Isn't It A Good Time To Buy A Prius?

[paultrafalgar]

Wife and I just back from test driving the 2005 Prius Spirit. Verdict: A lumbering old man's car compaired to my nimble Seat Arosa TDi sport. The in-car statistics reported an average of 36.4mpg (imperial gallons) over 467 miles compared with a regular 55-60 mpg for my Arosa. When we can get a plugin hybrid that is charged from our off-grid solar/diesel genset, it might be worth buying, but not as it stands. Hope that's of interest to someone.

 

[Jeremy Harris]

That indicated mpg is miles off, I suspect someone's hit the reset button and then just taken it for a short run. I never, ever, saw less than a real 48mpg in my 2005 Prius, and the display over-reads by around 1 or 2 mpg as a rule, so I don't think I ever saw it go below 50mpg, no matter what.

It sounds like the car you drove had a problem, as apart from the very, very low mpg reading I would have expected you to have noticed that it's acceleration wasn't too shabby, around 10.5 seconds to 60mph is fairly normal, which isn't bad for a big car with only a 1500 engine, and a bit better than your Seat. I used to regularly out-accelerate some fairly hot hatches, etc on the steep hill going South out of Marlborough, much to their displeasure.

The handling on the 2005 Prius was certainly a bit vague and not all that positive. In many ways the handling reminded me a bit of a 2CV; it stuck to the road OK but didn't feel at all inspiring and tended to lurch around a bit when pushed. In that respect I'd tend to agree that it's a bit of an older persons car.

I'd not let the very duff car that you've tried colour your judgement, Paul, as I can assure you (with around 60,000 miles of Prius driving experience) that what you experienced is very far from normal. You'd be more than welcome to have a run in my new Prius when I get it, in around 6 or 7 weeks time.

Jeremy

 

[paultrafalgar]

Thanks for your comments, Jeremy. The test drive reminded me of switching from a Citroen BX diesel (my favourite car) to a Xantia when BXs became too old to replace. That was a similar nimble-sluggish shift. As far as the test car being duff, then I am prepared to believe what you say about it being below par - a good job I was put off then. Even if you can accelerate 0-60 in 10 seconds, propelling that weight of car at that rate can't be economical - no, I'm sticking to the nimble little eco-friendly Seat Arosa until the plugin-hybrid allows me the option of home-charging that will make the difference.
Thanks for the offer of a test-drive, very generous - maybe when you've added the extra batteries !

 

[liveforphysics]

I also was less than pleased from my Prius experience. It's not that it's a poor choice in much of any respect, it's just feels the refined essence of mundane driving experience.

At the time, I was deciding between the Honda Insight and Prius for a car to use as little fuel as possible for normal commuting and around-town trips.

I drove the Prius, and it felt just like most every sedan I've driven. Extremely mild handling manors, gentle transition to understeer when pushed. Brakes functional, propulsion functional, but nothing inspiring, and provided the road feedback of a sensory deprivation chamber (like most modern family sedans).


I drove the Insight, and it felt playful and enjoyable. No power, but great torque, and such low weight that it becomes fun to drive despite it's power shortcomings. It does reach 112mph given a long enough road, and uses none of the electric assist to sustain this speed.

I decided I liked it enough to pick one up, and it's been a damn fine car for me. It would be a terrible choice for a plug-in hybrid though, as the rotor of the motor IS the flywheel of the engine, so it would be dragging the engine if you manipulated it to have independent control of the hybrid motor.

 

[Lyen]

I also was less than pleased from my Prius experience. It's not that it's a poor choice in much of any respect, it's just feels the refined essence of mundane driving experience.

At the time, I was deciding between the Honda Insight and Prius for a car to use as little fuel as possible for normal commuting and around-town trips.

I drove the Prius, and it felt just like most every sedan I've driven. Extremely mild handling manors, gentle transition to understeer when pushed. Brakes functional, propulsion functional, but nothing inspiring, and provided the road feedback of a sensory deprivation chamber (like most modern family sedans).


I drove the Insight, and it felt playful and enjoyable. No power, but great torque, and such low weight that it becomes fun to drive despite it's power shortcomings. It does reach 112mph given a long enough road, and uses none of the electric assist to sustain this speed.

I decided I liked it enough to pick one up, and it's been a damn fine car for me. It would be a terrible choice for a plug-in hybrid though, as the rotor of the motor IS the flywheel of the engine, so it would be dragging the engine if you manipulated it to have independent control of the hybrid motor.

It would be interesting to see when you have the fifth wheel added to your Insight to convert it to electric.