Newbie...looking into buying a Prius

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeffrey99 @ Apr 24 2006, 10:18 PM) [snapback]244646[/snapback]</div>

First of all Toyota doesn't say it gets 50/61 the EPA does. No car gets what the EPA test say it will. IF you compare the results for all cars you will see that all of them are off by around 12%. The reason the Prius seems to be way off is the difference between 12% of 60 as opposed to 12% of 20.

As far as the Yaris if you just compare the mileage of course its not worth the difference however the Prius is a totally different class of vechicle.

 

You'll find people on here that do highway and get high 40's/low 50's. I drive a mix of low speed 4 lane highway and stop and go 20 miles each way and get right at 50 - although the tank I'm on right now is reading 55. Go to greenhybrid.com to get a feel for what people are getting with different commutes. Try to find one that's similar in distance, speed and climate to you to get a better idea. I'm personally not a fan of motorcycles (what do you do when the weather is nasty) and they are smog machines. I'd say go test drive a yaris and a prius and see what you like best, what's most comfortable, and what fits your general everyday needs (and wants) best.

If you focus just on the "payback period" versus your current vehicle, you'll likely be disappointed with what you get - no matter what you end up buying.

Personally, I love my Prius - I find it comfortable, roomy, and fun to drive - and the mind-blowing MPG is a huge bonus!

 

And regarding the Sirius satellite radio, you can either have it dealer-installed (my dealer was doing free installations with Prius purchases, and a free 6 or 12 month subscription) or you can buy a Sirius kit and have it installed at an audio/alarm place or install it yourself. I have XM radio that I bought the kit for, and hat it installed by a Toyota audio/alarm guy on-site at my work, and it's integrated into the touch screen mfd. Works perfectly, except keep in mind there's a 10-character limitation with song titles and artists (I assume Sirius has the same character limitation as XM). I bought my satellite kit at www.metrotpn.com.

 

Are you trying to (1) minimize your total cost of ownership, or (2) minimize gas consumption, or (3) minimize air pollution? The answers are:

(1) Harley or clean used car
(2) Harley, unless you buy a real hog
(3) Prius

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeffrey99 @ Apr 26 2006, 06:26 PM) [snapback]245767[/snapback]</div>

I've only bottomed out once, with just 2 people in the car and it was on a steep incline at the end of a driveway.

I don't think having more people will in the car will cause it to bottom out. I've had a few friends many times and never had issues. I've also had the car fully loaded with heavy things and didn't have any issues either.

It is a low car though and like any low car, you need to be aware of the surroundings. But it's not anything I would consider a problem. And while I've only had my car since Sept, I've driven it 19k miles.

 

Hi to everyone I am new and this is my 1st post. I would like to respond to this poster.
I drove to Houston from San Antonio to buy a used 2001 prius. I knew I would get good mileage since my friend has a 2006. I bought the car and on the way home wow I got 51.9 mpg. The car is unreal and it flies. I even got a little better mpg than my friend. I can't wait to see what I get in town. I have a mercedes and firebird. But now this Prius Is my #1 car. Go Prius

 

To answer your question about bottoming out:

In some situations, like at the bottom of steep inclines, it's possible (of course, it's generally possible in any car). If you look at DarellD's website(http://darelldd.com/ev/prius_racks.htm#saris bottom of the page), iut shows a pic on there of my Prius "fully loaded" with two 60 lb kayaks on the roof. we then took it up to the marina with me and 4 friends (some of the others were fishing instead of kayaking) and had no problems, and we even had to go over an uneven brick road for part of it (i'd say comparable to that interstate... forget the number, but i'm originally from columbus, now in cleveland)

 

As mentioned on previous posts, the Yarris is cheaper yes, but a much smaller car. If you don't need all the "fun" things that the Prius offers, the larger size, and lower emissions, then go save yourself some money upfront- the Yarris is a fine car.
I have had mine loaded down on several occasions, five people in it going on a road trip to the coast (6 hours round trip) and I did encounter bottoming out on inclines, but nothing severe. In my grandparents driveway in so-cal, it is VERY steep, and unloaded my car does not scrape (his Cadillac's always have) but loaded down I have to be very careful.
Now, going over rough dirt roads, I have scarped many many times, but no damage- it does seem to be lower than a lot of other sedans. Overall, the Prius is a great car- but like I said, if you don't need a big car, or want one, then don't get one. Coming from an SUV like me, it's nice to have a larger car, vs the Yarris or Echo or similar.

 

If you're currently getting 21 mpg you should be able to double that in a Prius easy.

I average between 45-50 mpg per tank. I've had a couple of tanks at 52.

 

Anyone who thinks a motorcycle is economical hasn't looked at TCO. Especially on a Harley.

It may get in the 40mpg range if you are nice to it. Fluid changes are required frequently and are not cheap. You will need a new rear tire ~6-8k miles. Fronts last about 12k. You'll eat brake pads every 20k. That's just starting in on the consumables. Add in other unexpected expenses, additional insurance if you don't get rid of your current car, etc etc. I love motorcycles, but economy and motorcycle do not go together.

As with anyone, do a little math before you buy if your concern is $.