Prius Pros and Cons, anyone???

Welcome.

We are on our third year of owning a Prius.

We live a bit North of Bangor, in-land not near the coast. [Not sure what part of New England you are in]

We have found that our Prius handles far better than any previous car we have owned. We also use studded tires.

 

When we bought a Prius 6 months ago, I wasn't specifically planning to buy one, or any hybrid. What sold me was the comfort, large cargo capacity, and the fact that I can wait in the car with the air conditioner on and the engine off while my wife goes into a store. Also, we live in a rural area where we frequently lose electricity during storms and the Prius can be used as an emergency generator.

 

I know of no cons but here are some pros:

1) The Prius/hybrid has no starter
2) There are no belts or parasitic loads
3) Regen braking results in very low brake wear
4) The engine runs less than 100% of the time (usually about 70-90%) resulting in longer engine life
5) Spark plugs last for 120,000 miles or more
6) 45+ MPG in the CITY
7) Since there is only one gear set in the ingeniously engineered transaxle, there is no gear shifting resulting in less wear and tear
8) The Prius has no alternator
9) The Prius is amazingly reliable resulting in very low maintenance costs

The definition of high performance is changing and the Prius is largely responsible for that change. The Prius is a "high performance" vehicle. It is the perennial mpg champion and nothing can touch it!!!!

 

I bought my plug-in-prius because it was the perfect cheap appliance, and I can appreciate the things it does well. That said, as an automotive enthusiast, I think there are still a lot of issues. The visibility is not great, the steering is artificial and provides virtually no feedback. The brakes take some getting used to. The interior is ok, but the base cloth seats in my car leave much to be desired.

In snow it does adequately but not great. The traction control is very intrusive which means it will cut throttle to the point of barely accelerating under certain conditions. It will usually keep you going, but sometimes being able to defeat that quickly would be nice. The tires that come on the car are barely passable for winter conditions.

What kind of driving will you be using it for, and what other models are you considering?

 

As long as you put 4 snow tires on it, you shouldn't have any winter issues besides ground clearance. I'm on my 4th Vermont winter with our 2010 (76k miles so far) and we are very pleased with it.

 

How tall are you?

I cannot really drive any prius due to being 6'4" and the seat not being able to adjust and the windshield being so low to allow me to view a stoplight and not scrunch myself into a ball.

If I could find a seat/windshield setup on a hybrid that would allow me to be somewhat comfortable, I would buy it.

My wife loves!! her 2009 prius.

 

The seat is adjustable up/down on Prius 2.

Frank

 

Con. If you will only be driving it 1 mile a day to work and back. Will not produce benefits of hybrid.
Pro. It does better on longer trips. On a bad day in cold you will still get greater than normal mpg.
Pro. Will teach you to relax and drive.
Pro. When gas goes back up you will save more money.
Con. Image of owners by non prius owners. Put flames on the side to make it look cool.
Pro. Mid size car with enough room to be comfy.

Could go on but will let others chime in.

 

Above responses give you a good picture. Prius as great practical car for many with loads of space etc. Hybrids cost say $4000 more than equivalent non-hybrids, so your total cost savings vs. non-hybrid depends on actually putting some miles on say 12000/yr or more is better as far as fuel savings. Many NE states have extra good CARB warranty, so you gotta tell us your state.

 

Rent one for a weekend.

A 10-minute test flight with a salesperson drooling in the co-pilot seat isn't going to cut it.
The Prius is a good, frugal, 5-pax (if three of them are GOOD friends!) car.
If you keep it for at least 150,000 miles or so?
There just about isn't a car out there that can touch it for ROI.

They spend a lot of money on the drive-train, and some electrical doo-dads but the interior is rather spartan in many regards, the seats are abysmal, and there are some other ergonomic faux-pas that you will either learn to ignore for the greenness of the car (environmental or $$) or they will drive you crazy.
The Prius "image" is a hit and miss thing.
If you're considering one? It's probably a non-issue for you.
There's a lot of rage on both sides of a Prius' windshield...but really.
It's just a car.
It has strengths and weaknesses.....just like all of the others.


GOOD LUCK!!

 

I wrote a post (biased about the Gen 2 but much of it applies to any Prius) about who should not own a Prius.

considering a Prius | PriusChat

 

The flying buttress console may look cool, but hinders ergonomics (seat heaters in our Four), impacts access to storage beneath it and reduces interior space for the front seat passenger.

The coldest the winters get here are the 20s and once in a blue moon we'll see it dip into the teens over night. No snow :knocks on wood: but the car seems to do fine with the rain and heavy winds.

 

I just got back from a short drive in snow, ice, wind, and -2°, on 'all-weather' tires.

1) With warm-up, waiting for a few minutes with the car running, and a ten minute drive in icy cold, I got about 38-40 MPG. No other car I know of can do that. You still get the advantage of a hybrid, if you only drive short distances, just not impressive compared to what you get on longer trips. It beats what any other (gas) car will do in similar circumstances.
2) Traction control light came on a couple of times, and the car felt a bit squirrelly, but another car on the same road was fishtailing. I have no evidence that the car is OVERLY cautious. If it goes slow, it needs to.
3) Despite it having snowed for 6 hours prior to the drive, I did not have to clear any snow. If there is wind, park facing into it, and the car remains mostly clear (even with 18" of snow). The back windshield is the general exception.
4) The seats do not match my back. I have to use a lumbar support.
5) Visibility is crummy. This is my biggest complaint (note I have gen II, but the gen III is similar).
6) Maintenance items are often pricey. I replaced the 12v battery recently and was not happy at the price.
7) The feedback on mileage, etc. will do a lot to improve your driving.
8) Ground clearance is low, deep snow is not possible. I can easily drive through 3-4 inches (I did tonight), but 8 inches is not going to happen.

 

I am trading my 2007 Prius for a 2014 Prius. What I liked most about the Prius I have had for seven years is that it is a remarkably zippy fun car to drive in a city (I live in Atlanta). At lower speeds it has a remarkable amount of acceleration, which is perfect for heavy city traffic. The hatchback is also really nice for when I carry the occasional larger things, unlike most trunks. And the back seat is quite roomy too. I just get into the car, push a button, and it's ready to go. It's a very civilized neat car to drive. The fact that it gets such good mileage is just a bonus for me, it's not my main reason for driving (and liking) a Prius.

 

Have you driven a 2010 or later Prius with the seat right down and right back? There is a lot more space for the driver than in the 2009.

 

Hi

Can't tell you about pros and cons but one thing for sure the prius is doing a fine job in winter weather conditions.

I live in Montreal Qc and this winter is especially rough lot's of cold and snow, so far i am impress by the thing.

I am a new owner just bought the car few weeks ago and honestly i really like it so far.

Good luck!

 

Agreed, I'm a big fat guy, long torsoed, and I have tons of headroom and even the flying buttress isn't a big issue once you get used to it. I have the seat down most of the way and back most of the way, but not all the way in either direction.

Also, took a trip with a very tall friend who wife has a GenII and he was raving about the front legroom in my GenIII, says he's totally scrunched in his wife's car.

 

No matter how ugly, slow, or even expensive some might believe the Prius to be, it offers lots of space, utility, amentities (higher trim levels), and fuel economy all wrapped up into what's become an iconic? automotible design. While I haven't driven every car out there (not sure who has), I've owned my fair share, and nothing comes close to the actual driving experience that the Prius provides. It's definitely "different."

 

I can compare it to corolla and camry because we have owned 4 corolla's and now have a 2012 camry. It is well equipped with options that are not on the corolla. And many not on the camry. You pay a great price for a advanced car and have many perks that cost a lot more as options on other cars. IE: push button start, navigation, backup camera, satelite radio. hands free blue tooth phone. no key entry (touch door handle to lock & unlock). Is a mid size car. Same ground clearance as other small cars. Auto interior light comes on when you approach car, won't let you lock keys in car. LOVE IT . CON blind spots