Perhaps you’ll read that title and think, “Well, I guess he’s finally just given up. Certainly slippers and some sort of muumuu can’t be far behind.”
While those things are appealing in their own right, I want to present a far stronger case for why the Toyota Prius is…
TBH: If Toyota still built the Prius V, it'd be on my shortlist for our next family hauler.
Agreed on the Prius V. They make so much sense. I wish they would have made one with a little more upright, dorky green house. Like double derp, or something.
And regarding the sporty-ness or lack thereof in the Prius, I've definitely driven worse handling cars.
I drove a friend's Prius back around 2013 or 2014, don't know the model. She asked me to drive our group back from a picnic in Columbus to Dayton OH, about 1.5hr drive. I don't know what I expected but it handled well and I was cruising at 85mph on I-70 before I realized it.
I really want to get one and to throw one of the body lift kit (strut spacer) kits on it, after caging the cat of course.
"Cool Prius"
- nobody
Lmfao. This isn't something you announce around here. Just kidding. It's cool you can own one and think of yourself in a manly way.
(grunt if you read the article)
CyberEric said:Agreed on the Prius V. They make so much sense. I wish they would have made one with a little more upright, dorky green house. Like double derp, or something.
And regarding the sporty-ness or lack thereof in the Prius, I've definitely driven worse handling cars.
AWD Prius V would be a car I'd buy tomorrow and own forever. But I've given up looking for a clean V resale is way too rich. I'd rather wait for the sienna hybrid to fix their non removable rear seats.
The current Rav4 Hybrid is a hot seller. Is it a reasonable substitute for a Prius V?
John Welsh said:The current Rav4 Hybrid is a hot seller. Is it a reasonable substitute for a Prius V?
I was a massive fan of the XA40 (2012-2018) RAV4 Hybrid. It was all the great driving dynamics of my wife's CX-5, but with killer fuel economy. I got 42+ on a trip from Florida to NCM in one.
The current generation XA50 is just as good, I guess, but the price has gone up and I wasn't able to duplicate my economy figures in our recent test loaner that I got with the previous generation. It's not necessarily a downgrade, but it's a more expensive side-grade at best. Those XA40s were the bomb, though.
Colin Wood said:TBH: If Toyota still built the Prius V, it'd be on my shortlist for our next family hauler.
It costs nothing to be kind.
We bought a used one just before our first kid was born and we've been really happy.
If you're still in the "I need to take a diaper bag, a stroller, a huge car seat and still have room for remodeling supplies and/or 4 autoX tires" phase, they're great.
Buck Futter said:Lmfao. This isn't something you announce around here. Just kidding. It's cool you can own one and think of yourself in a manly way.
(grunt if you read the article)
Yeesh. Tough crowd.
Nothing that ugly deserves to be on the market no matter how many planets it saves.
In reply to CrustyRedXpress :
Good to know.
My wife ad I quickly realized that we're going to need something bigger soon not because of the kid, but all the stuff that goes along with the kid.
In reply to twowheeled :
I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only person who loves the new Sienna, which are all hybrids, the 26" of slide distance on the middle row cabins chairs and the chaise lounge like reclining on them in a game changer if you're dating a single mother. And 36mpg is nice as well.
Also, don’t think I haven’t checked Tire Rack to see what other wheels fit on the car. (Answer: Oh, slightly over 600 styles, all with great tire availability for a somewhat sportier ride.)
Look, I don’t know if my Prius would ever to show up in the grid at a Track Night in America, but I’m fairly sure it could. And, if driven well, it likely wouldn’t be the slowest car in the slowest group. And afterward, I could take it to pick up some chicken.
{emphasis added}
those are some pretty bold words.
You should probably be careful saying stuff like that, lest I enquire how empty the first week of May is for you? 
twowheeled said:CyberEric said:Agreed on the Prius V. They make so much sense. I wish they would have made one with a little more upright, dorky green house. Like double derp, or something.
And regarding the sporty-ness or lack thereof in the Prius, I've definitely driven worse handling cars.
AWD Prius V would be a car I'd buy tomorrow and own forever. But I've given up looking for a clean V resale is way too rich. I'd rather wait for the sienna hybrid to fix their non removable rear seats.
Every seat is removable with enough angle grinder
"...But the Prius engages you in different ways, mostly through displaying several operational parameters on the driver info center–including fuel efficiency..."
My Dad claims that I think that the goal is to get the lowest possible fuel efficiency whenever I drive my Mom's Prius. That's not really true but I can't say that fuel efficiency if very high on the list of things that I think about when I'm driving.
If it is any saving grace, you can get the newer Prius with AWD..
I just keep seeing "I bought a Prius column" and I'm like yeah, me too....
In reply to msterbeau :
Since the "Thumbs up" button seems to be inoperable for your comment, I will say X2!
Smokey Yunick drove an old Ford Fiesta (maybe late 70's vintage) as a daily for years and years. Seems like Toyota found out how to make frugality into a fun competition and get the drivers engaged hypnotically with the "game." I'd say some people push it a bit far when they drag down the common speed of the thoroughfare they're clogging and that can be unsafe. One thing people should be aware of is that most cars on the roads today are "optimized" to get those MPG numbers that they like to boast and that optimization occurs in a "type situation." The highway situation is based on ...... wait for it.... the 55MPH national speed limit. Yes, that's right it's out dated but you don't know that and that's why you never get the advertised numbers (your results may vary).
Years ago I was in process of moving from one city to another and I stuffed my old Focus ZX3 to the gills. I was overloaded so I stayed at or below 60mph. Normally I drove about 72mph on the highway and got 27-28mpg. With these trips I was getting 34-36mpg. It blew my mind. The "pickup truck" cam on that car was hitting just perfectly with the gearing in 5th gear to get amazing fuel mileage despite the extra weight and rolling resistence.
Years ago I had an old carbed slant 6 in a Dodge van. Full throttle barely got 70mph which turned into 60mph in a strong headwind. Moving from college one time, I had to take a 350mile trip and keep the van under 45mph to keep it from vapor locking. The trip usually took one full 25gal tank or thereabouts. I topped the tank and set out on the back roads through all the small towns to keep off the highway. I had to stop and go in some towns, and slow down to 30mph every few miles for every new town. The trip took over 10hrs but I noticed that I still had more than half a tank of fuel! When I filled up I found that I was getting about 38mpg out of a loaded full-sized dodge van with a carb! What the hell?!?!? Somehow, I had engaged "camel mode" and my Dodge van turned into some kind of Super-Mega Dino-Prius (prius-saurus rex?). The problem was a decayed fuel line by the tank that was constricting fuel flow causing the low fuel pressure and vapor locking.
These are fun things to engage in when you're not able to race or hotrod, so I can say I "get it."
John Welsh said:The current Rav4 Hybrid is a hot seller. Is it a reasonable substitute for a Prius V?
One of the big draws of a large hybrid is being able to sleep in the back letting it "idle" all night which is really kicking on a few minutes per hour but still letting you have HVAC and a generous power source. RAV4 doesn't help accomplish that much better, cargo space is taller but not longer. Hence why I'm also waiting for sienna make the rear jets removable.
How's the Ford CMax?
This one is selling for $4000.
In reply to twowheeled :
Stealth camping for one in a Prius is a well documented thing on the internet
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