Will the former doubters/haters/deniers please speak up

Hmm. In 09 it was time to replace the Camry and we were just going to replace it with another but I really wanted to get the best possible FE I could for the money (as I was fully expecting petrol to exceed $5/gallon). I didn't like the Prius persona, the whole eco, treehugger thang, but I heard there was a new generation coming out and googled this site up just three days before going to the dealer. Digested as much as I could, and took a test drive. That's all it took, the whole family was hooked.

With that said, it feels at times I am driving on pins and needles as you hear about the trans-axle, and inverter failures. Granted all vehicles have their problems but somethings just can't be fixed by mere mortals.

 

Good news to ease your worries, I have heard that you can now buy just the $500 201 volt to 12 volt converter from Toyota not just the whole $4000 Inverter. That should make worries about jump starting much less 'take out a second mortgage' bad and only 'vacation this year is in the back yard' bad.

As for me, I doubted that the Prius was big enough inside to be my work vehicle.
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2010 Prius School Project! | PriusChat

 

i wanted one the first time i had heard of them. so, i'm sorry i wasted your time and space with this post.

 

Fortunately I have a short attention-span and the pins and needles only last as long as the thread about the failure stays on the Whats New? page.

 

I had concerns about the bladder. When I bought my 2010, the fuel bladder was no longer an issue. Got somewhat of a deal on the 2010 because of the brake issue at the time.

 

At first I really did not like the looks of the Prius and was not crazy about the Prius persona as Spiderman said. Toyota ads still do nothing to help this persona. Being a EE I was really interested in the technology and mpg though.

When it was time to replace my wife's car in 2007 I took a serious look at the Prius but had a bad experience with the local dealer's sales staff and bought a Honda Accord.

In 2009, when it was time to replace my Jeep GC, I test drove the new Honda Insight but just did not like the IMA and the fact it was not a full hybrid. Then I saw the new 2010 model, found what I was looking for at a dealer 100 miles away, and with CFC was able to get $4500 off !

75,000 miles later I have been able to enjoy all of the benefits of this amazing vehicle with only routine maintenance. I plan to keep this car several more years so I am watching the limited failures noted on here with great interest.

 

Having driven TDIs for years, it was fairly common for owners to look down upon the Prius. Naturally, I frequented the forums and believed all the rants about expensive and failure prone batteries. When the last two TDIs were literally falling apart around me, I decided it was time to look for a replacement, so I started my own research and found out how wrong the ranters were. I took a Prius out for a test drive and the rest is history. I still go over to the TDI club and try to correct the misinformation that goes on to this day, but it's usually for naught.

 

One big misconception seems to be that Hybrids cost a bit more than their non-hybrid equivalents. Idiots I have met kept telling me that the fuel savings are great but in the end, it I wouldn't break-even until after something like 10 years of ownership.

Well I am finding that my base model which costed me $26,000 is the pretty much the same price as fully loaded civic or mazda 3.

So to summarize, I was converted easily once I found out that a Prius won't cost me a heck of a lot more. Unless I wanted the sunroof or tech package which can easily go up to 35 grand. Even the car is not quick off the line, I find everything about it incredible and would buy another one in a jiffy

 

I went the opposite direction: Becoming a convert and owner in 2008, then a hater when I totally misjudged the comfort equation of the 2nd Gen for me. I liked the Hybrid Synergy Drive, came to hate the wrapper it came in, a 2009 Prius... never considered a 2009 Camry Hybrid which would have fit me, 6'2" much better ...
After 2 years owning a 2011 Prius, I've settled into using a 4" block of foam on driver's door armrest, allowing me to get a good grip on wheel, finally.
So, after all this time, I can finally stop wanting something else in a car and just enjoy the one I've got.

 

When I took a new job a month ago, we needed a second car. As my commute would now add 30 miles a day to my trip, I was really looking at FE. I had my doubts about a hybrid, as I was concerned about the amount of get up it had. In speaking to a friend of mine who just purchase the PC3, she really liked it and had enough power for her husband. My wife said if she could have the Altima, I could buy whatever I wanted. I went out and test drove the Prius C the next day on my lunch. Thought that was a little small and ended up with my P3.

 

I was never a Prius lover or a hater. I've always thought they were a great idea that would continue to get better. While I've always loved performance cars, most cars I've owned have always delivered fairly good mileage and a modicum of utility as well. I already had a decent vehicle, a 2011 Camry SE with a 4 cylinder and six speed auto. Not yet at mid-mileage, it delivered decent fuel economy, comfort, and wasn't bad to drive on the road. Our second car is a 2007 Camry Hybrid, over 100,000 miles and still a great car.

So they took the V6 out of the Rav4 options, and I was a bit less interested. The V6 Camry in the showroom was interesting, but I already had a fairly new Camry. What I wanted was a car that had more room, particularly more cargo room. So I took a couple of Prius out for a spin. The hatchback was nice, but I much preferred the seats and cargo room (room in general) in the V.

The financing was free, got a good trade-in on my car, plus a decent deal off sticker. So here I am with a car with more cargo room, and a steady gain of 14 mpg over my old Camry. I do miss driving the Camry, especially with my hilly commute on the interstate. There's absolutely no question that most cars in general are more fun to drive than the Prius, especially where I live. If the Camry Hybrid had a more generous trunk, I probably would have gone with that or just waited.

This is a compromise vehicle for me, as I still love to drive cars. It's an SUV sorta kinda, but without the gas mileage penalty. The math is ok if you overweight the fuel savings. If they had a V6 Camry new, the resale value of the Rav4 would definitely have outweighed the depreciation of the Prius V plus gas mileage. It doesn't bother me as much, because I don;t envision getting another car for quite some time.

 

I bought domestics for nearly 25 years and grew disappointed with quality issues. I'd read a number of negative reviews about Prius Gens 1 & 2. I saw more positives about Gen 3, so I checked it out when I needed to replace a Subaru Outback. Now I'm sold on having a hybrid, likely Toyota, for my long-distance commuting and road trip car.

 

I used to be a speed junkie, started with a '68 390 4bbl 4spd, changed that to 428CJ, then went to 427 side oiler. That was expensive so sold it in '73 and got a newly out Z1 903, could scare myself anytime I wanted to. Finally slowed down in '78 due to back injury and sold the Kawi. I've had my speed fixes, but never considered the Prius because it gets 50mpg, so has to be as slow as a slug. Wife totaled the '10 Mazda so in the search for a replacement, I found a "10 Prius that fit into the price range of the replacements I was considering. I honestly went to the Toyota dealer first, just to get that stop out of the way. We test drove the Prius and it was so much more than I had expected, so I was hooked. It ain't fast, but it is compared to what I expected. Just passed 100K and looking to get way past the 200 mark. It also strokes the touch of geek that I have. The friends and family that has driven it are as impressed as I was, so there must be tendency for people to think it is weak and slow. I still have a couple of people that won't even ride in the Prius, afraid it will turn them gay..

 

Hello, my name is Chris... And I was a Prius hater.

Boy, has that changed.

 

Hate? No, only when they were in front of me on the freeway.....

Really, it's all about the gas mileage. And for the fact, that with a little work and $$$. I was able to see the brighter side of what the Prius could be.



And it could be, I like cars that get no respect.... Here's my 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT.

 

I was probably the biggest hater of Prii, until about 2 weeks ago...when I bought one. I can't exactly put my finger on what I disliked so much about them, but it could be the look, the lack of power, the less than luxurious ride, or maybe the people who drove them (sorry, more like HOW they drove them). But a few days into ownership and I couldn't understand why I hadn't owned one sooner.

My previous car was a 1998 Nissan Maxima, and I loved that thing. Still do. I gave it to my sister who needed a car, and she was thrilled to have it. I am glad it is still in the family. I must say though, I miss the power the Maxima had, and the manual transmission.

But seeing the cost to fill the Prius, and how many MPGs I can get, combined with the proven reliability of these cars, it was a no brainier. Plus my wife and I are expecting our first child next year, so we needed something a bit newer.

Anyway, if I can become a Prius driver, anyone can. I like it more everyday.

 

I could have averaged 40+mpg in a Corolla, which was my first choice for years, but the Prius is one of the few cars you can sleep in the back. This really is the primary reason I am looking to buy the Prius. That and fuel efficiency, reliability, utility, affordability, and technology are some of the things I the Prius does better than everything else.

I still don't like the image it may project about me (uber-liberal or vegetarian or enviro-nut), but only people that don't know me will have that misconception. Besides, I could get a bumper sticker that says "my other car is a diesel truck". Or maybe one that says "I eat GMOs and they're tasty".

Kidding aside, I'm a middle of the road type of person, and I couldn't care less what assumptions strangers may have of me. One of the many benefits of being married is not having to be concerned with the image I am portraying to the single ladies.