OK, OK, I know... I am thinking of getting a Prius....

[singpilot]

I rented one of these in the Bay Area not too long ago. It was impressive. The hybrid seems to have all the bugs worked out.

I would keep the p-cars, but get rid of the Mercedes.

At 57MPG, the tax credits, the green aspects.... It drives well, is quiet, tight, does everything I need for a commuter.

With gas getting expensive, and nowhere to go but up, I am trying to get better at my commute. Last trip in the 420SEL, was 2x $48 dollar fillups round trip to Vegas from LAX. That just about equals the airfare.

The warranty seems to take the danger out of the system. I suspect is why there is a 7 month waiting list for them.

Anybody have one?

P.S. And here's the best part.... You can get in the carpool lanes with just the driver..... haha.

[motion]

Don't have one m8, but wish I could use one... I think they're a great idea! If I had a family or a use for a four door sedan, I'd buy one in a second.

[osidak]

According to the Web very few Prius owners are getting 57mpg. Think they are getting high 40's low 50's at best

Look long and hard at the VW TDI cars (currently Golf, Jetta, New Bug and near future Passat)

I drive a Jetta TDI (2000) now have 115K miles and lifetime mileage is 51.8 mpg. I can carry 4 people and loads of luggage. Accelerate well stock and even better with a chip. I have seen an indicated 135 mph with mine. I usually see 700 to 750 miles between fill ups. I have gone as far as 910 miles.

On mountain roads I have never had to down shift and actually been able to accelerate while climbing the grade in 5th gear.

[350HP930]

You can also convert an old diesel to run off of waste grease and oil.

Biodiesel is also popping up in a lot of places too.

http://biodiesel.org/

[BlueSkyJaunte]

We'll get one when kids start showing up (2 years or so).

We've got too many acquaintences who've had problems with the diesel VWs (or VWs in general) so we're staying away from that.

Plus, my father-in-law's a bigwig at Toyota so we get the family discount.

[john70t]

I'd heard a rumor about the "H"-word Insight dealer delivery to the bay area.
There were supposedly hundreds if not thousands on back order, but something like 50 delivered.

Something like "availability" was mentioned as a reason in this age of instantaneous/on demand network buisness system. I think it stunk of politics.

My mother was looking for a Prius. So far she has to put down a non-intrest-bearing deposit and wait a whole year.
What a F%n joke.

[JavaBrewer]

My 'new' F-150 gets a solid 16 mpg on the freeway

Seriously, if they made a Prius version of the Mini I'd be in.

[CarreraS2]

My commute is 3 miles, but if I had a lot of heavy duty commuting, I'd buy a Prius, for all of the reasons you give!

I don't know why, but I always check them out when I see them on the road. I guess because everything I've read about them, they seem like really cutting edge machines that are far out ahead of the curve. Gotta respect that.

[osidak]

I will admit VW dealers leave much be desired. If I depended on them to take care of me I would not drive a VW.

That being said I love my VW and I do 100% of the work on it. She has been very dependable with the exception of MAF's. The Bosch MAF used on these cars are junk but are priced like diamonds. I switched over to a Pierburg MAF that is used on the MB CDI cars and have been happy with it. Best thing though it cost 1/3 the cost of the VW MAF.

Only other sore spots on my car had been the window regulators but that has been resolved with a redesigned part.

The Toyota discount would be attractive and the new Prius is very useable but for the money and performance (fuel and other) I would stay with my VW. I want to get the Passat when it comes out but they are only offering it with a automatic transmission so far.

[lendaddy]

Just read an article on these. They are seeing mileage in the 30's. mi 40's highway

[Decolliber]

And Larry David drives a Prius on CYE.

[RickM]

God I can't wait for a Hydrogen powered car. BMW built a fleet of H-powered 740s, but for show. The distribution channels are the big hurdle. Last I heard the only place to fill up (in the world) was Munich airport.

These hybrids make a lot more sense than the stictly electric vehicles. A good steeping stone to the future.

[vash]

my girlfriend's bro just got one. he got the older model last year, not the new version you see nowdays. i drove that damn thing, and i was pleasantly surprised. very peppy! he gets around 50mpg. but he hasnt taken it for a roadtrip, because he thinks he will break it! idiot, i would want to break it in the first year or so. and the dude didnt think the whole tax deduction thing through, or the dealer lied to him, because last i checked he was still using the EZ form. i think the honda version looks less "treehugger". but it only has one big battery.

[jyl]

Prius is a great idea. My dad has had one (the older model, of course) for 2 years. Completely trouble-free, he gets 45 mpg and his wife gets >50 mpg on a 40-mile-each-way freeway commute (I guess he's more of a leadfoot).

I didn't know you could get in the carpool lane - that alone is reason to buy one!

I hear the new model Prius is even better. The Civic hybrid apparently doesn't have as good mileage.

The problem with diesels, AFAIK, is emissions - other than needing to find diesel fuel of course.

[singpilot]

I have been doing the research online. A Google gets you to various users sites. Sounds like the 2004 is the second generation version... lots of problems fixed from the '01,'02, and '03 models. MotorTrend Car of the Year, FWIW.

I'd think hard about a deposit for a year from now. I'm not in that much of a hurry to leave money on the bar.

[nostatic]

I really like the new Prius. Hatchback, decent lines. Evidently if you go to Longo you can get one for msrp...most dealerships are charging a few $K over. I think there is indeed a waiting list.

Funny thing...a high mpg car being in short supply. You'd almost think that something funny was going on. After all, if I'm Toyota, and I can sell 100K hybrids, wouldn't you make 100K of them? I mean it isn't like a sporty car that you are trying to keep low number on to increase exclusivity...

[Adam]

The Civic Hybrid is going to be better value than it sounds.

Here in Aust, it's US$5k cheaper than the Prius and has a longer range together with side airbags and climate control. I am keen to see one up close.

[singpilot]

The base model here in SoCal is $19995. The dealers here add a thou. Like $22070. OTD.

The completely loaded one (all the sidebags, Bluetooth enabled, keyless entry, voice nav, upgraded everything) is $25500. Like $26800. OTD.

The more I read, the better it sounds.

[john70t]

no facts to back this one up, but..

There was a television show that did a cross country N.Y.-to-L.A. comparison recently with the new Honda Civic Hybrid and the new Honda Civic all-gasoline engine.

The Hybrid got 10-20 more mpg than the average 35+ of the standard Civic, but performance was terrible and city driving mpg was comperable.

Who knows about reliability? If gasoline pop's up to $5/gal nationwide who cares?

Either way, it's a good vehicle for sitting in a long line of traffic in.

[motion]

Looks like the Civic is going to also be about $20k starting. Not sure if its as large as the Prius, though. 51 mpg claimed:


http://www.hondacars.com/models/model_overview.asp?ModelName=Civic+Hybrid&bhcp=1