Any Prius Owners Here?

We were in the same boat, Villager. My husband has commutes of both two hours and three hours (one way highway driving) and was driving a big SUV that gets 15 miles to the gallon. Now he gets 45-50 in the Prius. So even if it's mainly being used for highway driving it's still saving a lot of gas.

 

our hybrid camry is averaging around 40mpg vs the 21 mpg the Acura TL hubby traded in was getting! love IT. plus property taxes going so far down... i'm thinking we're gonna have 2 hybrids soon!

 

Question for hybrid owners of the Prius and Camry. When the Prius first came out, we drove one and it seemed to have trouble making it up a hill without my son pushing it (exaggerating, of course!). Is the Prius more powerful now? How does it do on the highway as far as accelerating and keeping up with traffic...or does it just have trouble when it's operating off the battery at slower speeds?

How about the Camry? Do you notice any difference between the regular Camry and the hybrid? Thanks much.

 

the diff that i notice the absolute silence when the car is not in motion.. cool. it's got great from a stop light which surprised me- you don't notice how fast you are going! it's a smooth ride and a very nice car.

 

When driving a Prius on the hwy the gas motor is fully engaged and powering the electric battery. The only time the electric kicks in is when driving at slower speeds (with the heat and A/C turned OFF of course) or completely stopping. And the Prius does not do well, mileage wise, in 65/70mph traffic. I am surprised at the number of Prius drivers who commute on the highway and claim to get more than 69 mpg. This is why this car is ideal for city driving. And when one is driving 65-70 speeds I don't think hills are ever an issue. My Prius is quite powerful. Handles poorly on ice but drives well in the snow.

 

I've heard some acceleration issues on some of the hybrids and I don't know of too many cars, if any, that drive well on ice.......

 

Thanks, Redon and KTDid. Are there power issues when you run the A/C or does it just resort to the gas engine then? So if you are just driving around here/city driving on a hot summer day with the A/C on, does that negate the savings? And does it affect acceleration?

Methinks I need to go take some test drives! We just sold our fun sports car and have one car now, which really saves on gas Fortunately, we work from home and when I do travel, I usually rent a car. But we're looking for an economical second car for running errands, etc.

 

we've only had it for a few days- no need for a/c yet. i'll say it again- property tax savings alone makes it worth it!!

 

Perfect Steve - the numbers don't lie! So if I had to do it over I would purchase a Corolla over the Prius.

One thing however...my driving conditions and speed are NEVER consistent. The averages you give are when all factors are constant, correct?

 

Here is a comparison of the Honda Civic Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and Corolla CE (if the link works).

Fuel Economy (city/highway):
Civic Hybrid: 40/45
Prius: 48/45
Camry Hybrid: 33/34
Corolla CE: 26/35

 

It's my understanding that the Prius is comparable in size to the Camry. I don't know how the size compares to the Corolla. The Corolla certainly is a less expensive car and great on gas mileage but I don't know if I would consider it comparable in mileage to the Prius, even if the Prius averages 40 MPG.

All considered, I'd be happy to spend less $$$ if I can get the same benefits of gas mileage and emissions. The cars we have now both get good mileage but are not hybrids, so we're looking for something that would substantially increase our mileage. I assumed the Prius was the best option but there probably are other options as well.

 

Can always count on you for great, precise analysis, Steve! Thanks. Puts it in perspective. I have been leaning lately to the Corolla because you can get a 2006 or 2007 with very low miles for $10k or less.

The car we just sold went 0-60 in 4.2 seconds so waiting 16 seconds could seem like an eternity

 

We're looking at changing cars partly to save gas money and partly to help the environment. I understand that a Prius will not "pay for itself" but that isn't what I'm looking for. I'd like to have something that lowers emissions, too. I don't know how the non-hybrid cars stack up in that regard but will look into it.

You've opened my eyes to not just assuming we should buy a Prius but should look into other hybrids, as well as other high mileage cars. Our 1999 Honda Accord has been good for us and gets good mileage, as does our 2005 Honda CR-V, so we're doing pretty well in terms of mileage already. I'd like to do even better, though, if we can. Since the Accord has 90,000 miles on it we'll probably wish to replace it in the next few years anyway (although it might have many more happy years to left in it!).

Something with seriously good gas mileage for a reasonable price is what we want. I'll do more research and see what I find! I appreciate all the feedback!

I'm editing to add that I just found a fuel economy, emissions, and petroleum comparison website!

 

According to the Fuel Economy.gov website:

Honda Civic Hybrid:
MPG: 42 combined
Cost to drive 25 miles: $2.09
Annual petroleum consumption: 8.2 barrels
Annual tons of CO2 emitted: 4.4
Air pollution score: 9 out of 10

Toyota Corolla:
MPG: 29 combined
Cost to drive 25 miles: $3.03
Annual petroleum consumption: 11.8 barrels
Annual tons of CO2 emitted: 6.3
Air pollution score: 6 out of 10

Toyota Prius:
MPG: 46 combined
Cost to drive 25 miles: $1.91
Annual petroleum consumption: 7.4 barrels
Annual tons of CO2 emitted: 4.0
Air pollution score: 8 out of 10

 

Wow! One more thing and then I'll take a break from my obsession.

According to that fueleconomy.gov website:

1999 Honda Accord 4 door automatic:
MPG: 22 combined
Cost to drive 25 miles: $3.99
Annual petroleum consumption: 15.6 barrels
Annual tons of CO2 emitted: 8.3
Air pollution score: n/a

2005 Honda CR-V 4WD automatic:
MPG: 22 combined
Cost to drive 25 miles: $3.99
Annual petroleum consumption: 15.6 barrels
Annual tons of CO2 emitted: 8.3
Air pollution score: 6 out of 10

Even with a Civic hybrid we could half some of those items!