If you in any way derive pleasure from the feel of a responsive car and get the joy of driving, you won't get any of that in a Prius.

It's about the least engaging vehicle I've driven.

True, it's not a performance car. Doesn't try to be. And really--with climate change, dependence on foreign oil, and the price of gas, do we all need to make satisfying our inner Mario Andretti our priority?

That said, it has all the zip that an urban/suburban commuter needs. I had plenty of fun tailgating a Ferrari recently as it tried to make maximum time on one of our urban woodland parkways. Meanwhile, is your Ferrari really that much fun for commuting? Pffftt.

The safety ratings were poor, which is why we decided against it.

We still have our 2002 (Gen I) Prius that we bought new in 2001. Still love it. No battery issues. No issues, period. Only work on it in ten years has been one brake job, new rotors, new tires, and regular maintenance.

We buy gas about once a month. For ten years, that's been nice.

The folks who focus on the "payoff" when gas savings outweigh price premium are missing the point that pollution has costs, too. Not costs to you, of course--you can belch all the exhaust into the air you want, for free. That's the nutso system we have. That doesn't mean it doesn't cost anyone. Still better to use less gas, and pollute less. But, for the happy-to-pollute penny-pinchers, yes, we've paid off the premium on ours long ago and are now just enjoying the gas savings gravy.

Am I a left-wing loon because I like using less gasoline and don't want to belch more greenhouse gas than I have to? OK, whatever. You can bet the folks who are quick to predict battery doom, or to pooh-pooh the possibility of any savings benefit, are right-wing Fox watchers. Don't try to confuse them with facts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:terrible idea, the batteries will go on you in a couple of years and it's very costly. It make more sense to just buy a regular civic.

Do you know this for a fact? I have one friend who still has her Gen I Prius with 140K on it and the battery is fine. I have another friend with a Gen II Prius with 120K miles and has not have a problem with the battery.

When those estimates were made, none of the Prii had close to 100K miles on them and the "experts" were predicting what would likely happen. In reality, I have yet to hear of someone who has had to replace the battery and I know many, many Prius owners.

+1. Several Prius owners in my extended family, not one battery replacement.

Yeah the first poster quoted here just made all of that up. Have owned a Prius for ages, and never had to replace the battery.

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Would you recommend Prius for a family of 4 with 2 in car seats? We want to get rid of our gas guzzler, and our other car, an Accord doesn't get THAT great of gas mileage, so we want to do better than 30 mpg highway and keep it under $20k (used).

Yes! We have a Prius with two car seats (one front facing, one rear facing) and the hatchback trunck allows for enough room for a double citi-mini plus groceries! We never have a problem for space. We love our Prius!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:terrible idea, the batteries will go on you in a couple of years and it's very costly. It make more sense to just buy a regular civic.

Do you know this for a fact? I have one friend who still has her Gen I Prius with 140K on it and the battery is fine. I have another friend with a Gen II Prius with 120K miles and has not have a problem with the battery.

When those estimates were made, none of the Prii had close to 100K miles on them and the "experts" were predicting what would likely happen. In reality, I have yet to hear of someone who has had to replace the battery and I know many, many Prius owners.

+1. Several Prius owners in my extended family, not one battery replacement.

Even if it doesn't save you money, fuel economy is still is better for the environment. Not everyone makes the decision to save a buck.

Anonymous wrote:terrible idea, the batteries will go on you in a couple of years and it's very costly. It make more sense to just buy a regular civic.

Do you know this for a fact? I have one friend who still has her Gen I Prius with 140K on it and the battery is fine. I have another friend with a Gen II Prius with 120K miles and has not have a problem with the battery.

When those estimates were made, none of the Prii had close to 100K miles on them and the "experts" were predicting what would likely happen. In reality, I have yet to hear of someone who has had to replace the battery and I know many, many Prius owners.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't like the instrument panel, the way it curves makes it hard to see. I find it hard to park and hard to manouver.

I like the mileage and it seems to go for a while on battery when gas is low.

You have to watch out, if you let it sit for a week, it keeps trying to sense the battery the whole time and you can come home to a car that won't start.

Frankly I don't like it enough that I would buy one now without the benefits of using it on 66 in hov.

2007 Prius here. That never happened to us, and we went weeks without using it.

I've had this happen, but the car sat in a cold garage in winter for about 3.5-4 weeks (almost a month). I've also gone in a cold garage for 2 weeks with no problem, so it really has to sit idle for a long time. It happened once and that situation is unlikely to come up again for us.

terrible idea, the batteries will go on you in a couple of years and it's very costly. It make more sense to just buy a regular civic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An article said it takes years to make up the money from gas savings that it cost you in a premium to buy the car because it's more expensive than other cars in its class.

Also, when I see someone driving one, I assume they are a left wing loon. Usually they are. But if you are crazy far left, then it's befitting.

We paid $25K for our 2009 Prius. A comparable non-hybrid car with similar features (we had almost all of the options possible), would have cost us about $22K. We save $800-900 per year in gas savings, so on gas alone, we broke even in about 3.5 years. However, in addition we save on time because we go to the gas station about 1/2 as often and don't have to sit and wait in line, plus we get much better storage/hauling that we had in our old compact car (I'm the one that used to have the Nissan Sentra).

I forgot to add that since we plan to keep this car for at least another 5 years, we'll save an addition $4-$5K more than just equity over what we would pay for a comparable car. Definitely worth it over the life span of the car unless you only keep cars for 3 years at a time.

As for politics, I'm a Reagan Republican, which means that I'm now left of center. Traditionally, I've always been just right of center. And my wife would just left of center, but essentially, we're both moderates.

Anonymous wrote:An article said it takes years to make up the money from gas savings that it cost you in a premium to buy the car because it's more expensive than other cars in its class.

Also, when I see someone driving one, I assume they are a left wing loon. Usually they are. But if you are crazy far left, then it's befitting.

We paid $25K for our 2009 Prius. A comparable non-hybrid car with similar features (we had almost all of the options possible), would have cost us about $22K. We save $800-900 per year in gas savings, so on gas alone, we broke even in about 3.5 years. However, in addition we save on time because we go to the gas station about 1/2 as often and don't have to sit and wait in line, plus we get much better storage/hauling that we had in our old compact car (I'm the one that used to have the Nissan Sentra).

As for politics, I'm a Reagan Republican, which means that I'm now left of center. Traditionally, I've always been just right of center. And my wife would just left of center, but essentially, we're both moderates.

Anonymous wrote:in addition to the long long time it takes to recoup the extra purchase price via gas savings, there's also the "hidden" issue of the huge cost to dispose of all the Prius batteries.

thus, while my profession is environmental protection, I am skeptical of the actual real-world conservation that results from hybrids.

since you're an expert, can you expand on this? Thanks

Anonymous wrote:I don't like the instrument panel, the way it curves makes it hard to see. I find it hard to park and hard to manouver.

I like the mileage and it seems to go for a while on battery when gas is low.

You have to watch out, if you let it sit for a week, it keeps trying to sense the battery the whole time and you can come home to a car that won't start.

Frankly I don't like it enough that I would buy one now without the benefits of using it on 66 in hov.

2007 Prius here. That never happened to us, and we went weeks without using it.