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I missed my Prius!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by PriusRos, Oct 13, 2007.

  1. PriusRos

    PriusRos A Fairly Senior Member - 2016 Prius Owner

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    I was out in Colorado recently and rented a PT Cruiser -- I was offered an SUV but didn't want to pay for so much gas. It wasn't a BAD car by any means, but did I miss my Prius!

    * I got a whopping 23 mpg overall (it has a readout) -- and I was doing 90% highway driving.
    * Every time I looked at the gas gauge it seemed I had to refuel. I filled the tank 3 times in 4 1/2 days -- approximately $31, $36, and $15. I didn't check how far I drove, but it was traveling between Denver and Boulder, with one day in the mountains. No real long distances. I almost never go over $20 with my Prius!
    * I had to fish my keys out of my bag to unlock the door, then had to press a stupid old-fashioned button on the handle to open the door.
    * Forgetting that I also needed the key to actually start the engine, I'd throw it back into my bag and then have to retrieve it.
    * Once at a certain speed, or when it thinks appropriate, it locks the doors. Fine -- no problem getting out of the car when it stops, but I can't open the back door to retrieve my bag from the back seat without using the key to unlock the back door (or remembering to press the unlock button in the front).
    * General pickup was all right, but it seemed labored at speeds past about 60mph. The speed limits out there on the highways are between 65 and 75. It was hard to get up to that speed, especially uphill. It didn't do very well going up mountains -- and I missed the 99mpg readouts coming down! I don't feel any hesitation reaching speeds of 75 and over in the Prius.
    * I had to make a number of U-turns and dreaded doing this. Even where there were 2 wide lanes each direction, the turning radius is so large that I wasn't able to make it in one go and would have to back up to complete the turn.
    * With the back seats up, the trunk space was very limited and there's a hard cover that has to be removed in order to accommodate two medium-sized suitcases. It probably stows somehow but I couldn't figure out how.
    * Visibility was okay but I missed my backup camera.

    Did I say I really missed my Prius? :p
     
    #1 PriusRos, Oct 13, 2007
  2. mjms2b

    mjms2b MJ Green

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    same happened to me while in Colorado Springs recently. I rented the smallest car they had (obvious reason), and I felt like a "diva" without her green m&m's, damn I missed the back up camera the most, the fuel economy second (although the little car i had wasn't bad 39 or so) and the keyless entry.............mmmmmmmmmmmmmm........the prius.
     
    #2 mjms2b, Oct 13, 2007
  3. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    I remember rentinga PT Cruiser and was also very dissapointed in the gas mileage. It's really too bad too. Remeber when they first came out and they were hard to get? That didn't last too long. I bet if Chrysler made a hybrid out of it it would be a good seller again. Well on second thought maybe not LOL.
     
    #3 paprius4030, Oct 13, 2007
  4. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi All,

    Crysler and the PT Cruiser are an interesting irony. The PT Cruiser is loosly based on the styling of from the 1930's. In the 1930's Chrysler did a car called the Airflow was the last time an American car company came out with a revolutionary vehicle, rather than an evolutionary design. Which makes the success of the Prius all the more remarkable.

    The public panned the Airflow, for its looks. Not many sold. But later the styling of it, the DC-3, and various trains resulted in an art movement - Art Nouveau. Ironically, Chrysler apparently did not make money on the idea until the PT Cruiser.

    The main reason people tell me they do not consider the Prius is the looks. To which I respond the Prius is designed by Mother Nature, for Mother Nature. Aero shapes are pretty consistant. Even the Russian Space Shuttle had the same basic shape, due to the hypersonic reentry aero and thermal physics required by the concept. If you want 55 mpg at 60 mph, 4 passengers and a large cargo hatch, well, the Prius is what you get.

    Its unfortunate Chrylser apparently put the 1930's performance into the car as well as the 1930's aero design.
     
    #4 donee, Oct 13, 2007
  5. PriusRos

    PriusRos A Fairly Senior Member - 2016 Prius Owner

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MJGreen @ Oct 13 2007, 05:56 PM) [snapback]525235[/snapback]</div>
    39mpg isn't bad at all -- but I know what you mean about the diva mentality! A couple of years ago (prior to Prius) I rented a Corolla on a trip. I was driving an old Infiniti I30 at the time. This Corolla was REALLY basic. Rollup windows, manual door locks, etc. And the steering was really stiff -- like it might not even have had power steering. I didn't even know they sold stripped models like that. I hated driving that car.
     
    #5 PriusRos, Oct 13, 2007
  6. mjms2b

    mjms2b MJ Green

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Oct 13 2007, 03:54 PM) [snapback]525259[/snapback]</div>

    I felt like complaining but then remembered i was on a business trip and well, probly not cool. for some reason I did however feel the need to justify why i was on an expense account driving an Aveo 2 door. some insecurities die hard i guess..
     
    #6 mjms2b, Oct 13, 2007
  7. blamy

    blamy Member

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    I had my 06 PT Cruiser less than a whole year before buying my 07 Prius. Main reason was gas mileage. The PT has a 150HP 4 cyl engine that can barely get out of its own way and all while getting 24mpg with A/C or 26 without A/C. I live in Florida and NO WAY I'm going without A/C from April to November! The Prius is so much more "car" than the PT ever was or will be! I don't think Chrysler has the intelligence to convert the design of the PT to a hybrid like the Prius. The mindset of the American car builder is to build whatever they think you will put up with and then cram it down your throat. Besides the Prius has a lot more room inside for my passengers and is a lot more comfortable to drive and the remark about the turning radius is spot on! The Prius can drive circles around the PT.
     
    #7 blamy, Oct 13, 2007
  8. AussieOwner

    AussieOwner Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BuddyL @ Oct 14 2007, 11:45 AM) [snapback]525306[/snapback]</div>
    Actually I think that it is more likely that the Prius can drive circles inside the PT.

    I have to say that the two days I had a rental PT a couple of weeks ago was two days too long. I only drove it around the Norfolk VA area and it felt like driving a truck with that ridiculous steering wheel and hopeless performance.
     
    #8 AussieOwner, Oct 13, 2007
  9. jonjonbear

    jonjonbear New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AussieOwner @ Oct 13 2007, 08:54 PM) [snapback]525310[/snapback]</div>
    Ak!
    Our PT cruiser experience..Some of you may have noted my comments that we sold a VW Jetta to buy our Prius..We were on vacation in Santa Fe over the 4th of July this year. Upon arriving NM the Jetta started exibiting a limp mode problem which eventually set the check engine light. A common problem for the TDI diesel. We limped to Ruidoso where we called the SF VW dealer and made an appointment for July 5th. To make a very long sordid story short we were given a PT Cruiser to drive back to Texas while they tinkered with the Jetta and attempted to order parts for it until the 1st of September (this was a 2005.5 model)..So we drove that horrid PT cruiser from Santa Fe to Bastrop Texas, and back and forth every day between Bastrop and Austin to Work (almost 30 miles one way) and then back to SF to get the Jetta..PT cost us a fortune compared to the Jetta...Sold the Jetta in one day and ordered the Prius. Have never been happier!
    But we were both so surprised how low the gas mileage was on the PT for as small as they are and they look like they should have fairly good aerodynamics for a small SUV..Only good thing I will say about it the seats were high up off the ground...Gas wise I guess we should have taken the Focus..

    John
     
    #9 jonjonbear, Oct 14, 2007
  10. PriusRos

    PriusRos A Fairly Senior Member - 2016 Prius Owner

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    I think the Prius has just got me spoiled. I didn't like the PT Cruiser for all the reasons mentioned, but it had good seats and good visibility and wasn't nearly as bad as the Pontiac G6 I rented on a business trip a while back. That car felt huge and heavy, even though there was very little interior room. Rear visibility was terrible and gas mileage was low. I guess it's supposed to be sporty or something -- I just don't feel comfortable in cars like that.

    This wasn't the car's fault but I was also put off by the fact that the rental company (National) didn't clean it. I hadn't checked because I thought it would be checked out at the gate, but the next thing I knew I had exited the airport lot and was on a highway -- By the time I realized how dirty it was (sticky cupholders, trash on the floor, etc.), I was well on my way and didn't have time to go back and complain because I had an appointment. Even worse, a month after I returned from that trip a collection agency for National sent me a letter saying I owe them for damages, which was the first I heard about that. They didn't even say what the damage was. Well, to cut a long story short, I wrote letters and brought American Express in on the dispute, who I assume asked them to provide documentation, and I never heard anything more. I'll never rent from National or drive a G6 again.
     
    #10 PriusRos, Oct 14, 2007
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