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If the price of diesel was lower than gasoline's would you still buy a Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by vahrn, Oct 31, 2009.

?
  1. Yes

    84 vote(s)
    82.4%
  2. No

    18 vote(s)
    17.6%
  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    The ratio would have to be and stay proportional to MPG: 40/50 ~= 80% of gasoline cost, always or lower.

    Bob Wilson
     
  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The price of diesel in my area fluctuates and sometimes it is cheaper than gasoline and others it is vastly more expensive. The price of fuel wasn't brought into my decision to purchase a Prius. I did it to push the technology towards something even better than the Prius and for cleaner air. Low sulfur diesel was really just being implemented around here so diesel was still pretty much an ugly word. Even now I don't believe it is clean enough so I would still choose the Prius but given all of the pieces that fit into the whole diesel vs. gasoline puzzle it is getting harder to choose a clear winner. I still feel the internal combustion engine is antiquated and we need alternatives. This is the main reason I choose the Prius. All the other cool features are just icing on the cake.
     
  3. Airbalancer

    Airbalancer Active Member

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    My son has had his TDI Jetta for over 2 years now
    Zero problems, manual, low end torque and can tow a trail of firewood
    Each car is good for the purpose they are designed to do

    There is a lot people who want a manual, cannot get that in Prius

    Each to their own mode of transport
    Does not do nay good to knock a product just because it doent fit your needs

    It like compareing a Gen I to Gen I to a GenIII
    I think GenI & II are butt ugly and would never be caught in one but I like the GenIII
    Does that make all owners of GenI & II crazy for have one
    Yes :D but if you like drive it
     
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Would I have still have bought the Prius this time? Yes, because I don't yet trust VW, and the Prius is a better fit for this particular use.

    But this is a multi-car household, and I will definitely consider diesel as a replacement for my Subaru, probably about 5 years out. Especially if the new choices include diesel Subarus with manual transmission.
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Which is odd since the GenII really ins't that much different than the GenIII. Whatever though.
     
  6. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    How do you change a poll response? I hit "no" by accident. :(
     
  7. Airbalancer

    Airbalancer Active Member

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    But with the thousands I spend to get my eyes lasered I can noticed every change :cool:
    And there is a shaper look to it
     
  8. vahrn

    vahrn New Member

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    I think it's my turn to post the reasons that made me choose the Hybrid route, thank you for your replies, keep 'em coming!

    My first car was a Golf V 2.0 TDI 140bhp. I hated that car. After 15.000 km it started having problems with the gear lever that would get hard to move and eventually got stuck. The problem appeared and disappeared and my dealer just thought I was crazy and never even tried to have a look inside. (VW customer service 4 teh win:D) Besides the clutch pedal vibrated all the time and all the car had this subtle but annoying vibration.
    A friend of mine bought an Audi A3 2.0 TDI 170. Excellent MPG and interior, astonishing Hi-fi. Same problems of vibrating clutch pedal, but somehow less evident (it was an Audi after all). But here comes the real problem "clean" diesels have in my opinion: antiparticulate filter.
    When the antiparticulate filter gets filled the car becomes slow, sluggish and lifeless. In order to regenerate the filter the exhaust must reach very high temperatures and therefore it needs you to keep a high and constant speed. In that while the engine will perform some post injections of diesel to have the temperature climb even further making you MPG drop dramatically. What if you have no need to take a highway and make the filter regenerate? A light will come up and you'll have to go to your dealer and do it manually, for a charge, of course!
    There is no reliable way of getting rid of that filter, my friend tried in several ways with no success.
    Even if you could have it regenerate you have to live with inconstant performance since the more the filter gets filled up the less the car will be reactive.
    The antiparticulate filter is a joke. It's just a way to postpone your polluting emissions while making them even more dangerous for health (PM10) and you burn more fuel to do that.

    Stepping on the Prius was a major revelation to me. So silent, so high tech, little pollution, high MPG. It was simple math to me to sign the contract. And since I was selling my (beloved) Boxster S we also bought a RAV 4 (and got rid of our prehistoric Suzuki Vitara worth a couple thousand €), so in case I REALLY missed diesel I can always drive that one.
     
  9. Airbalancer

    Airbalancer Active Member

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    No Diesel in RAV 4 in NA:(
     
  10. Holbrook22

    Holbrook22 Junior Member

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    Needless to say aesthetics are a very personal choice. To me the slight change of moving the roof's apex aft a little bit made a tremendous improvement in the looks of the Gen III.
     
  11. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    Have to totally agree with you on this one. I never much cared for the Gen II looks and styling. It always looked like an apathetic clam on wheels to me- too roundish or ovoid, almost non-committal, for my tastes (which is funny considering the trade-in for my IV was a 1999 New Beetle)- but the slight push backwards of the roof's apex really gives it a much more rakish- forward, more aggressive and determined look.

    The Gen I look...well...err....let's just say you have to applaud first attempts in every field...
     
  12. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Yes. I like the look of the 2010 Prius better than the TDI Jetta Wagon.
     
  13. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    IMNSHO, the 04-09 Prius looks better from the front than from the rear. From the rear, it looks a little saggy in the butt, bit roundish back there.

    The '10 Prius looks more like a 'fastback' and I like the squared off look of the back end. Looks great from the front too.

    The only thing that lets the body style down, to me, is the 15" rims. I'm not much a fan of full plastic covers either, but I could live with them. :D The 17" wheels are hott on the '10.
     
  14. SlowTurd

    SlowTurd I LIKE PRIUS'S

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    when the economy gets going.


    and the trucks start rolling.


    you will see diesel shoot past regular.
     
  15. asj2009

    asj2009 Member

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    ain't even close...i loves me prius....
     
  16. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yes I would still buy a Prius.

    A BMW is nice but it'll be expensive to maintain past the warranty period (I paid Cdn$225 for my smart's first oil change. By comparison, our Toyotas cost $40-$60 per oil change. Full maintenance would've cost me $400 on the smart and $150-$200 for the Toyotas).

    A base BMW vs. a fully loaded Prius? I'll take the Prius. I'm not a snob. I don't need a blue/white roundel. I love to drive BMWs, I love the way you can feel the road but at my point in life, I have no need for one. Besides, the "Ultimate Driving Machine" should be a petrol model, not a diesel. It's like getting a MINI Cooper D instead of the standard Cooper or Cooper S. (Presumably, you're asking about the base BMW diesel and not the HiPo ones like the 335d)


    Not willing to have to live with diesel idiosyncrasies like glow plugs in the winter. It can hit -40°C/-40°F here. It damn better well start cause a bus to work requires 1 exchange at 1 hour even though I live on the same street as my work


    I don't want to have to drive around looking for a diesel stations. Here in Canada, not all service stations carry diesel fuel. Back home, there's only 2 stations that sell diesel within 5km of my house.


    Silence is bliss. I love driving in EV Drive Mode.
     
  17. Airbalancer

    Airbalancer Active Member

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    I don't want to have to drive around looking for a diesel stations. Here in Canada, not all service stations carry diesel fuel. Back home, there's only 2 stations that sell diesel within 5km of my house.

    Here in my part of Canada :D, every new station for the last 5 years has a desiel pump with the gas pumps, there would no problem finding a diesel around here
    We have 8 stations for 30,000 people and Cobourg is on the 401, Ontario main hiway.
    There is 8 station , 5 station have diesel


     
  18. radioprius1

    radioprius1 Climate Conspirisist

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    I refuse to waste money on expensive vehicles. Sure, I could afford a $100,000 Range Rover, but why? I don't have to impress anyone. The way I see it I saved $75,000 by buying a Prius and I can put that money in the bank and retire that much earlier.
     
  19. Canyon10

    Canyon10 New Member

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    I would still buy the prius unless it is a hybrid diesel with compatible or better MPG and it generates less CO2/particle emission than the prius. It is no longer the cost per gallon issue.
     
  20. bighouse

    bighouse Active Member

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    Agreed.

    That's funny becuase the only styling that I don't care for on my 2010 Prius is the nose. The signature round nose that Toyota uses on the hood and the emblem looks like an Edsel or something to me...or some odd cyclopian hot wheel that I had as a kid called, I think "The Silhouette "....Cars should have two eyes, not one in the middle- or is that just a single really honkingly large flaring nostril I'm anthropomorhizing? Either way it just strikes me as wrong.