Prius owners on A2K?

I miss Danger Mouse.

DM was an 03 corolla. average 40 mpg, and quick on the peddle.
Sort of small for the family of 4 that I have. We could all fit, but had to stop and stretch a lot on long drives. ..

I have seen more non hybrid cars get better performance and better gas mileage for 1/2 the cost of the prius.

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@shewolfnm,

Yup. I still have my 2001 corolla. 36 MPG, no payment, cheap insurance.

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You definitely don't want to buy a new car and then another new one in 2 years. A big chunk of the depreciation is right up front. I'm all for buying a 1 year old car from a reputable dealer like maybe carmax.

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@IRFRANK,

Do you anticipate car prices to go down in two years? I don't.

Do you anticipate that interest rates will be as low as they currently are in two years? I don't.

Do you expect that family car technologies will change that much in two years? I don't.

Invest in your family car now. If need be, you can always buy a used commuter car to bridge the gap and park the family car in a garage until the last few months of pregnancy when it will then be needed full time. At that point, sell the commuter car and put the proceeds toward paying off the loan for the family car.

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You might want to consider a VW Jetta deisel. It will get you essentially the same mileage as a Prius (probably much better mileage in non-urban situations); have slightly better acceleration; about the same interior room; and will likely last longer and need much less maintenance.

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@Butrflynet,

Quote:

Do you anticipate car prices to go down in two years? I don't.

No, probably not, but you are not going to get the price you paid for the car in the new trade-in in two years. You will lose a substantial amount in depreciation on a new car in the first two years.

Do you anticipate that interest rates will be as low as they currently are in two years? I don't.

Who knows? But I doubt it will be significantly different.

Do you expect that family car technologies will change that much in two years? I don't.

What's that got to do with it? If you need a larger car in two years, don't buy a small one now and a bigger one in two years.

Invest in your family car now. If need be, you can always buy a used commuter car to bridge the gap and park the family car in a garage until the last few months of pregnancy when it will then be needed full time. At that point, sell the commuter car and put the proceeds toward paying off the loan for the family car.

I don't disagree with that idea. What I didn't think was prudent was buying a new car now and in two years trading it in on a bigger one.

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@georgeob1,

georgeob1 wrote:

You might want to consider a VW Jetta deisel. It will get you essentially the same mileage as a Prius (probably much better mileage in non-urban situations); have slightly better acceleration; about the same interior room; and will likely last longer and need much less maintenance.

We have been thinking about this as well - the problem with the diesel for my wife is twofold:

1, there simply aren't as many gas stations in cities that sell diesel. None of the gas stations near where we live do - you have to drive a significant distance away to find a station that dispenses it. It's a significant pain in the ass when none of the 10 closest gas stations will work for you.

2, the price of diesel is significantly higher than it used to be - is it just me, or didn't diesel used to be CHEAPER than regular gas? As of today, the national average for diesel is a stunning 60 cents higher than for regular gas - or a fifth more expensive. That kills any savings you might realize from the high mileage on a diesel immediately.

That being said, the Jetta certainly is a fun car to drive that appeals to me in a variety of ways, and if they had a base model hybrid available, I'd buy it in a flash.

Cycloptichorn

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Thanks for the feedback, everyone - at this point, we're widening our search to include some other, non-hybrid cars:

The 2013 Subaru Impreza - my personal favorite

http://www.subaru.ca/Content/7907/Media/General/webimage/2013/Impreza/Impreza_2013_Ext_SubBanner.jpg

The 2013 Mazda 3 hatchback - gets great reviews, still haven't test-driven one yet.

http://1-photos4.zibe.com/new-2013-mazda-mazda3-5drhbautoitouringhatchback-8678-9670855-1-400.jpg

The Honda Fit - also haven't test-driven it, have some of the same concerns that I had about the Prius C, but it's by all accounts both peppier and roomier.

http://www.dieselstation.com/wallpapers/albums/Honda/Fit-Sport-2013/Honda-Fit-Sport-2013-widescreen-02.jpg

And I can't decide whether it's even worth our time to look at a Ford or Chevy. Everyone I know hates on them and says we should buy a Japanese car. This sucks a bit, as I usually try and buy American whenever I can, but this is a pretty big purchase... do the more modern Ford or Chevy's have better reliability than older ones? The price point on their cars certainly is more attractive...

Cycloptichorn

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@Cycloptichorn,

The deisel prices are a function of demand (low in CA) and distribution. You are correct in that it costs less to refine than gasoline and was once cheaper. However, I believe that, despite this, the Jetta will be cheaper to operate than a Prius, which is a good deal more complex (and therefore much more likely to require significant repair), and which loses its advantages in long-term steady operation, as opposed to stop & go city driving.

You may wish to consider just how you & your wife will operate your car. The Prius is optimized for short trips in an urban (stop & go) setting, whereas a deisel is optimal for steady driving. You indicated your wife will be driving a lot, and if long distances or freeway operation is the rule, the deisel may well have a very great advantage.

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@georgeob1,

georgeob1 wrote:

The deisel prices are a function of demand (low in CA) and distribution. You are correct in that it costs less to refine than gasoline and was once cheaper. However, I believe that, despite this, the Jetta will be cheaper to operate than a Prius, which is a good deal more complex (and therefore much more likely to require significant repair), and which loses its advantages in long-term steady operation, as opposed to stop & go city driving.

You may wish to consider just how you & your wife will operate your car. The Prius is optimized for short trips in an urban (stop & go) setting, whereas a deisel is optimal for steady driving. You indicated your wife will be driving a lot, and if long distances or freeway operation is the rule, the deisel may well have a very great advantage.

My wife is doing a mix of city/highway driving, with long stretches on the 880 but a lot of zipping around town as well. Additionally, a lot of the time she spends on the freeway is in traffic conditions, with a not insignificant amount of stop-and-go traffic she has to navigate. It's pretty clear that a hybrid is going to get much better gas mileage in situations like that.

But, we're not wedded to the idea of buying a hybrid, instead looking for the car that provides the right solution for our needs at the best price point possible. We figure that, given the number of miles driven by my wife a month and the price of gas being around $4 a gallon, driving a high-mileage hybrid (like a Prius or Prius C) will save us roughly $50 a month in fuel costs - a not insignificant amount, but hardly enough for me to justify sacrificing other considerations such as engine power or handling, which is my main complaint with the Prius C.

Re: the repair costs for a Prius vs. a Jetta, I don't have a lot of first-hand experience I can report on. However, I can say with confidence that websites which track repair costs consistently show lower total repair and upkeep costs for the Prius vs. the Jetta (though that's not broken out by model of Jetta in most cases), and the warranty for the battery on a new hybrid in California is 10 years or 150k miles, which is definitely attractive.

Thanks for the feedback, it's definitely helpful!

Cycloptichorn

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@Cycloptichorn,

I've got a Honda Fit. I love the flexibility the Magic Seat provides. Insane storage inside for a car that you can park in almost any tiny space. I drive standard and the Fit is whackzippy.

On the new family side, there are a couple of big upsides with a Fit - the really low step/lift-in at the side/back and, again, the flexibility the Magic Seat provides. I liked it when I first saw it demo'ed - love it in use.

Set and my dad (hamburgboy) like it because they're tall and it's got bizarrely tall headroom. It's also fairly easy for them to get in and out as the seats are higher off the ground than in any car I've driven before. Set's knees did not like the lower-to-the-ground cars I've traditionally had.

My across-the-street neighbour has a Fit as well. A couple of her sons play college hockey in the U.S. and sometimes bring pals home on holidays. Seeing 4 or 5 full-size guys and their hockey gear coming out of a Fit is a bit like watching a clown car - amazing what fits in (good legroom in the backseat - even if you're sitting behind a driver who drives with their seat way back).

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@ehBeth,

Thanks! 3 questions:

1, can you report your real-world gas mileage? An estimate is fine if you don't have an exact figure

2, am I correct in thinking that your post indicates that the Fit would have plenty of power for highway driving? We'll be getting an Automatic but I bet it's not all that different than the standard trans.

3, Some reviewers of the Fit have complained a lot about the road noise - is it an excessively loud car at speed?

Cheers
Cycloptichorn

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@Cycloptichorn,

Re Honda Fit: try test-driving the Fit. Some people I know (shorter than avg) reported having some issues with blocked visibility from the pillars when looking behind when parking or during a lane change. I drove it (5ft 7.5) with no problem whatsover.

I wasn't so happy to see the Fit have disk uop front but drum brakes in the rear; whereas the competition had disk brakes all around.

Also if you don't like the hatchback shaped vehicle...realize that it ONLY comes in HB.

Ford Focus is quite highly regarded. Since last yrs 2012 models, it has undergone substantial quality improvement . It has decent price ($16.3k-$24k USD) excellent reliability, good/great safety data, and good/great mileage.

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@Cycloptichorn,

My km/l conversion to mpg suggests I'm getting slightly over 42 mpg - with a pretty significant in-city/stop-and-go component to my driving. The tank is small but I seem to be able to go a long way on that little tank.

It's great on the highway and in the city. Acceleration is awesome. Beyond easy to shift.

I don't find it noisy, but I've always had sporty cars that are generally noisier than sedans when you hit the highway. I do find the engine disconcertingly quiet - I've had a couple of incidents where I thought I must have stalled out and tried to restart a running car Embarrassed

I guess that's a great improvement in technology, but I haven't caught up with it.

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@Ragman,

The most significant adjustment for me was learning how very very very close I can get to the car in front of me when I'm parallel parking. It seems like there is no front end when you first start parking the Fit. The salesperson spent some time with me when I picked up the car just walking closer and closer and closer to the car.

I hate driving behind Smartcars. Since they have no hind end and my car has no front end, I sometimes feel like I'm sitting in their back seat.

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@Ragman,

Ragman wrote:

Some people I know (shorter than avg) reported having some issues with blocked visibility from the pillars when looking behind when parking or during a lane change. I drove it (5ft 7.5) with no problem whatsover.

I'm in that shorter than average crowd - no problems with visibility to the back for me.

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@ehBeth,

I hear you. Like any new car, that takes getting used to. However, I admit that I was put off by that same issue, too.

Sorry, but when I look at SmartCar...I see a coffin on wheels. If you get hit by anything...except another SmartCar, they can just bury you in it. They may have to because it'd be a bitch trying to get you out. There's no protection from an accident as it really has no front end nor a rear end. If you got hit by a bus or a truck in that thing, they'd feel a small speed bump, basically.

Oh yeah...as an example driving in insane traffic like in Boston/Cambridge MA, you'd be in the body shop all the time.

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@Ragman,

Ragman wrote:

I hear you. Like any new car, that takes getting used to. However, I admit that I was put off by that same issue, too.

Sorry, but when I look at SmartCar...I see a coffin on wheels. If you get hit by anything...except a SmartCar, they can jsut bury you in it. They may have to because it'd be a bitch trying to get you out. There's no protection from an accident as it really has no front end nor a rear end.

Oh yeah...as an example driving in insane traffic like in Boston/Cambridge MA, you'd be in the body shop all the time.

Yeah, we're not getting one of those cracker-boxes!

Do yourself a favor: don't look up 'Smart Car crashes' on google. It's gnarly.

Cycloptichorn

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@ehBeth,

Actually, depending on the car, shorter people sometimes have worse problems depending on the shape of the pillars.

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@Cycloptichorn,

Smartcars and Miatas. Nightmares.

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Prius owners on A2K?

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