Just tell people it's an '08 WRX.

 

I don't care how fawkin smart Prius owners think they are for drivin' the "Hybrid". They still look like tools. There are lots of car with great MPG, that cost half as much and won't make you look like tree huggin, latte sluggin pinko. And a side note you don't deserve to be in the diamond lane. Unless you think special people get special privileges [read as "kids on the short bus"].

 

This thread is awesome. Whenever I see a Prius I think of the South Park episode with the fartsniffers.

 

at school, I have my bimmer since I only drive 60 miles/wk. but during the summer or when I have to commute, I love to use my moms prius. I use it as often as I can--and so does my dad when he can steal it from her (he drives a 745). I'm not smug when I drive it, just minding my own business--but go ahead, call me a tool while I blow by you all in "nice" cars stuck in traffic while I enjoy commuter lane privilages and 50mpg.

I've convinced 4 members of my family/close friends to buy civic hybrids or priuses- in the market for another one for myself.

the days of cheap gas=over. who cares about daily driving a fast street car in the bay area if you spend 90% of your time stuck at lights or in traffic Mon-Fri?? I show up to most race weekends and track days in the prius and drive my race car/kart. last year's regional champion in SM and the year before TaG kart champ is also a prius driver (used to be M5 driver). the savings of time and money (in gas/maintenance/tires) are incredible and they don't even drive that badly.

I got 27mpg when I tracked it at TH instructing and a bit lower when I tracked it at Reno Fernley.

best tank: 647 miles @ 57mpg, 11.x gallons. SF-->Reno-->Fernley-->reno-->back.

 

A Honda Civic would be a much better choice. Even the old carb'd CVCC Civic actually got incredibly good mileage and were pretty fun. I used to work with a guy who commuted to SF from the northbay and he would get 40-45mpg out of a standard 2004 Civic.

Also, people often forget that the hybrids are meant for around town/city driving and are essentially useless at highway speeds. Remember, it's a 3000lb+ vehicle with a 1.5L 4cyl. Power/weight and gearing is what it's all about.

 

Actually, its curb weight is 2890lbs., but you are close.You might be right that the standard civic is a better choice on the highway especially considering they don't have toxic batteries to dispose of. However, the more interest in these types of vehicles, the more money goes to researching ways to make them more efficient. Also, I routinely get over 80mpg when in stop in go traffic which is pretty commonplace around this area, so it's not quite fair to say that the cars have *no* advantage over their standard counterparts on the highway. That and the carpool stickers/tax benefit (for Nissan, GM, and Honda hybrids still--Toyotas ran out) really makes them a viable. And you say that gearing is a big factor? Hybrids come with CVT's and lower the gearing to the lowest possible RPM for best efficiency on the highway--CVT's are available in conventional cars like Nissans but not as widespread as their use in hybrids.

The 2010 Prius coming out in mid/early 2009 is reported to get another 50HP and get even better MPG... Lexus is even rumored to be coming out with a luxo-Rius. will strongly consider getting one to replace or '05 when the carpool exemption runs out jan. 1, 2011.

In my book the Prius is a pretty solid car. Over the past 4 years we've driven ours 70+K miles and enjoyed bluetooth connectivity, great HID lights, extremely good reliability, cheap tires, cheap gas, and carpool access. Best car purchase we've ever made. And yeah, it looks quirky, but who cares. No one can see me since I got it tinted by Vince @ Omega.

(JK, tint's pretty light..)

 

nah I don't but I'll prolly ask my parents to buy a hybrid, but they hate toyota. So civic hybrid it is.

 

I dunno about you, but when I drive my car, I am inside of it. I said 3000+ because at the very LEAST with fuel and driver it would be around 3000+ lbs. With a few more things and/or a couple more people... Well I would think you understand.

If someone can afford the price of one, it is probably a pretty nice car to have what with all the luxury features, but the thing is - it is NOT an economy car. Toyota's own Yaris has proven that. A true economy car would be the closest balance between purchase price and MPG. An old cheap Civic that gets ~10mpg less than a Prius is the way to go to save money.

 

Yeah, but the Yaris is a 500-pound lighter car--and it gets worse mileage. You are right--you can't compare the two directly since they are not even aimed at the same buyer. Prius has a lot more interior space and a lot more torque (I've driven both). and while the interior materials of the Prius aren't BMW quality, they are very solid compared to the craptastic interior in the Yaris. you know whats funny? 3/4 people that I convinced to buy hybrids were BMW owners--the other one was an MBZ owner.

BTW I was comparing empty curb weight since you said the car weighs 3000+ not the car + driver weigh 3000+. If we compare the STI to the Prius, the Prius is a 400 pound lighter car. By your idea the STI=3600lbs.

Either way, there's a shortage of Prii right now which tells you something about demand.

Sean

 

Oh geez. Not that it needs to be explained again, but the Yaris costs ~$10k less than the Prius and gets around ~10mpg less in most cases. As a transportation appliance it is far more an economy car than the Prius is and it's just one example from the same manufacturer. Compare them or don't, but touting the economical benefits of the Prius is dumb since when all the other factors in addition to fuel consumption are concerned, it is simply not an economy car. It is a somewhat fancy luxury car that gets good mileage.

My statement about the Prius @ highway speeds being a 3000+ lb car is true since it would not be at highway speeds without a driver and fuel. Do we really need to make things that clear? I did not explain it in detail because for some reason I figured it would be obvious. Whatever as far as the STi comment. Not talking about an STi.

Regardless of other vehicles that may or may not compare to Toyota's Prius, when a Prius is travelling at highway speeds, which implies there is at least one person and fuel in the car, it is essentially a vehicle that weighs around 3000lbs being pulled along by a 1.5L engine.

As far as a shortage of Prii, who cares? People make dumb decisions all the time. Also note that last year, the Tundra outsold the Prius. One could probably construe that to mean something too. Again - who cares?

 

I don't own a prius, but I wish I did right about now.

 

I feel that now you're just repeating the same points over and over again and we're not getting anywhere.

The point is, people are buying them because the Prius can replace a midsize car and the Yaris can't. Both are "transportation appliances" but only one of the two can be a "family car." And the Prius gets better mileage!! So what if it's a 10k premium over the Yaris--a car in a completely different segment. The Camry/Matrix are significantly more expensive than the Yaris as well. Just not relevant. I never said it was an economy car, just very economical on fuel with good luxury features.

The Prius gets good mileage on the highway, better than a conventional car its size. The hybrid assist does work on the highway--the electric motor assist helps going over hills and recharges when going down them. Granted it does not help as much as it does in the city, but the CVT drops revs very low for great efficiency. The car also has good aerodynamics and low rolling resistance. The reason it is LIVABLE in this area with a 1.5 liter engine is because it is a hybrid--it has power from the electric motor when you need it.

It's pretty silly to say that it's a bad decision to buy a Prius just because you don't like the car. The decision to replace a gas guzzler with a Prius has generally been good one for most people I've talked to. All the people who have bought hybrids in my friends/family have really, really loved their decision long after purchase. With gas going to $5-6+ gallon (oil's at $137 a barrel today!) they will be even happier with the car. It's really nice knowing that all the energy that you would otherwise convert into brake dust is actually being recharged for acceleration from the stoplight.

Sean

 

 

Wow! Seems by "we're not getting anywhere" you mean that you are not able to convince me. Choose to not see the point if you like. Just ask yourself.. At this stage in this recurring stupid conversation - do you think there is really anything you can do with a text box that will convince me that buying a Prius is a good decision? Since you are defending the Prius, I doubt that you will share my point of view. So what is the point? Either way, I am okay with it.

The car has a solid set of pro's and con's - one just needs to decide whether it works for them. Some of the cons are things that people might not understand or we might not even face in our lifetime. Me personally, I think it is silly to pay "a lot of money" for something that is supposed to save money. The Yaris example is because you can buy commute gas for the next ~150k miles for the price savings even at $4/gal.

A friend raves about his SMG M3, but me - all I can think of is this horrid complex conglomeration of systems designed to do something for me that I prefer to do myself. Sort of the same thing. I would rather have a light and simple car than a complex and heavy one. It doesn't get much more complex than a hybrid, and a car that is over 3klbs (EVEN WITH DRIVER/FUEL) is too heavy for me. When the pro's start to outweigh the con's with hybrids, maybe that will change. If someone else were buying and maintaining my vehicles for me, maybe that would change things too.

I do not want you to dislike your Prius. I definitely do not want one myself though and it's for a lot of reasons. I feel sorry for the people I see tearing by 80+mph in their Prius with a license plate and stickers proclaiming that they are saving the world by driving this car. I feel people like that are painfully stupid and possibly equally righteous. Maybe I am the one who is mistaken - again, that works for me.

Cheers.

 

I'm trying to convince my parents that they need to buy either a regular civic or a civic hybrid. The Prius is ugly any way you shape it. At least the hybrid civic looks like a regular civic. And there pretty much are no more carpool lane passes being handed out. They've maxed out the allotment. You can get on a waiting list, but the odds of getting one are slim to none.