How does your Prius make you feel?

Oh, there's a questionnaire !

-What spurred your decision to become a hybrid driver?
Wasn't more expensive than other higher-end cars I was looking into. Why pay more for a luxury, might as well pay more for a hybrid. Surprise, however, the TCO on hybrids are better than similar priced cars/suv's.

-What drove you to choose the Prius over its competitors?
In Canada, the only other available hybrid at the time was the Ford Focus and the Prius. I didn't want a 4x4.

-Now that your an owner, how is your relationship with the car itself (i.e. how does it make you feel)?
Like I made an intelligent, well-balanced decision. I feel like I have invested in, rather than wasted money on, a vehicle.

-As an owner of a Prius (or hybrid in general) how do you feel you're treated?
This has changed over time. In 2006, was constantly yelled at, boxed in, talked negatively to in parking lots - always males. Women just made faces as if I was driving the ugliest thing in the world.
In 2007 - attitude changed - 2008 was well received.
Today - no different than any other driver. The 2010 has people approaching to say how nice it is.

-Any additional comments are welcomed and encouraged.
The 2010 (or third generation - G3) is a mature product priced right. Cheaper than a Mazda 6 or Honda Accord with similar specs.
Still not considered a car for the masses, but a car for upper middle-class.

:welcome:

 

-What spurred your decision to become a hybrid driver?

What I really wanted was an all electric car as a 2nd car to my Celica. I didn't demand much of it, just that it could cruise at 65 mph and do 50 miles round trip. I'd have to have one custom made and it would cost 10 grand to convert from an older car. Then the 2 grand Enginer PHEV mod kit became available so I bought a 2004 Prius to add the kit to it. It seemed like the most effective way to use as little gas as possible. It's not just being environmental, it's that all the money spent on gas is either going to countries that want to destroy the US or short-sighted US and allie companies that don't care how oil dependency destroys our world. Nothing like paying for the guns to give to people that want to kill you. Did you hear OPEC is quietly investigating applying for aid if we switch to an EV economy to replace all the money we won't be giving them. Now that's gall! Have you seen what they're building in Dubai? It makes Las Vegas look like a strip mall.

-What drove you to choose the Prius over its competitors?

What competitors? There really is no car that comes even close. I wish it looked better, my Celica is beautiful. Big mistake in my humble opinion that the 2010 looks so similar. Toyota doesn't get it, we didn't buy the Prius because of it's looks, we bought it in spite of it's looks! Was really hoping it would look like the guess image that was circulating that morphed it with a lamborghini SPY IMAGE: Next Gen Toyota Prius or at least what Toyota was hinting at with their concept car Auto Channel: Rumored: Toyota Prius Wagon & SUV

-Now that your an owner, how is your relationship with the car itself (i.e. how does it make you feel)?

It feels awesome, makes me actually enjoy traffic so I can get even better mpg if I'm not in a hurry. It's so much more comfortable then my Celica which felt like a go-kart. Other then the mpg, my biggest joy is the GPS system, which connects with my blue tooth cell phone and will place calls from it's database of places. It's like having a built-in phone book

-As an owner of a Prius (or hybrid in general) how do you feel you're treated?

Generally good. About the worst I get is know-it-alls that try to tell me the "extra cost" of a hybrid won't be saved in gas money. So silly, what extra cost? I could buy a car with the gas money I save. Besides, any "extra cost" is more like extra resale value. It's an investment, the Prius retains more of it's value then other cars because everyone wants better mpg. When they taunt me am I afraid of "sudden acceleration" I reply "I pray for it!"

The false stigma that the battery pack will have to be replaced at 100k is finally going away now that many have over 100k like mine and still going strong at 50 mpg. I could easily sell my car now a year later for more then I paid for it, though the Enginer kit was disappointing and did little to improve mpg. But at least it was only a 2k noble attempt. Better to try and fail then never to try at all.

Hope this helps your survey. Good luck with it. Not to sound smug, but on the whole, Prius owners are pretty decent folks. It's not a car one buys to say "I'm rich", or "look how good and strong I look". Cops also don't seem attracted to a Prius driver. I've never been pulled over in the Prius.

 

-What spurred your decision to become a hybrid driver?

Appeared to be the cleanest and most efficient car I could buy.


-What drove you to choose the Prius over its competitors?

They didn't have any.


-Now that your an owner, how is your relationship with the car itself (i.e. how does it make you feel)?

My therapy team has made me realize that my blocked Electra complex has manifested as a Persistant Life Pattern, most comonly manifested in my usual Friday night cocaine, booze and roadside sex binges, and, er wait, what? Oh, you mean the car, well then,

It's a tool. I use it to do work. Its not responsible for how I feel.


-As an owner of a Prius (or hybrid in general) how do you feel you're treated?

Same as everybody else. On the internet they're a big deal. On the road it's just another small sedan.

 

-As an owner of a Prius (or hybrid in general) how do you feel you're treated?

By Toyota: poorly (service is often incompetent and they constantly try to push things on you that you don't need, but you have no choice but to go to them).
Everyone else: Regardless of what you see on this forum, nobody else really cares about how many MPG you're getting and the car just blends into the background of nondescript cars.


i agree with this statement..
the service and parts dept at my dealer, sux