Is a Prius for me?

I'm not a "car enthusiast" in the same way that a lot of you are. I do admire good and interesting cars, but for a DD, I'm ridiculously practical. My current DD is an '05 Scion xB, which is hardly any sort of sporting at all.

So I'm eyeballing a new DD and the forthcoming Scion iM has caught my eye. It's basically a Corolla hatchback, with all that infers, both good and evil.

So I'm moping about some local dealers' websites, when I discover blowout pricing on '15 Prius. There's an all-new car coming for '16, and some dealers are offering '15 models for $20.7k.

That's really only about $1500 more than the iM is expected to go for. The Prius is an objectively better car than a Corolla by most any metric.

Except no clutch. I'm a huge fan of the clutch, but again, I'm a fan of enormously practical DD.

I don't even know what question I'm asking you folks, but anything you have to say, I'm willing to hear.

The best I can say is "drive one and see!" I've enjoyed the ones that I've rented, and they make a pretty economical / practical daily driver.

They are enormously practical DDs.

Practical, lowest maintenance of any car with an ICE, and depending on your driving style MPG bonus.

I worked for a Toyota dealer for several months recently. If I never get in another Prius I will die happy.

They are a car for nerds. You have to be into the technology and the weirdness of them to appreciate what they are. I simply cannot. Everything about how they operate irritates me. I'm a car guy; I want to drive a car, not an arcade game. I find they are owned by three distinct types of people:

1) Eco-weenies that mistakenly think driving a Prius will have an impact on the environment

2) People who drive a TON of miles and the fuel savings may actually make a difference in the cost over buying a normal car

3) Retired people who don't go anywhere. Why they buy them eludes me.

They seem to be reasonably durable and the resale value is typically very high. But they are hybrids with weirdo systems that the average repair shop isn't going to be capable of repairing. When they get wrecked beyond a simple bumper or fender job I try to encourage people to take them to a dealer body shop because working on the hybrid system isn't for Jim-Bob to experiment with.

ddavidv wrote: 2) People who drive a TON of miles and the fuel savings may actually make a difference in the cost over buying a normal car

That's what's interesting in this specific case. At $20.7k, there is barely a significant difference over the cost of a "normal" car. That's my whole point. The Scion iM will be $19.2k - so a $1500 difference.

Using a 2015 Corolla manual (in lieu of the iM, which doesn't have a fuel economy rating yet), the Prius saves $500/year in gas. That doesn't take your "TON of miles" to make up the cost difference.

Yeah, at MSRP, the Prius takes a lot of miles to pay for the price differential. At $4500 off MSRP, it doesn't take many miles at all.

EvanR wrote: Yeah, at MSRP, the Prius takes a lot of miles to pay for the price differential. At $4500 off MSRP, it doesn't take many miles at all.

Also (I know this isn't the case with the OP...) as a used car the price difference is usually pretty small between a Prius and similar non-hybrid cars. It definitely doesn't take many miles to make up the difference. Especially if you have a somewhat urban commute, where the Prius gets nearly double the mileage of the Corolla (28 vs. 53)

We had a 1st gen. I liked it. The worst thing about it is that the 2nd gen exists, which is a better car in every way. And the worst thing about a 2nd gen? The 3rd gen exists, which again, is a better car in every way. The 3rd gen also has some really cool features. Capacitive overlay on top of the steering wheel controls is pretty sweet.

The utility factor should not be ignored as well. The hatch area is quite large - much roomier than other small hatchbacks.

ddavidv wrote: 2) People who drive a TON of miles and the fuel savings may actually make a difference in the cost over buying a normal car

I fell into this category when I bought my Prius. I wanted something that was reliable as gravity, ultra efficient, and good as eating up large chunks of miles. The Prius is arguably the best car on the market if those are your criteria. I drove 52 miles each way too/from work with it, plus a ton of weekend errand running. Averaged 43mpg, even in heavy Atlanta rush hour traffic. It's completely serene and easy to spend hours in. From a commuter perspective, I couldn't have asked for anything more.

However, I no longer own it, even though my commute is now 55 miles each way. While it's a master at doing what it was designed to do, I just couldn't live with the compromises from a car guy perspective. The handling was truly worse than my Kia Sedona minivan, ridiculously floppy and uncomposed. There was zero feedback through the wheel, as in 1990 Honda Accord.

So you've got to decide if you can give up any shred of automotive interest. If you can, the Prius is the best ICE car out there. If not, move on.

All I can say about Prius's is that they should be banned from expressways.

They seem lock themselves to the left lane in hypermiling mode. I passed two today on the right hand side despite a couple headlamp flashes.

Grtechguy wrote: All I can say about Prius's is that they should be banned from expressways. They seem lock themselves to the left lane in hypermiling mode. I passed two today on the right hand side despite a couple headlamp flashes.

This pertains to an interesting observation I made recently about HOV lanes: There are two distinct groups of people who use the HOV lanes; Those who want to get somewhere in a hurry and have two people on board thinking that they scored a break. The second is a guy in a Prius saving the planet and driving the exact speed limit. These guys will be in the HOV lane even if there is no other traffic on the highway. It is frustrating to drive in the HOV lane, behind a Prius with nobody in front, and watching the outside traffic drive by.

Grtechguy wrote: All I can say about Prius's is that they should be banned from expressways. They seem lock themselves to the left lane in hypermiling mode. I passed two today on the right hand side despite a couple headlamp flashes.

I have to agree with your observation of them locking themselves to the left lane, but every time I see them, they are maxing out the poor little motor at about 90 mph.

It is the most appliance of appliances, but my wife has one, and it's perfectly suited to her habits. Commute is city, and on the highway, it still gets us 48+, unless I travel at greater than 80 for any length of time. Then it drops to 45. The only vehicles that I have that get better mileage are my motorcycles.

When I see the title I keep reading it as Primus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYDfwUJzYQg

If I ever get one, I will stick a "Powered by smug" bumper sticker on it and drive everywhere in the left lane. When people pass me on the right I will look at them with scorn and ask them why they hate the earth.

I was baptized into driving with the firm belief and understanding that manual transmission will always be superior to an automatic. (sometimes an automatic is okay because most large vehicles do not have a manual option). That is the only exemption. I love cars and driving a manual transmission. That being said I've liked the priuses that I've driven and they are awesome as a commuter. Try one and see.

My wife has had Prius for the last 5 years. It is a very quiet, efficient transporation appliance with some design quirks. It is not a "Drivers car" by any stretch of the immagination. I have found myself liking it way more than I expected, just because it does what it was designed to do so well.

I had one (2nd gen) for about 8 months that I picked up dirt cheap, fixed up and drove for a while until I could sell it for a decent price.

I loved it- yeah, it's not a performance car by any stretch, but it does have more get-up-and-go than many small, normally-aspirated 4-cylinder cars thanks to the extra kick the electric motor(s) add on top of the ICE. I'm an engineer and a bit of a gadget-geek, so I rather enjoyed playing the 'get the best mileage possible' game keeping an eye on the energy transfer display. You could pack a ridiculous amount into the hatch, and of course it got pretty insane mileage in warmer weather- I had a short commute that didn't allow the engine to warm up enough to be really efficient in cold weather.

One unexpected bonus of it: mine, at least with nearly-new tires on it, was unbelievably stable and easy to drive in heavy snow.

On the other hand, SWMBO hated it. She dislikes 'small' cars inherently, but couldn't get over the differences in the controls and had no interest at all in trying to drive it efficiently.

If I ever end up with a commute where I can't ride my bike the majority of the time and have to drive a fair distance I'll be looking at getting another one- they really are a fantastic commuter vehicle.

ddavidv wrote: I find they are owned by three distinct types of people: 3) Retired people who don't go anywhere. Why they buy them eludes me.

Cars are expensive, depreciating assets. People on a fixed income (living off their savings) want a car with rock-bottom cost of ownership, so the Prius fits the bill nicely.