Prius Drivers Unite
Any other Prius drivers out there in AI land?
We purchased a 2006 Prius about 2 months ago and love the thing to death. What sold us on the car was generally how roomy it was and how tech-centric it is. It was designed from the ground up to be a modern car with tons of high-tech features without compromising mainstream needs like trunk capacity, interior roominess, cup holders, and stuff like that.
My only complaints are minor: rear visibility could be improved, but we do have a cool rear-view camera when backing up. Also, some things are still a little manual, like no power seats. I have to reming myself that while we have all these high-end, high-tech features, it is not a luxury car.
Anyhow, I'm happy to share Prius stories, but I'm curious to hear from other AIers!
We purchased a 2006 Prius about 2 months ago and love the thing to death. What sold us on the car was generally how roomy it was and how tech-centric it is. It was designed from the ground up to be a modern car with tons of high-tech features without compromising mainstream needs like trunk capacity, interior roominess, cup holders, and stuff like that.
My only complaints are minor: rear visibility could be improved, but we do have a cool rear-view camera when backing up. Also, some things are still a little manual, like no power seats. I have to reming myself that while we have all these high-end, high-tech features, it is not a luxury car.
Anyhow, I'm happy to share Prius stories, but I'm curious to hear from other AIers!
Comments
Pfftt.. My Hummer eats Prius for lunch.
I'm sure it would, then again I can zip by in the carpool lane with just me in the car and my 12 gallon tank of gas will get me at least 450 miles.
I'm sure it would, then again I can zip by in the carpool lane with just me in the car
I could never understand the point of this since parallel hybrid like Prius actually is designed to be most efficient in stop-and-go. So allowing it to drive at a contant speed is completely defeting the purpose.
If you want to clean up the air, you should let the hybrids by in stop-and-go and let the hummers and big SUVs drive in the carpool!
I think the guy was joking about the hummer.
Heh, well I'm not. Xool, zip by me on E-80 with your Prius and I'll brake check you with my Dodge Durango quicker than lager turns to piss.
http://www.ihatehybrids.com
(If I have to pay $65 a week in gas everyone else should...)
the difference in price for a 26k prius and the corolla, or civic can buy years worth of gas. takes about 120 THOUSAND miles to break even per consumer union but i guess it makes you feel better doing it, like a badge or ribbon. doesn't make financial sense.
Nah, it only takes a couple years to make up the difference between those cars. Financially smart people don't turn their cars over before that time anyway. Besides, why compare it to those particular cars? The Prius is its own car, not just a civic or corolla with a hybrid engine. These consumer magazines recommend SUVs and other vehicles that cost twice as much as the Prius, and have much higher upkeep costs. Now that really doesn't make financial sense.
I'm glad you enjoy feeling pious in your Prius while zipping along alone in the carpool lane. I'm make sure that if you even rent any housing from me to increase your rent enough for me to buy carbon offsets for my vehicles that actually have to do work.
Nick
Nah, it only takes a couple years to make up the difference between those cars. Financially smart people don't turn their cars over before that time anyway. Besides, why compare it to those particular cars? The Prius is its own car, not just a civic or corolla with a hybrid engine. These consumer magazines recommend SUVs and other vehicles that cost twice as much as the Prius, and have much higher upkeep costs. Now that really doesn't make financial sense.
i'm glad you feel better driving the prius mystic
How far could the Prius tow my 1500 lb construction trailer which weighs about 6000lbs fully loaded with materials? How far could it tow my 6500 lb travel trailer? Nick
Let's be fair here. There are at least 5 hybrid small suv and 2 hybrid full-size truck models for the 2006-2007 model years. The small suv segment won't get the job done for you, but it can accomplish a lot of things a Prius can't. The full-size is a lot closer to what'll get the job done for you. Not sure if the towing capacity reaches 6500 pounds with that engine though. Close, probably.
Let's be fair here. There are at least 5 hybrid small suv and 2 hybrid full-size truck models for the 2006-2007 model years. The small suv segment won't get the job done for you, but it can accomplish a lot of things a Prius can't. The full-size is a lot closer to what'll get the job done for you. Not sure if the towing capacity reaches 6500 pounds with that engine though. Close, probably.
My truck is a three-quarter ton pickup. (2500) The hybrid appears to be rated to tow that amount, but honestly I wouldn't do it. When you tow at 95-100% of the vehicles capability, it feels very unsafe. You spend your time fighting with the vehicle instead of just driving it. The two miles per gallon gained by being a hybrid gas engine could probably easily be beat by going with the ultra-low sulfur diesel engine instead which is available in one ton vehicles. It shows why it is stupid to get all hung up on a certain type of solution. When you tow with a gas engine, the fuel economy drops by half. With a diesel engine, it typically drops by about 33%. Would you rather a person get 12 mpg using ultra-low sulfur diesel or 9-10 mpg using hybrid technology?
Nick
My truck is a three-quarter ton pickup. (2500) The hybrid appears to be rated to tow that amount, but honestly I wouldn't do it. When you tow at 95-100% of the vehicles capability, it feels very unsafe. You spend your time fighting with the vehicle instead of just driving it. The two miles per gallon gained by being a hybrid gas engine could probably easily be beat by going with the ultra-low sulfur diesel engine instead which is available in one ton vehicles. It shows why it is stupid to get all hung up on a certain type of solution. When you tow with a gas engine, the fuel economy drops by half. With a diesel engine, it typically drops by about 33%. Would you rather a person get 12 mpg using ultra-low sulfur diesel or 9-10 mpg using hybrid technology?
Nick
good points-- i hope they roll out this newfangled hydraulic hybrid technology that could get full-duty trucks up to 50-60 mpg with a ton of power. especially so it gives people with your needs more choices in the market-- better opportunities to try to make a difference.
Why? Are people driving around in their Priuses, going "nyah nyah I'm better than you?"
Like NOFER and his "hope you feel better driving your Prius mystic" line. WTF? I mean dude, did a Prius make fun of your dick, or what?
OP says he likes his car-- likes its amenities and design, likes that it gets great gas mileage. How is that a challenge to anyone else? Why does it require that he be brought down a notch?
You know what's ironic? The attitude ascribed to Prius owners is exactly the same as what PC owners insist is going on with Mac users. I think the word is smug. Even down to the "how am I going to get any real work done with a wussy little toy" thing.
Just don't get it.
I put on about 5000 miles of mixed driving a year. Most of it would seem to be in town, but those handful of trips to Orlando, and that one road trip a year end up making a fair share of miles. However, instead of getting a hybrid I just moved closer to work. I use a lot less gas because the commute is short, and in the winter I can get there reliably on a bike. (Too damn hot in the summer).
You know, I really don't get something. Every time a Prius gets mentioned, there are reliably people who are going to immediately go into this "Oh, I guess you think you're all PC and saving the environment and shit and let me tell you pal, you're not" mode.
Why? Are people driving around in their Priuses, going "nyah nyah I'm better than you?"
Actually, yeah there are people who act self-righteous over their environmental actions. I'm a big recycler and whenever I'm at someone else's house, I ask where certain items "go" since I assume they recycle. When they don't I just make a place on the counter and sure enough, someone takes the cans instead of just tossing them. However I have been around situations where certain people use it as a means to damn or judge another person publicly. I've seen such items occur with cars as well, but find it hilarious that no one seems to do it at all with houses. (Everyone loves your big house.)
Like NOFER and his "hope you feel better driving your Prius mystic" line. WTF? I mean dude, did a Prius make fun of your dick, or what?
There are plenty of folks who basically condemn any choice of vehicle that is not a small fuel-efficient sedan. I know we can all do better fuel-wise. I've complained on here that fuel efficiency gains are being used to justify more luxury instead of less use. However a lot of folks don't look at the big picture and realize that there are needs for different types of vehicles.
OP says he likes his car-- likes its amenities and design, likes that it gets great gas mileage. How is that a challenge to anyone else? Why does it require that he be brought down a notch?
Why does stating the use of other vehicles and the need for them make prius owners or their supporters feel like they have been taken down a notch?
You know what's ironic? The attitude ascribed to Prius owners is exactly the same as what PC owners insist is going on with Mac users. I think the word is smug. Even down to the "how am I going to get any real work done with a wussy little toy" thing.
There are instances in both cases where that is very true though. I would love to own a small car. My brother and sister-in-law just bought a Honda Element. It is very cute and capable. My wife loved it to death, but then absentmindedly began thinking out loud about what she has to do, often with two or three kids in tow that it couldn't handle. I had to shush her and make her realize that she might be hurting their feelings in thinking out loud about how their brand new car wasn't right for her. I can't just think in the background here while telling you to enjoy your new purchase. The mode of communication doesn't really allow for that.
Just don't get it.
There's a lot of environmental smugness that I don't get either. I've asked hard questions about it on here and had people ignore answering them because they like the intentions of the party. Questions like "If the planet has a finite amount of carbon dioxide it can tolerate, isn't it immoral to go outside your allocation, even if others are willing to suffer through the loss of theirs for some sort of financial gain?" "Isn't this the rich just using the fact they already despoiled to gain financially, paying the poor to stay that way?"
I've asked about the energy costs of producing a new car versus the environmental costs of using an older car. The size of home as basis for an energy footprint versus just what you drive. You get a lot of people who made their token effort, want to feel good about it, and just want you to shut up while they act smug. That doesn't fly for me.
Nick
Nick