Opinions Wanted Please

i've been driving a prius for just over a year. i still love that car.

i also don't fit the typical hybrid owner profile. but i don't care, and i still enjoy driving way more than i ever did before. B)

 

Dude - the Prius is awsome -
and speaking as someone who is used to driving a 400hp 6litre V12 Convertible Jaguar I understand where you are comming from -

My other car is our Prius - and it is a joy to drive - yes a completely different experience but all the same a very pleasureable one -

Now I save the Jag for sunny Sunday afternoons and when faced with a choice between the two in many ways I prefer the Prius.

It has a totaly different form of status attached to it - and the more you drive it the more you'll become attached to it -

I recomend renting one for a weekend before buying - and I doubt you'll find many on this boad who regret buying a Prius.

Best of luck - James

 

1. I've had my Prius for 14 months, and I still sometimes turn around and look back at it while I'm walking away.

2. I'd never use the word "novelty" about the Prius. It can actually change the way you think - not just about cars, but about energy consumption in general.

 

I've had mine for a little over a year and I still enjoy driving it. I'm looking forward to a long trip with it.

I agree with renting first (I did for 2 weeks). Some have bought it without a test drive and find that the seats hurt them.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mike_m @ Apr 28 2006, 03:44 PM) [snapback]246885[/snapback]</div>

Welcome to PC, if you weren't greeted at the door!

First, hang around here reading posts for 2 or 3 days and you'll know that, despite the tree-hugger/Birkenstock claptrap, there's no typical hybrid driver personality. We've done lots of internal polling, some serious, some for fun, and three things I can see that are "distinguishing" about us (and it's only among those who post fairly regularly, which may or may not represent another trait in itself) is that there are lots of Mac users, lots of engineers and we're on the "liberal" side politically. Of, I forgot one. Worst spellers on the planet. B)

I have two Priuses now and have owned four total. Yes, the PHYSICAL novelty of driving the car has worn off. One Edmunds tester remarked that Prius systems are so "neutral" it made him feel he was driving an appliance---and I thought he came close!

But it's what's in your noggin that will make you feel special driving it, or not. After a total 130K miles, I still do. Not everyone gets to drive the most advanced machine ever devised for ordinary transportation. Its potential for pointing the way to actually influence the world oil market probably will never be realized, but it's there. Sound ovwerblown? That's me.

Plus it'll suck up almost everything else on the road going up a steep hill.

 

6 months driving my Prius and each day is better and better...I have never owned a car that I love like this car.

 

I doubt you will get many people expressing regrets, simply because if someone was sorry about their purchase they probably wouldn't participate on this board.

I can tell you that I bought my Prius a little over a month ago for the sole purpose of getting onto the HOV lane. I didn't care about any of the other aspects of the car.

Having said that, I am in love with this car. It looks small from the outside, but is roomy on the inside. The smartkey system, back-up camera and bluetooth features are a joy to use and I still feel like a kid in a candy store when I drive in stealth mode. I am also getting 49 MPG (I drive mostly highway miles). With my Saab, I was filling up the 18 gallon tank twice a week. Now I go a little over a week without filling up about 10 gallons. Most important is that this car is just fun to drive. I really thought I would be giving up a lot when I bought it, but I haven't missed my old car at all.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Amyshubby @ Apr 28 2006, 05:43 PM) [snapback]246926[/snapback]</div>

Amy's Hubby:
Really not trying to be disagreeable because I concur with everything except your first paragraph.
I submit that upon carefully reading of the posts on PC you will find a considerable number of folks who have posted their displeasure with the Prius. For the most part, all PriusChat contributors tolerate negative vibes about our sacred automobile providing the criticism is founded on fact and experience ....not second-hand garbage. Yes, on PC you would find a great number of Prius naysayers posting if the vehicle warranted such experiences. When you have been here long enough you will find that everyone really tells it as it is.
Glad to have you as a fellow owner.
Gary

 

I've owned a Boxster, a WRX, and plenty of Hondas. The Prius was the only car that taught me to drive for efficiency instead of maximum speed.

It's also the only car I've driven at least five days a week, to and from work, that has not needed gas for over a month. I last got gas on March 30th!

It satisfies the cognitive side of me. Emotion has very little to do with why I drive it. Smug? Oh yeah....I love laughing at others who complain about getting raped at the pump.

 

Have owned several sports cars and an SUV. Have had the Prius for 5 months - drives great, handles reasonably well, very functional, and of course great mpg. The build quality is also great, in my opinion. I like it more each day. Go for it. Even if you end up not liking it, you can take the tax credit then resell it (probably for close to MSRP since it is in high demand).

 

As always.. the contrarian...

I miss my luxury and sports cars... and frankly the novelty of the prius has worn off. I hate the car, but I promised myself that I'd keep it for one year.

So why am I on this site? I love the input on using the features from fellow members... and shit, they're a nice bunch of guys and gals. But I'd rather have the new diesel mercedes than a prius anyday.

 

My last four cars were turbo Saabs and Turbo Audi Quatros. I loved the surge of the turbos and I loved the mountain road handling. Of course, all had manual transmissions for maximum performance.

I've owned my Prius for two years now (30,000 miles). At first I missed the thrill of my former cars, but am now very much a Prius kind of guy. I love the attention I get (everybody's interested in the Prius), I love getting ~48 mpg (every 400 miles or so I stop for gas and buy somewhat less than 9 gallons), I love the fact that no repairs have been required, I love not having to shift gears while caught in traffic, I love the liftback feature (the car holds lots of big stuff), my friends love the back seat leg room, I love the fact that the engine turns off at traffic lights (9 Prius's contaminate about as much as 1 average car), and I love the fact that this machine is truly a technological marvel (my engineering background speaking).

At all times I get to appreciate the special character of this car. When on the twisty roads I got to appreciate the special character of my Audis and Saabs, about 1% of my driving. That other 99% driving time was key in my decision to purchase this car. It's fun every day of the year.

 

I think everyone purchases a car to go along with their personality. I purchased my Prius with package 8 for its optional features and gas mileage. I also feel the Prius air bag protection is important to me as I drive with a lot of crazy people down here in South Florida. I am also in IT and feel this car is a high tech and fun to drive. I am a conservative who spends most of my time trying to stomp out liberalism that I feel has destroyed moral values and have general caused more harm than good in the policies implement.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cne0233 @ Apr 29 2006, 07:06 AM) [snapback]247140[/snapback]</div>

Son of a gun. And I always considered myself a liberal with strong moral values. Didn't know they were mutually exclusive. And I don't think we have to look back any farther than "W" to see policies that have caused more harm that good. Sorry, but it IS true.

Now to the question at hand. Obviously not everyone buys a car for the same reasons. I bought a Prius for a number of reasons mostly environmental. When I first read your post I wondered why you wanted a Prius. But it is a very cool car. And that just may be reason enough.

Good luck with your decision.

 

It will be interesting to hear from TidelandTravis when he sells his Prius after that "year" - specifically how miniscule his "depreciation" loss will be compared to the usual losses in selling an ordinary car after a year of use.

 

I've had my Prius two months now, and my only regret is that I have spent so much time in rentals during that time. I should qualify that. I have had no maintenance problems whatsoever....my boss just keeps sending me all over the freaking country. I've been at my apartment 5 days in the last 21...so I'm currently digging it out from under piles.

I bought the Prius for the mileage, the hatchback, and the Toyota name. And that's in somewhat reverse order. I wouldn't have bought a hybrid from anyone other than Toyota or Honda, and it's not that I hate Detroit. It's a matter of who has had the technology long enough to build a reliable car. 90% of my driving I am alone or with 2-3 people, and I don't need to haul much more than a few suitcases. There's no point in trying to be a speed demon in DC traffic, and I speed enough as is.

But I would say the Prius has more speed than my 96 Camry did. It was a four cylinder, and if you loaded it down was a bit dogged occasionally. I have found times when you might hear the Prius, but it still gets up to speed at a nice rate.

I will admit I need a truck probably 2x a year. My friends always find some muddy situation to get me into, and then I need to haul something occassionally. But I have plenty of friends who drive F250 and F350 Diesels...I didn't need to join their ranks. So I'm not the crazy environmentalist all hybrid drivers are stereotyped to be. I needed a cute car that was equally as geeky as I am! Everyone who has gotten in my car since I bought it has been pleasantly surprised....they weren't expecting all the options I have in a green car.

 

wife: enjoys standing out, really likes the Prius drive (soft and quiet). She has no criticism to offer.

me: techno-geek and enviro led me to the Prius when it was redesigned from (IMO) it's ugly 2003 shape, to it's current gorgeous design; and it is the best in those respects, hands down. I don't mind driving the car at all, but I find the handling to be -- well, somewhere between neutral and bland. Sort of a small minivan experience.

That, and rattles in my 2004 model dashboard are the only things that make this car a 9 and not a 10/10 on my personal scale. A hybrid Scion xA or a hybrid Honda Fit are closer to my idea of a perfect car.

 

Absolutely no such animal as a typical Prius driver.

As for the novelty, the car is fun to drive, very comortable, gets great gas mileage and has most of the gadgets you will find on other cars. I choose to get into the Prius most mornings.