Why not get a Corolla?

"stronger electric engine, better batteries and optional plug in for best MPG. "

if Toyota actually did this, the Prius would not cost the same as it does today.

 

The Prius wasn't based on the Corolla, it was created as a stand-alone vehicle with no non-hybrid counterpart.

I haven't heard of anyone's batteries dying yet...maybe there are others on here who have. The extended warrany covers the batteries up to 100K miles/7 years I believe, and the state of CA has an even longer warranty period. I have faith that the batteries will last the life of the car, whether it be 100K or 200K miles.

And I chose the Prius as my next car because it is NOT a Corolla. I have a friend who's had 5 Corollas in the last 10 years and love the car, but it feels too small inside for me, even coming from a compact Saturn coupe. I wanted to upgrade to a more mid-sized car. It comes with a lot of the extras that you can't get on a Corolla while maintaining similar exterior dimensions, but the interior room is more similar to a Camry. Meaning you can fit into smaller parking spaces like a Corolla but fit people and their gear (hatchback!) more comfortably like a Camry.

 

I am getting the Prius instead because it is slightly bigger and most likely more comfortable if we took it on a road trip. Sitting in a Prius for the very first time, my husband and I were really surprised by how big and roomy it felt.

I also like the technology on the Prius and the available safety features. I also like the partial zero emissions and the fact that I will be exempt from emissions testing in the state of Washington.

I test drove the Corolla back in 2002 and I'll admit it is a pretty zippy car. I would have most likely bought the LE model back then even though I thought the simulated wood grain accents were cheesy.

All in all, there really was no comparision for me.

 

Finish your research, then buy what's right for you. If still in doubt, buy the Corolla or Civic.
<-----For most of us here, there was no doubt.

 

Diesels get similar mileage, but the price of diesel fuel is higher than gasoline at the moment... Diesels are also very poor when it comes to emissions. You can't buy a new diesel on the west coast and atlantic states because we have more stringent emissions standards than the rest of the country.

Hybrids get better mileage anyhow... EVEN on the highway.

... it's common for people to say or think " well hybrids are great if you're just going around town, but on the highway they get the same or worse mileage than a regular car or a diesel" This is a myth. Hybrids do excellent on the highway.

The Prius is quite good on the highway, better than most of the other cars out there because of the smaller, more efficient atkinson cycle engine, and the electric boost given for acceleration. The prius should get highway mileages from the mid 40s to the 50s... VERY few cars get better mileage than the Prius on the highway... and don't look at diesels for that. They won't beat the Prius.

For lower speeds, on surface roads, and in city driving, no contest... the Prius and other Hybrids dominate.

As for the batteries, I will address the issue by saying that another very common myth is that hybrid batteries will die after a few years. Most people think this way because when they think of batteries, they think of the ones in their laptop, their iPods, or their cell phones which crap out after use... and so they equate those problems with the hybrids...

That is also not true. There is a huge difference between those electronic devices and the Prius... You, the user, have to charge those devices yourself, while for the Prius, the computer takes care of the whole thing by itself.

When you have an electronic device like a laptop, 9 times out of 10 the battery is either completely charged and pinned at 100% because you have it plugged in, or it's at 0% because you let it discharge all the way... These two extremes are bad for battery health and reduce the life of the battery, but those are, unfortunately, the two most common states when you let the user charge the battery.

The Prius charges the battery whenever it needs to... it burns gas if the battery is too low to charge it, and it uses more electricity to discharge it if the charge is too high... it keeps the battery at about 60% charge, the best place for it for battery health, most of the time when you are driving.

Now this leads into the plug-in hybrid issue well... there is a technical problem with plug-ins... that by letting the user charge the batteries, there is the risk of reducing battery health by again putting the task of charging in the hands of the user instead of the computer.

 

There is/was a asian market non-hybrid car that shared the same platform as the Prius. It didn't have the hybrid drivetrain (obviously) or the MFD, and it had a 2.0L 4 cylinder mated to a CVT. It was also quite a bit cheaper.

 

Like I said, the batteries in the Prius are managed by the Prius's computer... just make sure you don't run out of gas, and the Prius will handle the battery charge the best it can... much better than you could if you were to manage it. The batteries will last much MUCH longer than the battery in your laptop for example... and will probably last the lifetime of the car... so don't worry about the battery dying.

There is a story about a Candian taxi driver who put something like 200000 miles on his 1st gen Prius in a span of 2 years. Toyota offered to buy the car back from him (actually trade it for a 2nd gen Prius) so they could study it. It turned out the car held together quite well, and that none of the hybrid specific parts of the car had started to degrade... some of the "conventional" car parts had started to... but the battery and the drivetrain were still in good health even after that brutal 200000 miles.

The Prius uses Nickel Metal-Hydride batteries... NiMH. These are not your father's batteries, and are quite safe. It should be noted that the hybrid components in the Prius (including the battery) are covered in a special 8yr/100000 mile warantee... your batteries won't fail in 4 to 5 years, but if they do, your warantee will cover it in the unlikely case.

As for mileage, it depends on a number of factors. Even at 70 to 75 MPH, i've been able to achieve good mileages in the high 40s and low 50s in my Prius... but it depends on where you live, the terrain, the climate... the traffic... your driving style.... the list goes on and on. Tell us more about your commute and we can give you a better assessment.

 

We all hear this specious comparison of Prius and Corolla as justification for denigrating the Prius so often that it just gets really irritating. Here is the truth as I see it:
The commonality between the Corolla and the Prius pretty much amounts to the fact they're made by the same company and have approximately similar exterior dimensions. You might as well compare the Prius to . . . go ahead, pick a random 4 dr sedan.
The Prius burns significantly less gas. I've driven both and get about 55mpg in my Prius hwy and got about 35mpg in the Corolla. That's a 36% difference. You're crazy if you think that doesn't add up, especially as gas is going to be above $2.50/g, most likely WAY above $2.50/g, for approximately forever.
The Prius pollutes far less.
The Prius is massively more roomy and utilitarian than the Corolla. Not even close there.
The Prius is quieter, smoother, dare I say more soothing than the Corolla. Hard to put a price on that, but maybe driving a Prius will save you an aneurism or heart attack.
The Prius is quicker than the Corolla.
The Prius maintenance costs will be significantly less than the Corolla's, since the friction brakes barely get used on the Prius and the "transmission" is greatly simplified compared to a normal automatic.
I apologize for the rant. Just have heard this chestnut too often.

 

Prius has lower emissions and more geeky fun.

Someone who wants to minimize their total cost of ownership should not buy any new car; they should buy a few-years-old compact in good condition.

 

The context there was converting a Prius to Diesel. Purpose-designed Diesel hybrids are certainly possible; if bioDiesel fuel is plentiful and economical they could help reduce petroleum dependence and reduce net CO2 emissions.

 

but I don't think his car died. did it?

 

Scares you? To me that just makes me feel much more confident about it. Toyota didn't buy the car back because they were afraid it was going to blow up... they bought it back because their engineers were CURIOUS, and because it had never been done before. Didn't you listen to what I said? THe hybrid components didn't show signs of significant wear... the "conventional" parts of the car will likely wear out before the hybrid drivetrain.

http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/taxi/batteries

Unofficially, here is a statement from the taxi driver from the article:

minimum 15 years.... based on 12,000 miles per year.

 

No. The car was still fully functional. The hybrid system did not show wear, but other "normal" parts of the car did.

 

You are aware that the batteries are under warranty for 8yrs and 100.000 miles right? and that even at 200.000 miles the batteries they bought back showed no signs of wearing out? I'm sure they had many test cars with more then 200.000 miles on them but getting data from a car being driven as a Taxi seems interesting to me!

If you truly want to keep a car for more then 200.000 miles then maybe you shouldn't buy cutting edge technology. But that goes for any car. I would stay away from new model introductions and go with something proven. Then again I don't know many people that run their cars for 200.000 miles. Comfort and Secuirty updates seem to coach people into buying a new car long before that.

 

Search for Prius comparisons from before on this site. The Prius is bigger, has more "standard" features built in, and more options than a Corolla. When you price them fairly such as with the VSC&TRAC&EBD&engineimmobilizer&alloyrims&4door&stereo&notimingbelt&lessbrakewear&whydoIbother, the Corolla is pretty much the same price as the Prius.

 

and by the way, in order to save your money and love for your current VW... don't test drive any hybrid (escpecially the Prius)! Your car will fill antique afterwards. Trust me! So don't read up too much here and don't , I repeat, don't take it for a test drive

 

You make an excellent point about folks willing to fork over thousands for options like leather seats, which do nothing for the environment and can be argued to actually be anti-environmental....while demanding instant payback for the engine technology.

The choice in my mind was between a Jetta TDI on biodiesel or a Prius. I elected to support new engine technology and can't really understand why more people are thinking like this. The Prius is somewhere between the Corolla and the Camry in terms of comfort, options, capacity, etc, but years ahead of either in the category that counts: emission reduction and fuel conservation.

I bought the Prius because of its environmental technology. My "payback" is feeling less anxious about the environmental cost of my driving. The Prius still pollutes and consumes gas, but much less than anyone else.

 

Here were my criteria when deciding to move out of my 4th Camry. Roughly in the order of importance

1.) Had to have excellent FE. ( I believe we are on an upward spiral )
1a.I want to minimize my pollution from driving
1b.) Had to have similar room inside as my last 4 Camry's

2) Had to 'perform' at least as well as my recent 4c's
2a) Had to have all the airbags plus VSC/Trac

3) Price should be as close to $20K as possible. I would have taken a low mileage super deal on a used one but there were none available.

4) I want to encourage new technology

Personally then all the compacts are ruled out immediately ( see 1b) even though the FE is only ~20% worse than the Prius.