Which car should I take?

if you're purely after gas milage, take the prius.

if you want a little more climbing power, and a little more sitting comfort at the cost of 8 miles per gallon, take the neon.

i'd personally lean towards the neon.

 

Bear in mind Iraqiswhack is a self confessed Troll who has never driven a Prius.

What can you buy with the cash you save driving the Prius rather than the dog Neon? How much time will the Neon actually save? Take the Prius and sink the slipper on those up hills.

 

THe Prius would be a more comfortable ride, smoother and quieter. You'll arrive with more energy, less fatigue.

And for a drive that long, you ought to have real maps in the car with you--so you'll have plenty of chances to tweak the route, regardless of what either nav system says.

 

How tight is your budget? How much is your comfort worth? Using your figures:

Neon
3000 miles / 36 mpg = 83.3 gallons
83.3 gallons x $1.89 = $157.44

Prius
3000 miles / 44 mpg = 68.2 gallons
68.3 gallons x $1.89 = $128.86

You save 15.1 gallons and $28.58 driving the Prius. Given that and the extra comfort of the neon, I would drive the Neon. Driving 40 hours roundtrip is going to be miserable, why make it worse.

Of course that is only fuel costs. Using the standard IRS mileage rate of $0.58 per mile, it will cost you $1740 to drive. (That is fuel, maintenance, replacement costs, financing, insurance, etc)

Personally I wouldn't drive I would fly. Toronto to Orlando is $322 roundtrip on US Airways and 6 hours travel time. (rates per expedia) That compares to 20 hours to drive which means you'll have hotel costs and spend an extra day each way. By the time you add up gas, food, and hotel; you're not saving money by driving. (This assumes a single person not the whole family)

 

The maps you have are approaching 8 years old. They do not take into the account any road work done since 2001. I would buy a $100 garmin nuvi and take the prius. My personal opinion though.

 

If you do the math, the Prius is still more cost effective, even with the difference in the route:

Neon:
1470 x 2 = 2940 miles
2940 / 36 = 81.6 gallons

Prius:
1610 x 2 = 3220 miles
3220 / 44 = 73.2 gallons

So, even if you take the longer Prius route you will still do it cheaper.

 

"weak in mountain climbing ability"? Have you been willing to keep the gas pedal pressed to the floor while climbing? The engine will roar but that's normal for hill climbing; the computers won't let the engine harm itself. And truly, the mountains between Toronto and Florida are not very big.

Take the car you're more comfortable sitting in. Learn how to use a map :_>

 

I would buy at the very least a real map book of all 50 states + Canada, and I would take a quick look at www.mapquest.com and compare.

 

I have a 2000 Neon (same body style) with the factory Nav unit. I have found that it's nav is quite accurate for long trips. I would also say that the seats in the Neon are more comfortable (for me at least) on long trip than the '08 Prius. I cannot comment on the Prius Nav as I don't have the factory unit.

 

Why on god's green earth would you want to take the neon anywhere?

I don't know of a lot of Mountains between TO and Fla. No big ones really.

I have driven our Prius all over the inter mountain west, Colorado, Nev, UT, ID, MT, BC, AB where they have real mountains. Never once have I wished I had more power or more anything,,,

On several transcontinental trips we averaged +50mpg on every trip, driving hiway speeds.

No contest!

Icarus

 

I would vote for the Pri too. More reliable and cheaper.