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New Car: Toyota Prius
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We got a new Toyota Prius this week. The short story is that we needed something more reliable. Fuel economy is more important all of the time and the Prius gets 55 mpg. If you want to hear the long story, click through to the full post. I'll try to have some more details about cool features of the car soon. And I've got another announcement to make.
Back story
About a month ago, Sara, Emma and I were on our way to Springfield, MO, for a wedding. Forty-five minutes into the trip, Sara's 1995 Isuzu Trooper started loosing power. We turned around and drove (slowly) back to Adrian and moved all of our stuff over to my 1992 Honda Accord, which made the trip just fine. After we returned we had the fuel filter replaced in the Trooper. It was cheap to fix, but we realized that we needed to have a car that's more reliable than either of these decade-old cars.
Going green
For a while now I've said that my next car will be a hybrid. The price of gas continues to go up and hydrogen and electric cars are still not widely available. But hybrids have been on the market for a few years now, so I think the early adopter period is about over. The cost of a hybrid is coming down and the quality is very good.
I did some homework on hybrids and learned that the Toyota Prius has been the gold standard for several years. Many consider the Honda Civic Hybrid to be a close second, but not quite as good as the Prius. The Prius gets 60 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway (55 mpg combined), which is good for the planet and good for the wallet. I'm guessing the Trooper got around 13 miles per gallon.
Test drive
Buying a used vehicle has always made the most sense to me, but I quickly found out that it's rare to find a used hybrid. I could only find one used Prius in all of Kansas City. I'm lucky to have found it because I learned that no Toyota dealerships have new Priuses on their lot that you can test drive. Customers have to order a Prius, wait for about 6 months, then pick it up. So, that used 2004 I found may have been the only Prius in the area available to test drive.
We drove to the city to test drive this 2004 Prius. I wanted to know a few things about it:
- Can you see out the back window? (There's a spoiler that divides the rear window)
- Is it roomy enough on the inside?
- Does it drive like a normal car, or is it underpowered or jerky when switching between electric and gas?
The results were very encouraging. The back window was no problem, the car is very roomy (one of its big advantages over the Civic) and you can barely not tell when it's changing between power trains.
So, we sat down with the used car salesman to see if we could work out a deal for this white, 2004 Prius with 55,000 miles on it. They were asking $22K, which is actually higher than the MSRP for a brand new Prius. What's more, the $3,100 Hybrid Tax Credit is only available when purchasing a new Prius. So, buying a used Prius turned out to be a very poor option.
Our lucky day
Next we drove down the street to Molle Toyota to inquire about the process of ordering a new Prius. We wanted to know how long it takes, the amount of the deposit, whether the deposit is refundable, etc. At this dealership, at least, they ask for a fully refundable $1000 deposit to reserve a car. But, after telling us that, they mentioned that they happened to have been notified earlier that day that three of the Priuses in their next shipment were no longer reserved. Two of them had already been sold, but there was still a tan one with a package we could afford. We put down our deposit, knowing that if we changed our mind they would just mail us a check.
On July 4, we went to pick it up only two weeks after reserving it. We didn't get to choose the color and package, but we were happy to get around the 6 month wait. After several hours of waiting, filling out paperwork, waiting, going over the car and manual and a bit more waiting, we drove home with our 2006 Prius and left them with our 1995 Trooper (Sara and Emma were both sad to see it go).
There's a lot to like about this car and I'll try to highlight some of the features in future posts. If you're considering a hybrid and want to drive ours, you're welcome to do it.
21 comments
Wow…I am so very jealous…
Congrats!!
Congrats. We are in the market for a mini-van with baby #3 coming. Your new car looks much cooler than any mini-van.
BLS
That is really sweet. Meredith and I would have one in a heart-beat if they were cheaper.
We have drivin my aunt’s a little bit. I found them to be remarkably well made and snappy when driving.
Good buy.
I’ve ridden in one, and among other things, one of the coolest things is the Bluetooth phone recognition/on-board speakerphone. Pretty awesome. I’d love to have a hybrid, period, and we’ll probably get something like the Ford Freestyle, or Escape, or whatever small SUV they’ve got that has a hybrid model. It’s tough to consider the Prius, cool as it may be, because of the smaller size. Some day, maybe.
Danny…I am also really curious to hear what your actual gas mileage is. I have heard conflicting reports about the Hondas, but the Prius is supposed to be pretty good.
Since we picked the car up our average has been 40 mpg. That’s with the air conditioner running all the time. In the fall when it’s cooler out and the car is broken in a bit, I expect that to go up.
dan: congrads! It does take a while to get used to driving them (yes, a very dull argument). Give youself a few weeks before critizing the milage.
dave: my wife’s Civic gets better than EPA when we’re not in the middle of a Texas summer, otherwise it’s down 10% with the AC (44 vs 47). The Green Hybrid (http://www.greenhybrid.com) has a pretty good milage database for comparison.
Hmm…if that is true about the Civic, I am not that impressed. I got 40 MPG from California to Chicago, with the air on the entire time with my non-hybrid civic.
That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like the extra 4-7 mpg, but I am not sure if it is worth upgrading.
Ultra cool–when we bought the Scion that Rob drives I would have LOVED to have gotten a prius–but the price and roomy backseat made our decision for us. Excellent choice!
dave - the civic does better for the city driving. We’ll get into the 50s (51/52) until my wife hits the highway to go to work and that pulls it down to 47/48.
Mike…thanks - that is very helpful. And 50 mpg in the city would great for me, being that I live in Chicago. Even when I am on the “highway” it is often stop and go.
I just put a deposit on a 2006 Prius. I specified either the metallic silver or magnetic gray exterior with dark gray interior, and Package 7 which has everything Toyota offers except leather-edged seats and leather-wrapped steering wheel, which I can live without. My salesman said it would probably take three weeks to find either vehicle (end of August 2006). This vehicle is funky and fun to drive and nicely appointed inside, although it feels funny starting the car with a push-button instead of a key and having only three positions - drive, reverse and neutral - with a separate push-button to “Park” - or the car will roll away!! I can’t wait to see if the mileage ratings are anything close to what was submitted to EPA, but at $3.20 a gallon for gas, an 11.9 gallon Prius tank is a lot smaller than my 20 gallon Dodge Grand Caravan. The full $3,100 IRS tax credit is for 2006 models only purchased before Sept. 30, After that date, the credit is reduced to zero by end-year.
Thanks for helping reduce carbon emissions, Danny, Sarah, and Emma.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When gas prices hit $10/gallon, people will get right with the Lord.
Picked up a 06 prius last sat. Its now 6 days later and I have 2100 miles on it. Actual milage for the 2100 miles (around town and houston tx. to greenville sc.) 46.4 mpg. Interstate was at 70 mph - all other driving was at the posted speed limit. Other cars (vw jetta tdi) do better on interstate milage but when you consider the tech. that goes into this automobile (including the creature features), its hard to beat. The diff. between the cost of a vw jetta tdi and the prius I purchased will take approx 2.5 years to break even at $3.00/gal. I drive 30k per year so thats a break even point of 75k miles. Thats hard to justify unless you are the type that keeps a car for a long time. With typical toyota quality this prius should last as long as you want it to !!! Email me if I can help with any questions. Greg
Has anyone drove the Prius in sever weather? We live in the NY Adirondack Park. Our Driveway is gravel and moderately steap (don’t want to put blacktop down due to runoff).
Our Audi Sport does fine but does fine. Need to see comments on the Prius in snow.
Hi everyone–we bought our 04 Prius back in Oct. ‘03 when gas was $1.69. 6 months later we took delivery and gas was topping $2/gal. so we looked like geniuses and the scramble for Prius’ began; my husband LOVES the car, as his commute is a staggering 100miles a day; we are most impressed with the fact that the car is so effortless to drive, the time flies by and you’re just not as tired as with another car. He has driven in some ice and snow and it handled like a champ; no reason to think any Prius of any vintage would not step up to the plate and deliver for you. Regards, Marjie
I have just under 2000 miles on a new 2007 Prius model 5 (thats the bells and whistles without the leather seats). I live in the CA foothills and am getting a solid 40 mpg. I like the car, the way it handles, the seating room, the many places to stash stuff, but I have a couple questions to throw out to other users. First, I like to have lights on for safety and this Prius doesn’t have driving lights -for lights during the day I have to turn on the head lights, and that dims all the dash lights so they are very hard to read. I have a gps map system and it doesn’t work very well at all. Recently, on vacation, I rented a Garmin for driving around unfamiliar territory. That told me streets to turn on by name, showed them by arrow, and when I took a wrong turn, instantly plotted a new course. The Prius seems to do none of this. No arrow, no street name, very slow (if ever) re plotting.
Does anyone know what kind of gps they use in the Prius? I have a friend with a gps in a Lexus and it seems to work much better. I would like to find out what kind of maps they use and if the Prius gps is the same as in the Lexus, and if anyone else has any comments on the Prius gps system.
Thanks!
Each time I drive our Prius I like it more than the day before.
Re: Comment from Steve
“The Prius seems to do none of this. No arrow, no street name, very slow (if ever) re plotting.
Does anyone know what kind of gps they use in the Prius? I have a friend with a gps in a Lexus and it seems to work much better. I would like to find out what kind of maps they use and if the Prius gps is the same as in the Lexus, and if anyone else has any comments on the Prius gps system.”
Steve–I have looked at other blogs and websites comparing the Lexus and Toyota gps, and they seem to be exactly the same. I highly recommend you re-read your owner’s manual, as it will explain the several different options you have when using your GPS. I also have the touring model (without leather though), and the system in mine is almost instantly responsive if I make a wrong turn, which I usually do just for sightseeing purposes but never because the GPS was wrong. I am told the street names, the distance to my turn, and the direction of the turn–on-screen and in real time.
Regarding the dim dash lights when you run headlights during the day, behind your steering wheel on the left there is a tiny vertical dial; turn this up all the way and your dash will be readable again.
Hope this was helpful, and happy driving!
Howdy!! I am a novice to all this internet stuff so please excuse the slow typing!
I am in a dileama as to purchase the Toyota Prius or the Honda Civic!
I am In Sydney Australia and we are a tad behind the real world..
Whats the reality ?? Does anyone have any experience with BOTH options of vehicles??
I am sure they are both good.
I am sure they will both do a reasonable job .. But i drive around 60 to 80 thousand kilometres a year! and the reality is very important for me !
I would love emailed responses ..
iluvoz@tpg.com.au
finds me 24/7! ( cept when i am trying to pretend to work )
OK.. Now its up to all you out there to teach me what to do!
Cheers
Bob
I bought a 2007 Prius.
I would like to install a GPS system.
Guide me Please
Thanks
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