Anyone own a Prius or other hybrid?  What do you think of it?

i dont have one..but from what i have herd...

1) not a family car
2) obviously a top car for efficiency because so many people have them.
3) performance sucks and replacing parts can be expensive
4) if you have the money..don't get one yet...with what is going on in the car industry there will be alot of new technology coming out pretty soon.

I drive a pimped out escalade hybrid.

time came when i needed to buy a fuel-efficient vehicle, i chose a conventional 2.5L Altima over an Altima hybrid due to the high up-front costs associated with the hybrid engines. I worked out the numbers and it just wasn't worth it for me. But that's also due to my personal driving habits which is primarily freeway driving. Unfortunately, hybrids peak perform in city driving.

we have a civic hybrid

nice car, I like it better than the prius, I think its nicer to drive.  
its kind of cute.
easy to park.
great gas mileage

my boyfriend drives it mostly.

If I were to get a car now, I'd probably get a Smart Car for the city...SO easy to park!

Have heard, only heard, mind you, that the cost of a hybrid is worth the savings in fuel over the life of the vehicle. So, if you keep it for its life...you get your money's worth?

I have a 2008 prius for 6 months now and am loving it.  I'll definitely buy the pluggable model when it comes out.  It has plenty of juice even for steep SF hills, spacious for 4, and comfy for long treks to LA.

Highly recommend it.

Hybrids are too risky.

The repair costs are through the roof. Average major repair is $5,000 when the drive train or batteries goes bad.

There are a bunch of cars that get 35MPG and up that are less riskier. I got a 2008 Corolla S. It's a road trip warrior and a beat during commutes. And the gas savings this summer was insane.

I will be waiting another 5 years before I ever decide to move into the hybrid world. Give them time to perfect the craft.

Oh, and for the record, my brother's Prius wemt boom at 18K while he was on a trip in NYC. It took him two weeks to get a mechanic there to see the car becasue there simply are not enough hybrid car mechanics for the amount of cars on the road.

just my .02

seriously....has anyone checked out the Cadillac Escalade hybrid?

I have a 2007 Prius and it actually has good performance.

Actually it saved my life in  November 2007. A guy was road raging and trying to run me off the road into a concrete median. My little Prius went to 100 mph in less than 2 seconds and gained on the guy by 150 feet, just enough to lose him in the crowd.
I've tried her out in various conditions. Usual mileage commuting 120+ miles a day (two trips of 60 miles to and from work plus short drives to clients' homes) is usually 46.9 mpg. When I did my road trip from SF to Taos, NM and back-which included steep inclines and various temperatures 32 degrees in mountains and 104 degrees in desert conditions, she was a champ with an average mileage of 48 mpg. Mind you, she was also full of camping gear, food, water, clothes, and personal affects to last me for almost two months of travel...

I have had three kids in car seats in it with no problems-although it squished their dad  who was helping  me out while his wife-my friend was out with friends. It is good for two kids in the back seat in car seats and two adults up front. There is enough room in the trunk for groceries, a suitcase, your gym bag.

I've fit two friends and a bike with this hatchback. I've fit a friend stranded in Marin-because his racing bike gave out-and his performance bike with the tailgate closed without scratching it.

Recently, I fit  a truck load of books for children from a charity for work in the back of my car, with the hatchback down, in one trip, with my coworker sitting in the passenger seat and without blocking my back mirror view of the rear.

The only time she was not doing to well was a large inclined grade in New Mexico that went up for at least a two miles, but in most  driving conditions, including icy conditions, she has done quite well.

The reason I did not get the Civic Hybrid was a question of loading space. The Civic has its fuel cell squashed up against the back seat, reducing cubic feet of trunk space.

Fun to drive, zippy, fast, good response, good for a small woman like me where I'm far enough away from the seat I won't be right up against the steering wheel, big front window and good visibility from the back, backing up camera, great warranty for the 100 K miles you drive, with a warranty to prepay regular services, I've been very happy.

Also does well on San Francisco steep hills as well as regular mountain conditions. Standard chains fit also on the tires.

I still love my Honda Insight. Ive had it since 2000 and the only work its needed has been either covered by the warranty or the result of an accident (not my fault)

I'm at 68 K miles and no mechanical failures-better than my civic ever was. KNOCking on wood.
This is after a more than 4 K road trip in various driving conditions.

Well, ours is a 2004 Prius w/ 37K mi and so far no issues. ZERO! It's cheap to maintain, roomy, comfy, been to San Diego at least 7 times w/ 2 kids. We LOVE this car. Still looks great.

Kevin "No Reservations" L. says:

Hybrids are too risky.

The repair costs are through the roof. Average major repair is $5,000 when the drive train or batteries goes bad.

There are a bunch of cars that get 35MPG and up that are less riskier. I got a 2008 Corolla S. It's a road trip warrior and a beat during commutes. And the gas savings this summer was insane.

I will be waiting another 5 years before I ever decide to move into the hybrid world. Give them time to perfect the craft.

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I'm gonna second this.  I don't have a hybrid but I sort of work in the industry and have talked to alot of mechanics that have  mentioned all of the above.  If you have a problem with your Prius, it better happen under your warranty, or else you're gonna need a 3rd mortgage to take care of the repairs.  Given the high dealer mark up on a Prius, I would bet the net fuel savings are less than you would expect when you take into consideration the price of the car.

A Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic are ,bar none, the two best cars for resale value or if your car gets wrecked and you get paid out by your insurance company.  They get great mileage, are easy to drive and park.  But you obviously don't get all the bells and whistles, and can't be the cool "hybrid" car guy on the block.

Wow, it seems people tend to either love or hate Prius (Prioria??)   I heard that it had the highest costumer satisfaction of any car in the country, but I'm not sure if that is true or not.   Anyone even drive a smart car?  You some zillions of them in Canada.  I wonder if they could make it up hills in S.F.

I wouldn't say my criticism of it is hate, I think it's a great car. I'm just pointing out that if it breaks down (and ANY car can break down) then your bills and downtime for lack of mechanics is going to be a huge downturn.

All it takes is one mechanical failure and the cost of fixing the car will offset and then some your gas losses on a 35MPG Rolla or Civic.

Considering my Rolla is my first new car, I decided that if I was going to drop money into a new car I want something that will give me the best combination of Reliability, gas mileage and comfort. For a "economy" car, my corolla is amazing.

Peak performance for my hybrid is actually not city, but highway driving. She LOVES interstates-just not the truckers and their show me your ----- signs. :(

Joyita that.s interesting, I thought city stop and go is where hybrid were suppose to shine.  Maybe your have a very steady foot on the highway and don't bounce all over the place.

Regarding the "too risky" argument, there's an easy solution: lease. You get rid of the car before the battery needs replacement and all the service is covered by the warranty. Plus leases are really cheap right now as auto dealers are desperate to move cars and many of the manufacturers are offering big deals.

I do notice that Prius drivers are lunatics. They think they are all speed racer. Maybe it's a Chicago / Kansas City thing?

And Joyita is correct - stop and go driving helps charge the battery, but you get the best mileage on the highway.

but Andy, unless you live in a downtown and don't drive much outside of it, a lease is useless. You wll go over your 12,000 mile a year limit real quick.

And if you don't drive over 12K a year, you really are not hurting so much for gas doscounts you coudl get in a small non-hybrid car.

However if you do live/work/ play in a small area and don't drive over 12K i'm sure it's a great idea.

Kevin "No Reservations" L. says:

I wouldn't say my criticism of it is hate, I think it's a great car. I'm just pointing out that if it breaks down (and ANY car can break down) then your bills and downtime for lack of mechanics is going to be a huge downturn.

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Nonsense.  That's what warranties are for.  Your chances of breaking down is much higher with many other cars.

Hater.

Andy "The Taco Whisperer" M. says:

And Joyita is correct - stop and go driving helps charge the battery, but you get the best mileage on the highway.
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Depends on which brand hybrid you are talking about.  The Prius' computer has a routine set to use the electric motor (running on the battery) for low speeds like 0 to 8 mph which makes it good for stop and go situations because you are not using gas to rev up/slow down and rev up again.

The Honda Civic has the computer routine that kicks into electric when at a more consistent cruising speed...such as on the freeway (feels like you are driving an airplane).  I think Honda may be redoing their computer program to be more like the Prius for the 2008 models but I'm not sure.

When the battery dips below a certain threshhold on either brand the CPU kicks into full gas which charges the battery.
The hybrids also have regenerative breaking (aka engine breaking) which will go into charge mode when you are not accelerating (for example going down a long hill).

Completely disagree with the mechanic comments stated. Hybrid user base has different consumer thinking. The purchase is for investment for a long-term solution vs. treating a vehicle as the thing that'll get them around for the moment (think of the guy that keeps buying used clunkers and runs them to the ground instead of spending to maintain one).

Toyota Prius -- we have the launching US 2000 model 4-door and have never had issues with it -- but we are also proactive in caring for all of our vehicles.

Ford Escape -- best friend has this; more like a Rav4 in size.

Friends and family circles drive anything from the Prius to full-size SUV models of hybrids by all kinds of makers. Some even have electric cars.

Hybrids are not cheaper than owning the non-hybrid counterparts. Will say, however, that Toyota has been so dialed into the potential efficiency of its products that they have more flexibility for inexpensive parts and accessibility of parts. Transmission replacements on any vehicle will be expensive regardless.

I have a hybrid that I use for work (its our pool car) and its great for city driving and not so much for freeway driving (it lacks pick up and power on the freeway).

As far as maintenace goes, from what I have read they really do not know if the hybrids are going to be more expensive because they simply have not been out that long to know what is going to breakdown over the long term.  

Knowing what I know about cars (especially electric cars) it seems to make sense that maintenace will be more expensive.  Hybrids have two motors; gas and electric and then there is the battery pack.  I have not researched this but I also think the drivetrain is different to accomodate  the electric motor.

GL, since you obviously know what you're talking about in this area, do you think a practical all electric car will be available in the next few years or is it mostly hype for GM and the others. Notice the key word is practical, which means perhaps under 25 thousand or so and a realistic range before charges, at least a 150 miles or so.

V e s t i g e .. says:

Kevin "No Reservations" L. says:

I wouldn't say my criticism of it is hate, I think it's a great car. I'm just pointing out that if it breaks down (and ANY car can break down) then your bills and downtime for lack of mechanics is going to be a huge downturn.

Nonsense.  That's what warranties are for.  Your chances of breaking down is much higher with many other cars.

Hater.

Let me say that in the metro I live, people on average add 22,000 miles to our cars yearly. I bought my Corolla 11 months ago. I am already at 30K. At this rate, in seven weeks I am past Toyota's warranty. I have six Co-workers in the IT department at my job and two of them are out of their warranties and were stuck with 5K repair bills. not to mention my brother which I already posted on.

So warranties are just about useless to me in the long term personally.  No need for you to call me a hater . . .

- Kev

Oh, and I forgot to mention all those co-workers own Priuses. One of them is a first gen and the other five are second gen.

We have a 2005 Prius and love it.  We are up to 40,000 miles and have driven to LA at lest 6 or 7 times.

The only issues are:

At 5'2" I have no problems with looking out the real window but my 6'2" hubby and 5'11" son complain the visibility is poor.

Sometimes certain arseholes in big pickup trucks or SUV''s  will tailgate us or cut us off just for fun even though we are not driving slow.  This happened more often when the gas prices were higher.

Thanks Joyita for your input!

rear window

I've notice that a lot of hybrid drivers are insane drivers. Speeding, cutting in and out of traffic..... They deserve a punch in the face....

2008 Toyota Camry - We love it! It's not a sports car, but it rides very nice, the interior is extremely roomy (except the trunk, it's kind of small), is like riding in an airplane.. most of the time all you hear is the whosh of air going around the exterior of the car, gets around 35 MPG in commute traffic (and up to 45 on road trips), had GREAT get up and go when you need it but then you only get about 20 MPG (again not a sports car) and the best part, that I thought of while in the car wash yesterday if you're not moving most of the time the engine isn't running either I turn off my 2000 Toyota Echo in the car wash, I don't bother with the Camry.

GL, since you obviously know what you're talking about in this area, do you think a practical all electric car will be available in the next few years or is it mostly hype for GM and the others. Notice the key word is practical, which means perhaps under 25 thousand or so and a realistic range before charges, at least a 150 miles or so.
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Prior to the economy taking a complete dump, I thought that electric cars were finally going to be embraced openly by both manufacturers and consumers.  Now with the economy in the dumps, and it appears it will be that way for a while, I sadly think people will not want to risk that kind of money on an electric car.  GM has the Volt which is expected to be out November of this year but as we know GM is in big trouble so it is hard to say how much devotion they will put into their electric car initiatives.

I think where you will probably see the market go is with plug in hybrids which is a good solution to the limitations we currently have with the battery pack on a full EV.

what would have been cool as hell is if part of the government bailout package would go to doing research on developing better battery technology...think if they earmarked a few billion to battery research I guarantee you there would be development in that area.

I have a '08 Ford Escape Hybrid. I "like" it. Don't love it. But I get good gas mileage and I get to be a bit higher up on the road. As far as the battery, it's got a 10 year/ 100k mile warranty. I also have a 4 year maintenance package.

It's doesn't have much of the other SUV positives though. 4 cylinders and you feel every bump in the road. It will get up when you need it to, but it sounds like you are beating the crap out of the engine.

I will say though that when gas prices were down, I filled it up for less than $20. Not bad.

7/10

Yeah Mz Rinky I think I met some of those some arseholes you referred to when riding my motorcycle. They're still arseholes when they are not in their vehicles, but are usually much more timid arseholes.

I'm a great driver, so much so that my insurance company gives me a good driver discount, so there's mud in your eye!
Generalizations are rather, um....general! :D

If you want to help the environment buy a USED compact car that's fuel efficient.

3 hours ago Dan "Just Dan" L. says:

I've notice that a lot of hybrid drivers are insane drivers. Speeding, cutting in and out of traffic..... They deserve a punch in the face....
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um....that's because you are going 55 mph in the fast lane, so it looks like we are going faster since we passed you at 65 mph, which is not only the speed limit, but also the speed of traffic. You're just too busy being on your cell phone and hatin.'

I love my 07 civic hybrid. I drive back to my hometown to visit family a lot, and it's super comfortable.  I get about 38 mpg on average. I filled up my tank last week for under $15. No real complaints here.

I drive what I drive, because I need to commute long distances with the job I have. With lot of client's visits and hard driving, my gas Civic gave up the ghost quickly, even with regular maintenance. My Prius is a workhorse and has served me well. Unless you've driven one for at least 6 months to a year, it makes no sense to post because otherwise it's just hearsay and lacks facts.

I've had my Prius since April 2007.
Here are the facts:
Combination city and highway commuting: 46.9 mpg
Road trips using cruise control and highways: 49 mpg
Usual amount per fillup depending on gas prices: 18.00 to 44.00
No smog checks are necessary
Leg room: fits four to five adults comfortably-including a 6' 2" guy in the backseat with at least 8" to spare in front of his knees, with a guy who is also tall in the front seat set all the way back.
Side impact airbags are standard.
Adjustable shoulder seatbelts.
more than sufficient cargo space- I've car camped inside it.
In icy conditions, the computer turns on and corrects the wheels to avoid spinouts.

Does well with temperature ranges between 32 degrees with wind chill in a headwind at 8K feet on a mountain and to 104 degrees in summer with the noonday sunshine in the hottest part of Arizona.
Gets good gas mileage even when weighted down by extra gear.
Fits a large bicycle with the hatchback  tailgate closed
Many friends say it look smaller from the outside, but is surprisingly roomier on the inside.
Pulls hills well-just as well as my gas civic I had for 9 years.
Friendly service at dealer service centers that are detailed oriented.
Great warranties

i love my 2007 prius.  My dad is 6'4 and drives one as well and loves it.  i have never had any problems plus I have the extended warranty just in case.  It's a 10 gallon tank so cheap to fill up.  I get 45 mpg on the freeway and 38-40 mpg in the city. Usually am the one to drive on road trips and we can fit so much crap in the car! Worth every single penny...I love my car!!

Jeez  Joyita when you answer a question you don't fool around. A bit more and you'll have the first doctorate dissertation. on Prius'. Thanks again.

Like I said, if you want to do it to HELP the environment, buying USED is necessary.

Abby, you must have the V6 right?

heather "Flips off Babies (Ninja Style)" g. says:

Like I said, if you want to do it to HELP the environment, buying USED is necessary.

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yes.  i'm looking at buying this 1973 Monte Carlo with deep burgundy velvety seats and 20" spinnas from this guy with gold teeth, gold rings, and gold chains.    it comes with the SS 454 package that includes the Turbo-Jet 454 CID (7.4 L) with a four-barrel carburetor, heavy-duty suspension, "SS 454" badging, automatic load-leveling rear suspension, and Turbo-Hydramatic transmission (with a 3.31 rear axle).

i'm going GREEN by going USED baby!

^
check out Neil Young's 1959 Lincoln Continental converted to electric
lincvolt.com

I read something a while back about some Beverly Hills doctor using liposuction fat from his patients to power his Ford SUV.  Now that's being good to the environment

Vestige, I bet you think you're so cute.. like you just made some impactful point, but you failed to read the previous post. A compact fuel efficient used car.

and it IS better for the environment! If poeple car more about looking like they care about the environment, or they are only concerned about gas prices, then buy a shiny new Hybrid, but if it is for environmental reasons, buying a new hybrid is NOT helping the planet much, if at all.

heather "Flips off Babies (Ninja Style)" g. says:

Vestige, I bet you think you're so cute.. like you just made some impactful point, but you failed to read the previous post. A compact fuel efficient used car.

and it IS better for the environment! If poeple car more about looking like they care about the environment, or they are only concerned about gas prices, then buy a shiny new Hybrid, but if it is for environmental reasons, buying a new hybrid is NOT helping the planet much, if at all.
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That logic may hold true today, but if we do what we need to do - the grid should get cleaner and cleaner over the next 50 years.
The more your auto is fueled on the grid and less combustibles the better.

Hmm, well, possibly, depending on how long you have your hybrid. If you keep it for 10-20 years maybe it would equal out to a used fuel efficient vehicle. Anyhow, they've done studies that have found Hybrid drivers end up driving more than regular commuters because of the savings in gas and actually end up doing equal to more damage to the environment.

Looking for study now...