Most of the Prius nay-sayers here know little about the car. That is obvious from the content of their posts. They treat it as a symbol of "green-ness" not as a car on its merits. I admit, there are some smug, irritating Prius drivers - but so what, you don't have to be one.
As you saw, when you actually drive the car, you find it is a comfortable, functional, reasonably roomy car, with Toyota quality and reliability, that uses clever engineering to get pretty darn good gas mileage in a way that is transparent to the driver.
Compared to the SUV it replaced (Range Rover), at current gas prices the Prius is saving us nearly $5,000 per year. Sounds like the savings would be higher for you, 60K miles/year is 3X our average.
If you are thinking about getting one, FYI:
- Best MPG is with warm engine at moderate speeds (45-ish MPH) in rural or suburban areas without a lot of hills, or on freeway at 60-65 MPH. Climbing lots of hills, stoplight gran prix, 80 MPH on freeway, or 2 mile trips with cold engine, is going to hurt MPG significantly, could even get down to low 40s MPG. Combining 2-4 of these, plus snow tires and freezing temps, can get you down to high 30s MPG. (Just to calibrate your expectations.)
- MPG tends to improve during the first year, supposedly from Prius breaking in but I think also from driver learning the tricks.
- MPG is sensitive to wheels and tires. "Upgrades" to 17" wheels and wide/sticky tires can cost 3-4 MPG, due to higher weight and higher rolling resistance.
- Snow tires also hurt MPG. Overfilling engine oil also hurts. Higher tire pressures helps, so does partially blocking the grille and/or using block heater in winter.
- Over the full year, we are now getting avg 42 MPG in town on the 10% ethanol that is sold here (equates to about 43-44 MPG on 100% gasoline), as in high-30s MPG in winter and mid-40s MPG in summer. We have the short trips and hills problem, and wifey likes to accelerate up to red lights, like she can intimidate them into turning green or something.
- Highest I've ever gotten is mid-high 60s MPG on freeway averaging 55 MPH. Worst ever is 35-ish MPG in 30 F temps doing repeated short trips on cold engine, climbing hills, and wearing snow tires.
Quote:
Originally Posted by speedracing944
Ok I have been a Prius skeptic ever since they came out. Last Thursday as a joke my wife and I went to go look at one at the dealership. I went from laughing to "holy crap" in a matter of 1.5 hours. The car is pretty big on the inside for a car that small. I am 6' 3" and can sit in the back seat with the front seat all the way back and I still had 2 inches in front of my knees. The car drove nice and the trip computer showed 55MPG for our mixed 10 mile drive. Before I get reamed we drive about 60,000 miles a year and the fuel savings would be huge. The experience has changed my opinion on the car.
Speedy  |