Need a commuter car - Prius?

[SV_Dude]

FWIW: There's a lot of hybrids on the road and I have never heard of anyone having an issue with their battery dying. I do hear a lot of issues about engines over heating, head gasket issues, etc. Not so much with the hybrids.

These days, vehicles are made much better than they used to be. I wouldn't hesitate to own a hybrid, I just won't pay 20k for one because they aren't worth the savings in my opinion.

 

[Atlanta_man]

I'm totally owned now. He played the Consumer Reports card.
I feel my ignorance leaving me. This thread has lost its fun factor.

 

[rebelbowtie]

I take consumer reports with a grain of salt, I once saw a review on the Chevrolet 2500HD and they said the drive train was unreliable. If anything on that truck was reliable it was the drive train. the 4L80e transmission, bullet proof, the NP263-SHD transfer case, also bullet proof, GM Corporate full floating 10.5" 14 bolt axle, again bullet proof.

I owned one for 5 years and could list all the unreliable parts of that vehicle but the drive train isn't one.

 

[Thai]

I take consumer reports with a grain of salt, I once saw a review on the Chevrolet 2500HD and they said the drive train was unreliable. If anything on that truck was reliable it was the drive train. the 4L80e transmission, bullet proof, the NP263-SHD transfer case, also bullet proof, GM Corporate full floating 10.5" 14 bolt axle, again bullet proof.

I owned one for 5 years and could list all the unreliable parts of that vehicle but the drive train isn't one.

Think of it this way. For example, smoking (tobacco) increases your chance of heart disease. Does that mean that every smoker out there will have a heart attack? No. But, when compared with a statistical significant population, a smoker has more chances of a heart attack than someone who does not smoke.

Consumer Reports reliability surveys come from.......consumers! CR does not really do any extensive long-term test on their own. Same with JD Powers. So, if they say that VW has more problems than a Toyota, then it means that owning a VW puts you at risk of more problems during ownership. It does NOT mean that every single VW owner will suffer the fate. It means that a VW owner will be at more risk of having problems than a Toyota owner. That's all it means. It is not an absolute guarantee.

 

[Thai]

I'm totally owned now. He played the Consumer Reports card.
I feel my ignorance leaving me. This thread has lost its fun factor.

Hint...CR did a follow-up test on the Prius showing that after 10 years and 200,000+ miles, the battery is still in PERFECT condition...along with the rest of the car!! :trophy:

Link: The 200,000-mile question: How does the Toyota Prius hold up?

"....Based on data from over 36,000 Toyota Prius hybrids in our annual survey, we find that the Prius has outstanding reliability and low ownership costs. But we wanted to know if the effectiveness of the battery degraded over the long run. So we hooked up a 2002 Toyota Prius with nearly 208,000 miles on the clock to our testing instruments and compared the results to the nearly identical 2001 Prius we tested 10 years ago.

Conclusion: We found very little difference in performance when we tested fuel economy and acceleration.

Our testers were also amazed how much the car drove like the new one we tested 10 years ago. It certainly didn’t seem like a car that had traveled nearly the distance to the Moon. We were also surprised to learn that the engine, transmission, and even shocks were all original.

If the battery ever did need to be replaced, it would run between $2,200 and $2,600 from a Toyota dealer, but it’s doubtful that anyone would purchase a new battery for such an old car. Most will probably choose to buy a low-mileage unit from a salvage yard, just as they would with an engine or transmission. We found many units available for around $500.

So is an old Prius a still a good value? We think so."
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So, after 10 years and 208,000 miles, the original battery is still in near perfect condition. This is why there are plenty of stories of cabbies running well over 300k miles on the original battery and still going!

Durability AND reliability...and efficiency.

Atlanta_man, before you blindly come into every thread and insult me, please try to comprehend the data presented...because you're making an arse of yourself in trying to prove me wrong. :violin:

 

[KidVermicious]

I agree with everyone saying to get an older 4banger compact. Early 90's Honda and Toyota compacts are super reliable and way cheap. You'll get nearly the same mileage, and even including maintenance you'll still pay less than 1/4 the price of a new clean diesel or hybrid out of pocket. If you're willing to do the basic maintenance on it yourself you'll pay even less than that.

 

[rebelbowtie]

I agree with everyone saying to get an older 4banger compact. Early 90's Honda and Toyota compacts are super reliable and way cheap. You'll get nearly the same mileage, and even including maintenance you'll still pay less than 1/4 the price of a new clean diesel or hybrid out of pocket. If you're willing to do the basic maintenance on it yourself you'll pay even less than that.

Agreed to an extent but the OP wants a new car.

 

[atv223]

Yep, I am at an age and stage in my life where I don't want to work on cars any more unless its modding them for fun! I did a write up about adding running boards and mud flaps to my 5th Gen, I just did some interior LEDs and will do the backup camera mod when it's out of warranty. But I am not changing oil, spark plugs etc. any more. Nor do I want the hassles, unknowns or "rattles" that come with older used cars. That said, I am very value conscious, and wouldn't waste the money on a "luxury badge". I am leaning more and more towards the TCH, there are low financing incentive rates right now and they seem like there is more room to negotiate then a Prius. It will cost more in the long run, but I think I am willing to pay that for more comfort on the highway.

 

[Thai]

Atv, good choice! Take pics when you buy it! I like to live vicariously thru members!

 

[GMZ]

That thing is fast

 

[atv223]

Atv, good choice! Take pics when you buy it! I like to live vicariously thru members!

Will do! Now to get a good deal on one. When I bought the 4Runner, I spent hours at one dealer on two occasions, test driving 4Runners and Sequoias. They tried every game in the book to get me to budge from what I was willing to pay, the manager even tried the guilt trip "You know, Joe spent a lot of time with you on this". I ended up leaving, filed out a "Get an online dealer price quote". Got a response from a dealer 8 miles from me $200 less than my bottom number I spent hours and hours with at the other dealer. Went in filed out some paper work and a few days later they got the exact model I wanted in, totally low stress. I'll be going that route again, hoping for similar results.

 

[BrianSD_42]

If you have the cash why not get a Lexus CT200h?

I've seen them used for $29k with < 10,000 miles.

 

[Thai]

If you have the cash why not get a Lexus CT200h?

I've seen them used for $29k with < 10,000 miles.

Lexus CT200h is a good car too. But, from what i have read, it isn't exactly a quiet nor comfy ride. In addition, the room inside and cargo room leave a lot to be desired.

 

[Dawg4Runner]

I need to replace the Acura and am thinking about a 2012 or 2013 Prius. I realize a Prius is an exciting car to drive, but they seem really reliable and I'll same over $2,000 a year in fuel costs over the Acura.

Anyone have any experience with the Prius, especially on long daily commutes?

Open to other ideas as well.

Get the Prius and you'll be very happy. My wife drove a 2006 Prius for 6 years and absolutely loved it. She traded it in for a Chevy Volt in July 2012. The Prius was flawless for 106k miles and averaged 48 MPG over the 6 years. All I ever did to the car was routine maintenance. There's plenty of passenger room, cargo space and headspace.

Any complaints that I have about it is the looks. She liked the way it looked but I didn't. It reminded me of the Pontiac Aztec. Since it was her car, it was her opinion that mattered. The power was adequate for what it was but the handling wasn't the greatest. It felt top heavy and had a lot of body roll while cornering.

My daily driver for the last 6 years is a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid. I chose it for the styling and handling over the Prius but that's about where it ends. It served it's purpose for getting me back and forth to work (52 miles round trip) but I no longer have a need for a commuter car. The battery regeneration seems to be good during highway driving but not very good during city driving. Handling is good but power when not fully charged is not. No where near the cargo or head room of the Prius. I would not recommend a Civic Hybrid.

Why did we get the Volt if we were so happy with the Prius? We were looking at Plug-in hybrids in order to qualify for the HOV lane stickers. The Prius Plug-in only has an 11 mile electric range whereas the Volt is rated at 35 miles. Our experience has been 40 miles on all electric and sometimes up to 43. If your commute was less then 40 miles, you'd never need to buy gas (except to cycle out old gas from the tank). The Volt is in a league of its own.

 

[rebelbowtie]

HOV lane must be something different where you are from, it stands for High Occupancy Vehicle. Car pooling has nothing to do with how fuel efficient your vehicle is.

 

[Thai]

HOV lane must be something different where you are from, it stands for High Occupancy Vehicle. Car pooling has nothing to do with how fuel efficient your vehicle is.

I believe that in some states, if you have a hybrid, then you can get on HOV even with just one person in the car.

 

[rebelbowtie]

I believe that in som states, if you have a hybrid, then you can get on HOV even with just one person in the car.

I wasn't aware of that

 

[-JD-]

I wasn't aware of that

Has to be a plug in hybrid, usually with a minimum 16kw battery (conveniently the exact size of the volts battery)

Dawg4runner, did you see my thread about the Chevy volt? link
How many miles do you have on yours and would you recommend it?

 

[Dawg4Runner]

We were looking at Plug-in hybrids in order to qualify for the HOV lane stickers.

HOV lane must be something different where you are from, it stands for High Occupancy Vehicle. Car pooling has nothing to do with how fuel efficient your vehicle is.

Not sure how you drew the conclusion that car pooling had anything to do with fuel efficiency. I re-read my post and nowhere does it state that. In my state, Plug-in electric cars, Plug-in Hybrids and CNG vehicles qualify for HOV lane stickers. As long as they are on the state's list of approved vehicles you can apply for a sticker for $18. Those stickers allow a solo driver to drive in any HOV lane at any time.

 

[rebelbowtie]

HOV lanes are reserved for car poolers, I did not know "green", electric/hybrid/alternative fuel vehicles qualify for driving in that lane.