving you will be doing, it might add up. as far as comfort, hard to say.

my SO likes the 2006 better for front seat comfort but at the same time says she is no longer willing to live without seat heaters which the 2010 has. she is not a fan of the new cockpit area (though she does not have a problem with it if she is driving which she VERY rarely does)

having driven both (i now only drive the 2006 when getting gas or taking it for an oil change) the feel is much different and i really cant say if its a good way or not. the 2010 has much more stable feel when cornering but the 2006 steering seems to be tighter (it does had a smaller lock to lock rotation) but none of this is much of a factor when just cruising the freeway so have to go with the 2010 with its 8 way adjustable seat, better ergo setup for cabin controls, heated leather seats, etc.

 

set Pri in ECO mode, A/C will affect mileage, but not a lot. a few MPG"s maybe

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that the regular Camry has more trunk space than the hybrid Camry because the battery is stored in the trunk of the hybrid Camry.

To answer your other questions:

Based on my own experience, I've been getting about 35 MPG with air conditioning turned on all the time in Los Angeles city driving.

I think you'll probably find the "power mode" of the Prius acceptable for those uphill sections of the highway you're talking about. I used the power mode to zip up through the steep Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, and it was just fine.

You'll probably want to test drive it with power mode on to see if it fits your needs.

 

Depending on the outside temperature, the 2010 Prius air conditioner may reduce fuel economy by perhaps as much as 10%. So if you're getting 53mpg with it off then it may drop down to 47mpg with it on. I wouldn't consider this to be drastic.

As far as the solar ventilation is concerned, it only affects the interior temperature of the car while it's parked in the sun, so I don't think it would have a significant effect on mileage, since you typically don't drive short trips.

If cooling is a concern, consider buying a white Prius, since this color will reflect most of the light from the sun, resulting in a cooler interior. My wife's van is dark blue, and some parts of the interior will burn you when it's hot outside and it's parked in the sun. My car is Blizzard Pearl and for the same conditions, it's merely warm inside. Unlike the solar package (which darkens your roof and only runs when the car is off and parked), white will continue to actively work for you even while you're driving. This will reduce air conditioner load resulting in improved mpg.

Also, white may be even more appealing when you consider that the high voltage traction battery does not like running at high temperatures. If the traction battery is hot, the car will sometimes limit the battery's available power to try and protect it. It's probably worth noting that most of the failed traction battery reports seem to be coming from some of the older Prius hybrid vehicles located in the hottest areas of the US.

The 2010 Prius seems very stable on the road, even around large trucks. In PWR mode it has plenty of acceleration to blow by nearly anything you'll encounter while going up any hill. Unlike most economy cars, the 2010 Prius is not slow. So I don't think you need to give semitrailers a second thought.

 

The 1.8L 2010 Prius has quite a few improvements -- here are a few:

1. The transmission in the 2009 has a chain as part of the drive system while the 2010 is completely gear driven. Reports of $8000.00 transmission failures, while relatively uncommon, have been reported for a few of the older vehicles. Should be higher reliability in the 2010.
2. The 2009 has a serpentine belt while the 2010 is belt-less. Should be reduced maintenance cost and better mpg for the 2010.
3. Quite a few reports of the 2009 and earlier Prius wondering on the highway. This issue was much worse on windy days, but it existed even without any wind. My 2010 has been very stable on the highway, including high wind conditions.
4. Cooling pump for the high-voltage inverter system tends to fail on some of the previous generation Prius starting at about 60,000 miles, causing power loss and potentially expensive failure of the inverter power unit. The pump has been completely redesigned for the 2010, hopefully eliminating this issue.
5. The 2009 Prius only has "Normal" mode while the 2010 has "Normal", "ECO", and "PWR" modes. PWR mode makes the car feel a lot faster than either Normal or ECO modes, with minimal reduction in fuel economy.
6. The 2010 air conditioner has been redesigned to reduce power requirements so it should provide better fuel economy than the 2009.
7. Smoother transition from engine-on/engine-off for the 2010. The 2009 engine tended to shudder while the 2010 is mostly undetectable (although a few people still report a bit of shuddering on the 2010). I don't feel any shuddering at all with mine, but occasionally there is something that feels a bit like hitting a slight bump on the road when the engine starts up.
8. The 2010 has four-wheel disc brakes while the 2009 had rear drum brakes. Advantage 2010.
9. The basic 2010 key fob can stay in your pocket or in your wife's purse. Get near the car and touch the door handle -- the car beeps and the door automatically unlocks. Get into the car and press the round Start button and the car automatically starts without touching the key fob or inserting it into the car. The basic 2009 did not support this.
10. The 2009 engine holds about 3.5L of oil while the 2010 engine holds about 4.4L. While the cost of an oil change will increase on the 2010, this extra capacity should offer better lubrication as the oil change interval approaches, providing longer engine life and improved mileage.
11. The driver's seat for the 2010 can be raised and lowered while the seat height on the 2009 was fixed. My wife likes the seat all the way up while I like it all the way down.
12. The steering wheel on the 2010 is both tilt and telescoping while it was tilt-only on the 2009.

Is all of this worth an extra $5,000? If you plan to keep the car for 3 - 5 years and then sell it, you will likely get at least a piece of that money back. If you plan to keep it longer than this, then it might be worth it since the 2010 is likely to be a bit more reliable than the 2009.

 

Holy cow, that is quite an impressive list! Thank you for posting all of that! I'm so thrilled that I own a 2010 Prius!