I am not really the kind of tree hugging hippy but I have a youg daughter and I really want her to have a world she can leave in. In addition I am a natural scrooge and I hate all forms of consumptions (I have been wearing my fetiche pair of shoes for 15 years already and my wife is despaired because I succeeded to have them repaired recently, still good for 5 more years !!)
I just hesitate on the reality of the environmental impact appart from the image. It is good to vehiculate the image of someone "who cares". What about the batteries ? Can I hope to see a plugin next year (I plan to use mainly in urban environment).
do you know ??
Well, if you want it to save the environment, then it's for you. If you want it to save money, it's a terrible choice.
1: It's more expensive to purchase.
2: The life expectancy of the batteries is what, 3 years? They cost thousands to replace.
For economy, buy a used economy car. (Cheap to buy, cheap to run.)
You will pay less tax with the greener car. and also save fuel consider the petrol price can only go higher and higher. In long run it probably even things out. But one more thing you have contributed is save the planet! 
I heard that the batteries are supposed to last the lifetime of the car. Do you have any info it is not the case ? Do you own a prius yourself ? I would be mostly interrested to get the opinion of a person who owns a prius. My greatest concern is if the car stalls on the peripheric. I would be very angry if that engine restart does not operate correctly.
The lifetime of the battery is only 3 years ??? Seems a bit underestimated, no? I can't believe that you'll have to change a battery every 3 years...
But then. I guess that it also depend on your estimated consumption: are you planning to use it a lot or not?
As a citizen of earth, I much prefer you to use a green car. But then, I don't hold your wallet 
That is the reason why I REALLY need opinions from other users who own that car. It is hard to know the real end of the story but everything I have read so far seem to indicate the batteries will actually last for the entire life of the car. And there is a warranty on it anyway.
I believe the real issue for me would be a plug-in.
In france most of the electricity is nuclear and even if it is also a polluting energy the problem is less "urgent". So I would appreciate a car that runs as much as possible on electricity and on fuel only when out of power. This is not really the concept of the prius but I hope that by the time I buy it, that feature will be available ...
I've done some research on the hybrids, plus talked to a dealer who told me straight up that if you're not driving alot on the interstate or taking long trips with it, then Hybrids are a waste of money. I believe you had to go over 20 miles for the hybrid feature to kick in so that's definately something to think about
if you have an hour commute every day and do long drives otherwise it'd be good i guess. But if you're just driving around in town with it it's a very bad idea because they have less mileage in city than on high way.
Hope this helped!
Actually that's the reason why the prius seemed preferrable compared to other hybrids, it's the only one which seemed to have a lower gpm for urban traffic than interurban.
| Winterborne wrote: |
I've done some research on the hybrids, plus talked to a dealer who told me straight up that if you're not driving alot on the interstate or taking long trips with it, then Hybrids are a waste of money. I believe you had to go over 20 miles for the hybrid feature to kick in so that's definately something to think about
if you have an hour commute every day and do long drives otherwise it'd be good i guess. But if you're just driving around in town with it it's a very bad idea because they have less mileage in city than on high way.
Hope this helped! |
That's exactly backward. For long highway commutes, the hybrid feature (the batteries) quickly become depleted and the car is left running only on the gasoline engine, and therefore the hybrid part of the car is not doing anything for you. For lower speed in town driving, with lots of braking (where the batteries are charged -- regenerative braking) hybrids perform much better than traditional internal combustion only vehicles.
I looked at and test drove a 2006 Prius, the interior is very nice, it drives well etc. but as I don't do a lot of stop and go driving (the type hybrids are good at) it's not the best vehicle for me. As the dealer said, it is a very complicated car, but one that is very green.Hey,
How long did it take to get the test ride ?
Did the dealer tell you how long it could take for delivery (I heard 3 months) ?
I heard there is a dead angle in the rear mirror, did you see it ?
I plan to drive it in Paris so I believe the regenerative braking will just feel great in the traffic jam (acceleration, break, acceleration, break). My main cocnern is to get stalled on the peripheric if the engine does not restart correctly.
Prius really doesn't get near the mileage advertised, they are incredibly weak (body strength-wise, your daughter would be very bad off in an accident), go with a Volkswagen Golf Diesel.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/302898/prius_target_practice/ is funny (and all about a poor, pathetic Prius). | deneb.star wrote: |
Hey,
How long did it take to get the test ride ?
Did the dealer tell you how long it could take for delivery (I heard 3 months) ?
I heard there is a dead angle in the rear mirror, did you see it ?
I plan to drive it in Paris so I believe the regenerative braking will just feel great in the traffic jam (acceleration, break, acceleration, break). My main cocnern is to get stalled on the peripheric if the engine does not restart correctly. |
Where I am (Midwestern US) the dealer had six or so 2006 Prius with different trim levels lined up outside, so it wasn't an issue for availability for test drives and such, at least here. (I drove it the day I first was looking at it) As for the rear mirror, I can't really say as the drive was short.Hi, I sold one of the very first prius' to go on the road in California and have to say that they are nice cars. The batteries are realistically going to last you 5 years or 100,000 miles. The batteries are going to get cheaper as more people need them, but as of 2 years ago it would cost about $7,000 US to replace them.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info,
Do you know if it is possible to demand a time garantee on the batteries. I usually drive about 25,000 km per year so if the batteries only last for 100,000 kilometers that would be 4 years. With a 5 year warranty I could have the replacement included in the purchasing price.
I will try to get some more info when I see the dealer in France
I think that at the moment we are not really seeing such a great benefit for our money in terms of fuel consumption. The prius is a big car and while it is efficient, I don think that it is as efficient as a non-hybrid small car. I think we still have to wait a few years before we really get environment friendly cars. You also have to take in to account the amount of waste taken to build the car, as well as to run it. I dont have any ideas about this, but a lot of waste is generated to produce a car. If you wanted to be really environment friendly, take the train! No really, I think there are some cheaper, smaller cars that I bet guzzle less fuel.Later on there will be a greater distinction.
I think it's a good choice...Pretty expensive, but it doesn't need much gas and Toyota cars are good cars.
There is no need for a plug in on these, as the batteries regenerate on their own. If you do all city driving, I'd hold out for the air powered cars coming out soon.. they seem pretty wicked.
There are two batteries on the hybrids.. the high voltage battery pack (usually under the trunk floor) which is designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle, and usually come with a 10year/100,000 mile warranty... and the 12V battery under the hood that has it's own electrical system to power the accessories such as radio, air conditioning, etc...
The big three hybrids - Toyota Prius, Honda Civic/Accord/Insight, and the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner each have their own characteristics... for example the Prius can drive electric only, with the engine coming on when needed to recharge the battery pack or when extra power is needed, the Hondas drive primarily gas engine, with the electric kicking in when extra power is needed, and the Fords which technically CAN run electric only, but only in very slow speed parking lot maneuvers - like the Prius the engine kicks on when recharge is necessary or when more power is needed.
I've worked for both Ford and Honda recently and have yet to see, nor have I heard of these battery packs going bad. Recently I had a Honda Civic Hybrid in with over 200,000 miles and still going strong.
I think the coolest feature of these vehicles is the fact that there are no starters - the electrical setup rotates the engine for you to start it... so you just turn the key on and the engine is running... almost feels like it shifts gears!
| henrynielson wrote: |
Hi, I sold one of the very first prius' to go on the road in California and have to say that they are nice cars. The batteries are realistically going to last you 5 years or 100,000 miles. The batteries are going to get cheaper as more people need them, but as of 2 years ago it would cost about $7,000 US to replace them.
Hope this helps. |
Boy, does that info helps me make my decision. $7000 to replace batteries - no thanks. I can buy alot of fuel for my '84 Monte Carlo with that. It gets 25 mpg as along as I stay out of the back barrels of the carb.I was just at a dealership a few weeks ago to pick up my car, and I looked around at their cars, including the Prius. My take on it:
1) TERRIBLE vision for such a small car, I found it very difficult to see much of anything out of it, since it is at such an angle and so high up that it is only useful when other cars are a good distance from you
2) 600 mpg is insane, right? You're still polluting with that damn gas that it uses, and you're car already costs more than any other comparable car out there.... I've also heard that many drivers aren't even coming close to that mark (remember, the mpg is an AVERAGE, between like 100 and 30... lets say, so you could get far less, or even more... but they are giving you the LIBERAL estimation... watch yourself there.)
3) It is ugly: Seriously, the back of this car makes you want to get hit so you can get some of that insane amount of money you paid for it back.
4) Price: Dunno what your range here is, but remember that you will never get out the door for that 22-23k price... you'll probably hit like 23-25 if you want to get a decent warranty so that when your battery shites out, you don't pay a bunch to replace it, and that will all cost you some dough
Anyhow, it's a nice concept car, with LOADS of luxury and safety features, but it is ridiculously overpriced, and you're still using gasoline... albeit less than normal...
I'm not saying it's a bad choice, I'd just say wait a few years here, this technology is fringe at the moment, and every year it's going to get better, if you get a nice little family car, you can trade it in (seriously, low depreciation on Corollas and Civic) and pony up the cash for Prius Vers. 5.0 or whatever it might be, when it might actually be worth that price.
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