I need your input! Do I trade my Infiniti G35 for a Prius???

-don't worry about replacing the battery.
-personally, i don't bother with the P&G and still get pretty decent mpg for my usual drive. i occasionally will bother to do it in city traffic and it's not hard. if you're obsessive about it, you will piss off traffic behind you.
-depends on the kind of driving you do. me, i drive about 6 blocks city then ~3 miles highway, then another 10 blocks with 5 stoplights in the middle. and i get about 42 mpg overall.
-i'd like a more sporty car sometimes, but as far as utility goes it meets my needs.
-you can haul anything in the hatch, they're fun to tinker with, and i think it's an all around nice, functional commuter car.
-test drive one. realize that you're going to lose a bit on trading such a new car. and if you lose that money and you're not happy with the car you replace it with, you will be overall very disappointed in your choice. so make sure the prius is for you. if you're a techno junkie you'll probably love it for other reasons than you love your g35.

 

You should re-evaluate what is truely important in life and then you may not not feel like you are sacrificing so much. The cars/trucks I sold were faster than the G35 yet I do not miss them. The reason I feel this way is because I realize how much pain my other vehicles were causing people and our nation in terms of degradation of health and oil dependency. Your G35 gets pretty bad milage and the emissions are not so hot. By trading to a Prius you are doing better for the community. That should outweigh any self-serving feelings of loss because the Prius isn't as pretty or as fast.

Do some serious research (health national economics/security) and maybe you can change the way you think so that decisions like this will not be so hard. Some things are just more important than flossin' in a fast car.

 

I traded my 06' IS350 for a Prius.... if i can do it.. you can do it... there's little to none on regrets ... i love my prius...

comparison with my is350:

Power duh.. (306hp to ... i didn't care to even look.. it's a downgrade)
MPG from 18mpg to 45mpg .. awesome
Space... Big Differnce
Hatch.. Huge trunk space

Does not driver like the IS.. duh, but the Prius in my opinion is very predictable (it leans like crazy). I get the Traction Control to go off everyday. Hahaha.. i have to change my driving habbits. Fully loaded may offer more than your G35.

I don't like the attention i got with my IS. With the Prius .. no one bothers you.. you feel like you're in a league of your own. I put a huge smile as a pass by a gas station...

I am not limited to where i drive. Getting use to drive the prius is not that hard since the Screen tells you what MPG you're getting at that instant.


Good luck on your trade...

.... Tires are cheap.... dirt cheap and they last longer...

 

Test drive one extensively.

I could never drive a Prius as my personal car. I would miss the comfort of my Lexus and I find the Prius pretty uncomfortable to drive. But thats me, you may not feel that way.

There's no way *I'd* trade an 06 G35 for a Prius. Sure it uses more gas, but its actually a very low emissions vehicle and the mileage isn't that bad.

 

I think everyone else answered pretty well already so I'm not going to echo their statements.

I really do suggest that you test drive a Prius and definitely see if its handling and acceleration on the highway are adequate for you. Since I own a car w/the same VQ 3.5L V6 engine as you and also used to own an 02 Maxima w/the same engine, I can say I just love the power of the engine (esp. in the Max where it was quieter). I can't say the same at all for the Prius in that dept. Its power is just adequate.

I'm sure the handling of the Prius is definitely not up to par a G35 but I can safely say it feels like it handles better than my Max.

 

My site's fuel economy survey is more sophisticated than others I've seen. Results for the Prius:

Toyota Prius fuel economy

 

A good point was made about losing a lot in the trade-in... but in terms out actual cash flow it might not be so bad if the Infiniti has enough value left to pay for the Prius (the Infiniti would probably have lost a fair bit of value from when it was purchased, but trading it now might not mean putting up more cash money).

You say you're a sales rep. How much driving do you do in a year? 15,000 mi? 30,000 mi? More? Do you get reimbursed by your job for your mileage at a flat rate? Do they pay for the gas? Is it all out of your pocket? You might be able to make up that depreciation loss through savings, and possibly then some.

If your company just pays straight for gas, then it might not make financial sense to get a Prius (environmental or aesthetic sense though, that's up to you to decide). If you have to pay for gas out of your own pocket, or if your company pays a flat mileage rate though:

[Using 2008 EPA figures]
Prius - 46 MPG combined = 0.02174 gal/mi
Infiniti - 21 MPG combined = 0.04762 gal/mi [replace with your actual mileage if different]
So for every mile driven, the Prius saves 0.02588 gal. I think gas is around $3.50/gal in the states (maybe a bit lower, but then that will also help factor in the difference between premium and regular). Then the Prius saves $0.0906 every mile.

$1359 in 15,000 miles. $2718 in 30,000 mi, etc. If you put 300,000 mi on a car in the course of your sales visits, that's $27,180 (or more, if gas keeps going up!) that you could save over the life of the car (assuming maintenance and insurance, etc., are equal).

I am not a tax or financial specialist, or even an American (so if you're in the States, understand that I don't even have a passing familiarity with IRS rules), so take this with a grain of salt; but I think that if you are reimbursed by your company at a flat rate (e.g.: 25 cents/mi), and the gas savings of the Prius helps get your actual costs below that rate, then you can bank the difference as tax-free income. That can make the savings even more lucrative.

As others have said, you have to test drive the car and see if you like it. You don't want to be miserable in a car if you spend a lot of your time in it, even if it might make financial sense. You've got to weigh the intangibles against the potential savings.

[Using US units, which aren't quite natural for me, so watch for conversion errors!]

 

{nt}

 

Consider many other things.

I've gone from a 15 mpg to the Prius, and average about 48 mpg now.

The critics say that you may never break even considering its cost over another conventional economy car. I however refute this quite easily:

It's not an economy class car. It's a family sized car. I'm 6'4" and can easily be comfortable in its back seat with the front pushed fully back.

It's got some features that typically only a Lexus-class car has - fully electronic climate and audio systems with integrated MP3 and WMA, even low end packages having stability control, rear view camera, keyless entry and starting, alloy wheels... Let's even talk about maintenance items, since most of the vehicle is electric, what maintenance is required on its subsystems? Maintenance guide basically tells you to change the oil every 5k miles. That's basically it.

5-star safety rating with standard side-curtain airbags as well as hip airbags.

The list goes on... (and most of these things are standard. Most of the good stuff is at least in Pkg #2, and you'd have a hard time finding one with a package lower then #2)

The G35 is a phenomenal car, I really love it. My dad has one. I just happen to like economy, and now that I think about it, the Prius is actually a bit more luxurious then the G35, actually.

 

I wouldn't necessarily call these "Lexus" class features. My 04 350Z has auto climate control and even the base model at the time which didn't have cruise control had it.

The current Altimas can have electronic climate control, MP3, WMA support, rear view camera, keyless entry and starting and alloy wheels.

 

Replace G35 with Prius Touring PKG#2

A salesperson should have a Prius, period. The gas economy and features make it an excellent sales car for roadwarriors. First, for trips of several hundred miles, aside from around town sales calls, it is excellent. Second, get leather seats and the comfort improves as well as the ambiance inside the car. Third, the a/c, audio and bluetooth for cell phone works great. Get a Garmin NUVI680 and your on your way. I wish that I had been able to use a Prius for the years I traveled Virginia.

You must test drive the touring model. The car is bigger inside than one sees from the outside. It has plenty of hauling room with the hatchback fifth door, plus fold down seats. We now have two and do not miss the small SUV and Avalon these replaced. Go for it!

 

I had a lexus.. if you take a 2004 fully loaded prius.. it is very close in terms of feature...


altima... you're talking bout just now... they just started offering these feature... just give it time til the next prius comes out...

you're 350 didn't offer much in terms of luxury feature.. you're jus naming one thing...

 

Selling Acura TL

I took a Prius home for the weekend from a great dealer. loved it, ordered one and decided to sell my Acura TL which I love. It is a great car too, but with a 500 mi weekely commute, it was a no brainer. Go ahead...get the Prius!

 

I wish you the best in whatever choice you make azgringo.

 

It all depends on what your definition of "luxury" is. To the popularly held definition most carbuyers have it definately is not. I find absolutely nothing luxurious about the Prius. Which is okay, its not designed to be luxurious.

From a purely economic standpoint, the Prius will be cheaper because of the miles you drive. However, if the car you drove were purely an economic decision you wouldn't have bought an Infiniti.

 

I would not consider the Prius more luxurious either. I've sat in quite a few Infinitys and Lexus' at my shop and seeing them taken apart I would have to agree with you. I love my Prius but it's not quite the same. Now compare it to my moms 2001 IS300 and I might be inclined to think the Prius is nicer but that is not apples to apples.