Introduction, initial concerns (long)

Hi - My wife and I are looking for a new car and Prius is at the top of our list. However, it's very possible (not firm) that we are not going to get Prius or even a hybrid, and I'll tell you why and hope to get constructive feedback. I admit that this is a bit of whining - - it comes from being exposed to TMI/TMO (Too Much Info / Too Many Options) and I present it here as an example of what newbs like us can go through when trying to evaluate this vehicle.

The car looks great though frankly most new cars look alike these days, so looks don't sway us. On the plus side, when EV/hybrids first came out they had the weird futuristic looking contours that made them stand out, and since most cars look like this now anyway, that look is common - no longer a plus nor a stigma. So we wouldn't get or reject a Prius based on its looks.

The mileage and other specs are seriously compelling. We understand that we're going to pay a bit more for hybrid. On one hand we consider that a personal part of eco-responsibility, and we don't mind that. On the other hand average pricing seems to be just on the borderline of what we want to spend, and we're really hoping we're going to get "some" savings with such a purchase. With so many variables discussed here and elsewhere it's Extremely difficult to get compelling data on if or how much we stand to save. That makes a purchase decision difficult.

On price, we're pleased that this car is not outside the norm of gas-only vehicles - the days seem to be gone of hybrids being super expensive because they're a specialty item. That helps to keep this vehicle at the top of the list.

While this forum is a gold mine of information with hundreds of thousands of postings based on real world experience, on first readings I quickly came away from here believing that purchasing a Prius would be a Huge research project. Without understanding the details, pitfalls, and "things I should have known before I made the purchase", I'm getting the impression that we're going to be one of those people who make a purchase wearing rosy glasses, but something unexpected is going to cost us time and/or money later. I welcome research and I want to be an informed consumer, but for some of us, "The Prius" isn't going to be a focus of our lives, but just "the car". So while I do intend to do my homework and be an informed consumer, at some point I just want a vehicle with no surprises, gotchas, or "that really sux but they should have it fixed in a year or two...".

Just as a follow-on to that, when reading about other cars we see all kinds of surprises about tires having different sizes, expensive tires, and no spare tire. These are the kinds of unwelcome surprises that most people catch only after the purchase. Or things like having spark plugs in different places which require a major effort to change, or hoses that require removal of the manifold to access, or radios that require extraction of the entire dash - which then never quite sits right ever again. No, I haven't read any of this here yet because we've just begun to scratch the surface of this site, but I wouldn't be surprised if I did see this stuff, and this kind of stuff is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Going through this forum is an investment and an exercise, but I think it would be worth it to "someone", (perhaps Toyota? ) to periodically summarize the good information here into a book (free or fee) to eliminate a lot of the hunt and peck research which makes a big purchase like this difficult.

Since 90% of our driving is local and only about 10 miles per day we're hoping to use almost exclusively electric, and therefore reap some benefits ($1000+/year?) on gas savings. It seems weird to me how tough it is to find a simple statement from Toyota or elsewhere about exactly what this and other driving patterns should cost on average.

We're in southern CA (Irvine area). It's seems weird that it's still a research project to find good data on current federal/state incentives. You'd think Toyota would lead with this kind of data.

And frankly, I'm still confused about the various generations of Prius, V vs IV or C, plugin vs not, and whether to get a 2012 for less or to get a 2013 or to wait a couple months for 2014 editions. Nothing speaks to us as "This is the best model that suits your driving pattern and life style". Like computer software, the newer versions of these vehicles address a lot of concerns from their immediate predecessors, and we don't want to buy into a known issue that might be addressed in a newer "release". I'm just saying that as a complete newcomer to this ecosystem its tough to acclimate and get a sense of the terrain - let alone survive or thrive.

So in summary - buying a Prius seems (arguably) tougher than buying another vehicle. Navigating the volume of information and opinions is difficult. At some point (jokingly) we could just throw our hands up and go buy some gas guzzler because it's blue. That would be the extreme on the other side. What I'm saying is that we're looking for a good balance, where doing our due diligence will lead to a good purchase that we won't be sorry about later.

We're still working on it. Thanks for your time. I look forward to reading everything that every one of you have written here at least over the last year.

 

How about this, I don't want to annoy any new friends with noob questions in the wrong place, so I'll try to find the right place and post. But if this is an OK board for noob questions, then sure, I'll focus a bit. Thanks!!

 

Yes I saw that thread, thanks, and that's a good example of TMI : there are 29 pages of data going back to 2008. For someone making a purchase now a lot of that is irrelevant. Starting around page 25 we find data from 2011. So does a noob read Everything and hope some of the data is still relevant until proven otherwise? In an open community where opinions are free and all it costs is our time to filter through it, many would say it's worth it to go through the old posts. But when we're talking about making a high-ticket purchase, for many people time is valuable I'd think there are many people who would be motivated to save us time so that we would be encouraged to spend more money. Again, I'll do the required reading but I'm looking for ways to just cut to the chase and get some solid information quickly.

 

fotomoto, thanks for your patience - perhaps we can start with this:

Since 90% of our driving is local and only about 10 miles per day we're hoping to use almost exclusively electric, and therefore reap some benefits ($1000+/year?) on gas savings. Does that pattern make us an ideal candidate to save a bundle on gas? Or will we still consume a good amount of gas just to keep the battery charged? Of course we're not going to get anything for free: I'm wondering at what point the non-plugin Hybrid resorts to gas to recharge the battery beyond what braking provides.

Thanks!

 

Doug - With apologies, note that I'm talking about the Non-plugin... though your comment wasn't wasted because we have been glancing at PIP too.

So not related to the electrics - I've been under the impression that the hybrid gas engine generally kicks-in at higher speeds. If most of our driving is slow, and stop and go in the city, I'm guessing there is some threshold battery level where gas comes into use to help top-off the battery to get us back on electric for these short trips. And with that pattern, does the consumer appreciate significant savings over an all-gas vehicle?

 

Jimbo - Thanks. I have read a couple tricks, including not coasting, and getting to a higher acceleration quickly rather than gradually. We'll be happy to employ new habits for the best mileage.

A PIP with 6-13 miles could indeed be our ticket to saving gas. That opens the can of worms on chargers which we're going to try to avoid. Adding to the list of issues I cited in my original missive, we'd be concerned about permits, contractor costs, and the costs of L1 vs L2 vs L3 chargers.

Unless the pattern I describe here Really points to PIP, perhaps it would be best to stick to non EV here.

Thanks again!!!