Looking at 2010 Prius what are some other cars you considered?

Originally we were just going to replace our 97 Camry with a new Camry. But I got to reading PC here and when we went to the dealer and drove the Prius, we were sold. Why not get the best fuel economy and have great room at the same time. Just made sense.

 

TDI jetta sportwagon.
My reasons, (although I have not yet purchased a prius yet):

(1)Prius has better gas mileage and diesel fuel is more expensive where I live widening the fuel savings difference between the two.
(2)I like the look of the prius inside and out a bit more than the TDI, a little more futuristic. TDI looks are bit old and too similar to my sold volvo wagon and I wanted something new.
(3)Desire not to lug such a big hunk of metal around where ever I go for a single person made prius more attractive over the tdi.
(4) Prius purchase encourages new technology, whereas TDI is old tech and the car industry desperately needs to deliver new tech.
(5) I like the solar roof when I saw it in action. Although I like TDI large moonroof, it is covered by a screen through which sun can still get through and not completely shuttered.
(6) In a test drive, I noticed the jetta "rocks" back and forth at start and stop more than the prius. This rocking motion of the jetta is a bit annoying to me.
(7)jetta does not have a fuel economy display on the dash and if i'm driving a green car, I want to see what i paid for and be reminded why I got the car

 

I looked at the Honda Civic Hybrid before I purchased my Prius. It is a bit cheaper than a Prius and you can get the USB connection standard, but I liked the styling of the Prius better, as well as both the backseat leg room and the cargo space. If I didn't have a two-year old and two dogs, plus future plans for another child in a couple of years, I may have taken the Civic, which averages about 40 MPG.

 

I'm looking at a bunch of other cars which cost about the same:
Accura: I don't like the rear end styling.
Honda Accord: Pretty nice, but it's a little larger than I want
Camry: A lot like the Accord. The zero percent financing saves about $3,000 or more. But it's duller than the Prius
Honda Insight: No leather seat option; strictly a low-cost economy car
Mercedes 300 series: Boring and expensive
Mini Cooper: Too small, especially in the rear seat, and I don't trust its dependability. But it has high mileage, it's fun... but a poor freeway cruiser.

I drive 80 miles round trip to work each day, and most of these cars get poor gas mileage, with the mid-size Accord and Camry getting 31 and 33 MPG respectively. I think, at this point, if I don't buy a Prius, I will most likely buy a 4-cylinder Honda Accord. The two cars cost roughly the same, but I'm more emotionally attached to the Prius right now. Maybe I'll go test drive it again.

 

Volvo C30, Audi A3, VW Jetta TDI, Ford Fusion, Accord Coupe

 

I looked at the following before purchasing my 2010 Prius III:

1) Honda Insight - Negatives were not full hybrid technology and lack of room in the back seat.
2) Honda Civic Hybrid - Same negative for technology as above plus no trunk space
3) For Fusion Hybrid - Negatives were higher price plus lower MPG

 

If the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt where out, I would look at those, but the Leaf won't evenbe sold in large numbers for another 18 months (end of the year they are releasing a small number in 5 or 6 markets, my state is not one of them). I really want a real EV, but that is not too be - yet. The only choice was another Prius [3rd time is the charm ]

 

There is no comparable car. Get the Prius.

 

I considered the same 3. Same rationale for rejecting #'s 1 & 2. #3 had a much lower price and was fairly attractive but the seats felt like orange crates. Also no option for sunroof and leather; dealer did offer to install aftermarket products though.

 

I hadn't looked at new cars in 11 years, so I really didn't know what was out there. I knew I wanted a hybrid and it needed to be either a hatchback or a small crossover or SUV--not a sedan. By the time I'd done online research and compared everything available, the Prius was clearly the car I wanted, so it's the only one I actually test drove. There's not a similar vehicle, with the possible exception of the Insight, which I never checked out, because it was clear that the Prius would far better meet my needs.