All current Prius owners, are you happy and upgrading?

From Best and worst in new car owner satisfaction: Car owner, auto shopping :

Yes, I'm satisfied. You should also find reliability to be superior to your Mercedes and BMWs and maintenance costs to be lower as well (esp. when BMW's "free" maintenance period runs out).

I don't know which BMWs you had but if they were say the 3 series, M3 or Z3/Z4, you'd likely be unhappy w/the handling. If you had BMWs on the high end in terms of power (say M3 or M5), you might be unhappy w/the power or lack of. The 2010 Prius' gas mileage should decimate your gasoline powered cars.

No, I don't plan on buying a 2010 Prius. I only have 38k miles on my 06. It runs fine and has PLENTY of useful life left. I'd be taking a huge hit on depreciation just for the sake of having a new car and some of the new features. I'd also lose my CA carpool lane stickers since they're tied to the car's VIN and not the owner. CA carpool lane stickers aren't being issued anymore.

However, if my Prius got wrecked and I had to replace it w/a new car, my top candidates would be the 2010 Prius, Altima Hybrid (due to price, tax credits, incentives and power) and Ford Fusion Hybrid (for mileage and good reviews so far). I'd try the Insight but it's unlikely I'd buy it.

 

I think the quality and ingenuity of this 2009 is quite good, but for me, the driver's seat comfort is pretty bad. Toyota left an extra helping of legspace in the rear seat of the 2009 while skimping on allowable front legspace (I'm over 35" inseam, IOW, long legs).

One explanation might be they did this for driver airbag requirements since the steering wheel does not telescope in the 2009, other than that, it is baffling and a shame.

That said, the 2010 is reported to have more front seat travel, the much needed and long overdue driver's seat mechanical height adjuster and telescopic steering wheel. None of these things are options on the 2004 - 2009 and they are very difficult to add in aftermarket modifications.

Toyota would love for me to trade in, but I have absolutely no plans for that.

 

Happy and may upgrade but I doubt it right now. I will sooner or later but I haven't had my car 2 years yet and I had my last car, a Toyota of course for 14 years. This one has a few years left in it yet.

Oh, when I get the new model Prius it will be my wifes car that we trade, a RAV4, but the RAV4 is only 13 years old so there are a few years left in that too.

 

Had a 2000 and upgraded at the soonest opportunity available, despite loving that Prius. Got a 2003 and I'm now in the very same situation again. In a few weeks, I'll be trading it in for a 2010.

Why upgrade? The 51.2 MPG on my Multi-Display currently simply isn't enough! :eyebrows:

Actually, the purpose is I'm sick & tired of the excuses given by the rest of the industry to not invest heavily in hybrids like Prius. By driving the newest model and sharing those experiences, it helps to prove their claims don't have merit.
.

 

I am in a similar situation as Evan. If I needed a new car, the 2010 Prius would be my top pick. As it is, I have a 2006 Prius that still has many good years in it. I can't see taking the depreciation hit at this point.

Tom

 

Yes and yes. You will never have another car again. I LOVE my Prius but want the new technology and oh, the sunroof :cheer2:

 

hello. we are very happy with the prius. we also came from luxury/sports cars.

you will love the 2010 prius!

TONYP - love your avatar! much better than the previous! you make a lot of sense, but gosh, that moonroof and solar panel has me really thinking! but my thinking is far from being financially sensible.

 

I'm happy with my car (except for the damned MFD climate controls) but I'm thinking of the upgrade. I probably won't do it from new though, let some other sucker take the depreciation.

I should be selfless and sell my car to someone who can't currently afford a new Prius, so they sell their car and so on down the chain until an old junker gets scrapped. After all, the UK scrappage scheme will only fund scrapping of 300,000 cars - in 2007 there were 3.4 million cars over 12 years old.

 

I have a 2005 and am very happy. It combines the driving comfort of a Camry (my next favorite car) with the fuel economy, technology and flexibility of the Prius. I plan on getting the 2010 with the solar roof package. I am so in love with this car! I can't imagine driving anything else.

 

I have a 2004 Prius and my daughter has a 2005 Prius.

We are both happy with our cars. 2010 FTW!

 

Yes, we love our 2009 and I plan to replace the 2006 Volvo with a Prius of current model year when it's time to trade. I'd strongly urge you to drive a Prius, even a 2009, then when the 2010 arrives note all the improvements and jump ! :cheer2:

 

I am happy with my Prius. BUT... it was hard going from a nice handling fun to drive Passat to the more boring to drive Prius .. I knew this when I bought it though. The mileage and reliability of the Prius is great, especially compared to my VW. If you plan on doing a lot of highway driving, the light Prius can get thrown around some and it seems to hit a lot of dumps if you know what I mean...

 

I just bought a 2009, although I knew that the 2010 was coming. I am very, very happy with the 2009 Prius.

I had several reasons for not getting the 2010, and now that I see how the package levels are playing out on the 2010, I'm even more glad that I got the 2009.

I figure I'll wait until well after the Generation III plug-in model is released. Maybe a few years down the road, newer battery technology will be in production that will greatly expand the EV range of the Prius. At that point I'll be ready to buy a newer model.

Whether you go with a 2009 or a 2010, I think that you will be really pleased. If you are not a very tall person (long legs), the driver's seat on the 2009 will most likely not bother you.

There is an issue with the G2 that has bothered some drivers, and that is the fact that the G2 Priuses have a "gas tank bladder". The bladder aids in emissions control, but aggravates some owners as it often doesn't allow as much gasoline to be put in the tank as should be able to go in there. Toyota has done away with the bladder in the 2010 model (both G2s and G3s have 11.9 gallon fuel tanks).

Best wishes