Prius/hybrid owners
 

My wife and I currently have a 2007 Mazda 5, which we enjoy a lot. We've got 2 small kids, which it has plenty of room for, and it still gets pretty good gas mileage (says a guy who's used to Jeeps) at around 22 in the city loaded with my family, and 30+ on the highway loaded. By myself, I can pull 25 in the city and 35 on the highway.

Anyhow, we're looking to get something even more gas efficient, while not losing a lot of space. Since we're already getting 30+, I'm looking to step it up to something 40+.

Any reviews from any of you guys whom has/wife has a hybrid?

Of course I gravitate towards the Prius because they've been doing it the longest, but I want to keep my mind open.

Thanks guys!

I have driven my sister-in-law's Prius a few times, and other than being ugly it has been great, plenty of pep and gets as much as 50 mpg. The back seat seems a little cramped for adults, though. I drive a Honda Civic Hybrid at work and don't like it at all. The driver door is too long, you can't reach it to close,
and the worst thing is the way the brake regeneration works. You cannot inch forward, like when trying to get into a parking space in front of a wall or opposite another parked car. Also, the engine shuts off too fast when stopped at a stop sign, very annoying on a hill, almost like having a stick shift as it will roll back a bit before the engine kicks back on and it moves again. I drove a rental Hybrid Escape and that was fun, with a lot more room, but then only got about 34 mpg.

Hmm, I've never heard those complaints before. I'd read about the brake regeneration, but haven't read into it that much I suppose.

My second behind the Prius is the Honda Civic Hybrid, so I'll be sure and keep that in mind.

lies. VW has been getting 40+mpg the longest. tdi.

I meant making hybrids the longest. Although the idea's been around for a bit, Toyota was the first to mass-produce a hybrid, starting in 97.

And VW released the TDI in North America in late 96.

Have you taken a ride in the ford fusions hybrids? A friend of mine has one of those and I really like the ride in it. I mean, if you are set on hybrid. I'd get a diesel before I got a hybrid though. Less things to go wrong and need replacing in the long run.

Actually, Prius has been the #1 most reliable compact car for the past 3 years, so they're beating out the diesels in terms of reliability. That survey is based on problems per 100 buyers.

I have looked into the Fusion Hybrid, but I wanna say it starts a full 7k over the Prius. For me, a brand new Hybrid to come onto the market and have that high of a base price, even when they're going against the comparably sized Prius whose been around for 10 years, that just immediately loses my interest.

I work at a tire shop and have driven quite a few hybrids around in our parking lot, granted that isnt really the best way to decide how a car drives. But I think that they are all about the same. I feel like the honda civic hybrid is a joke though. When we get one in the gas mileage monitor never shows more then 33 mpg. I mean my wifes G5 does that.

Really? I've never heard that. I'd love to hear from someone who's actually had a Civic hybrid...

I've got 2 TDIs. An 05 Passat wagon that gets 40+ and an 03 Jetta that I average 50MPG. I have taken the Passat with 4 adults, 1 dog, a roof rack, skis and snow board, luggage for the adults and Christmas present from Seattle to Boise with the snow and mountains and averaged just under 40MPG. No way a Prius could do that.
If you want fuel economy for driving around town, get a hybrid. If you want fuel economy for the road get a Diesel. The Prius gets about 30+ on the highway and my Passat gets about 30+ around town.

Unfortunately, all I can go off of is the EPA estimates, because I know that each vehicle is going to vary greatly depending upon conditions, the actual car, and driving styles. With the 2011 Prius having 51/48 (city/highway) and the 2011 Jetta TDI rated at 30/42.

That combined with diesel normally around 30 cents higher around here than low-grade fuel, and I just can't justify getting one.

Anyhow, today I actually went and looked at the Priuses. They didn't have the 2011 models in yet, so I just took a look at the 2010's. My wife and I were really impressed with all the gadgets I didn't even know it had, and how roomy and comfy it was.

Overall, my wife's 100% sold on the Prius, and I'm about 95% -- unless something different comes out within the next year or so, we're more than likely looking at getting something at the beginning of 2012. I hear some rumors about Ford coming out with some hybrid getting 100mpg or something crazy, but we'll see if anything comes into fruition...

I had a VW rabbit diesel in the mid 80's that got 40+ mpg's. I loved the car but my brother totaled it.

xjfever, I was wondering when you were going to migrate over! Welcome!

I have one and My wife has one. We use them for company cars as we drive 30k a year each. Spring and fall I get up to 54 mpg in winter and summer I get about 44mph. The reason for the lower mileage is the heater and Air conditioning. The engine runs more with either one.
I find it to be comfortable and I'm 6'4" and all legs. It is fun to drive has lots of room. I have ridden in the back seat of my wifes and had plenty of leg room.
I joke that ours are the only Prius with out Obama stickers. I don't drive it for the environment as I just hate sending any more money over to sheiks and I really like filling up with 9 gallons, the tank lasts longer and I'm out of the gas station before the suburbans are 1/4 full

several things should be mentioned here. as far as i know, the prius and the volt are the only hybrids on the market that can run on electric only. this means their 'in town' fuel economy is going to be far better then their 65 mph cruise mph. if you plan on commuting mostly in town, i think a prius would benifit you. if you plan on commuting over a stretch of 10 miles or more, i would reccomend a tdi jetta wagon or something similar..

The Prius runs on a gas engine that drives a generator that charges battery and at this time is not a plug in. Most of our driving trips are 15 miles to 50 miles and the 54 to 44 MPG that I spoke of are those distances.
My opinion is that the extra expense of purchasing a hybrid makes sense if you drive a lot . If you don't drive very much, the added expense of buying a hybrid probably won't be offset by the fuel savings.
From what I have read that the Prius is not that Eco friendly as the pollution generated to manufacture the batteries offsets any decreased pollution by the higher mileage. That is if you buy into the whole global warming thing.

That part is key, I can't remember what publication it was, C&D, R&T one of those, but they compared two higher end lexus'. The hybrid would have to go over 300k miles before it made up its additional cost.

The top-of-the-line Prius is around $28k, with the base starting at $22k. I think they're pretty affordable, and didn't even think about making up any "extra costs."

they are pretty sweet little cars i think. they have a certian stigma to them, but as long as that doesnt bother you, go fer it....

However, if you can settle for 36 MPG you can buy 3 Hyundai Accents for the same money at our local dealer's 2010 clearance sale for $7,999.:dunno:

Haha, I really hope you're joking... :)

Hyundia's got its reputation for good reason!

I remember last year a local dealership did a buy an F-150 and get a Hyundai free!

:HIGHFIVE:

Yes and no, I think the extra money for a hybrid is not worth it unless you do a lot of driving around town, but Hyundai definitely did suffer from a poor quality reputation compared to Honda and Toyota. Lately though, at least one of their models seems to be better, rated #5. Whooa, the first Toyota is down at #13 and the Prius is rated #15, and the two best for overall reliability are a Chevy and a Ford. Who would have thought?

Ratings | J.D. Power

initial quiality means nothing 10k later, and it means nothing for resale value...

You are right, of course, but "resale value" is one of my pet peeves with manufacturer and dealer advertising.

If a car is reliable and well built it should go over 200,000 miles, who would care what the resale value is if it's good enough to keep that long, you'll get your money's worth out of it.
Seems to me that bragging about resale value means you'd want to trade it in within a few years.

I've never owned a Hyundai and likely never will, but would never buy another Toyota either. We had a '96 4Runner that was awful, a money pit, and all these recent recalls mean they lost touch with their great heritage for quality. Currently we have a Jeep and two Fords.

not everyone keeps vehicles to 200k. i know i dont. my vehicles are lucky to make it to 50k with me. not looking to start a discussion about that, but i know i am not the only one who likes to have newer vehicles. to people like me resale value is a huge deal.

fwiw, our 2009 corolla that we paid cash new for now has 55k miles on it. my wife will be trading it in next august when she graduates. in 2.5 years of ownership and 55k miles later it has depreciated 3k$ TRADE IN VALUE. lets see a hyundai do that!

I think Hondas do even better. I too normally trade by about 80-100k, most people do. You either get tired of it or want to get rid of it before it starts to need work. In fact most trade before the 90,000 service because it's so expensive.

Back to the topic, I drove a company Civic Hybrid again yesterday and found a new issue, stopped on a downhill at a light, let off the brake and the engine starts and it lurched forward. The few times I drove a Prius, it never did that.
May be a service issue I suppose but it only has 20,00 miles.

Yeah I'd have to agree that initial quality isn't really one of the things I'm looking for. What I'm looking for is long-term dependability and gas mileage, which is two things that the Prius really fluorishes at.

Ahh yes now I see the price difference - the Ford Focus is definitely a bit cheaper than the Prius. I might go and look for one, but it'd take a lot to switch me over from a Prius.

I'll be honest, I've had really bad experiences with Ford and it'd take a lot for them to win back my business. Anyone know what kind of warranty is coming with this new line of Focuses?

dont skip over the corolla either. we, on several occasions, have averaged 45 mpg through several tanks on road trips.... ford really has upped their game lately. not enjoying the mazda5?

The standard Ford warranty, 3yr/36k bumper-to-bumper and 5/60 power train. I have driven the Ford Fusion (rental) and that was a great fun car with plenty of room, that also does come in a 41 mpg hybrid. I don't know about the price but you might check it out at the Ford website. It definitely had more room than the Prius.

No we're enjoying it plenty! It's got plenty of room, 3rd row seatings, and decent fuel economy. But we're just looking to get something to finally keep for at least 6+ years, so we're looking to buy something new. And with the rising gas prices and my monster XJ, our family car needs to be something with outstanding fuel economy and dependability.

In short, I'm trying to break my car-ADD symptoms!


Yeah, that's the same warranty as the Prius. I may rent a Fusion just to see how I like it. I'm not going to lie, like I said before,it'll take a lot to switch me over, but I'll give it a shot.

Another reason I'm so tied into the Prius is just for the fact that it's already in their third generation and has been doing it for over 10 years - so I'd hope they've worked out some of the kinks. That combined with their complaints/lawsuits over the 07-08 models, I'd hope that their production line is under a lot of pressure/oversight right now!

I read somewhere that Toyota sold their old technology to Ford.

Really? Remember where you read that at, by chance?

heard that too, someone squashed it though. sorry i have no proof. i seriously doubt toyota would help out ford though...