1st gen, MT, Honda Insight. Friend of mine has one, gets like 70MPG min. Its cool in a funky way, probably would suit you well.
I thought the numbers woud be a bit better than this to be honest. A MK4 TDI would be much better MPG wise, at least on par. Cost more to run, but still I thought the Prius was more of a clear cut winner.
My TDI averages 32-36 combined in the winter, nearly all of my trips are less than 10 miles.
Lots of good info there dre! Plus both sets of my Jetta wheels will bolt to a Prius with hubcentric rings… I think we have a clear winner here. If anyone wants a killer deal on a 1.8t Jetta in the spring, bring your own wheels…
my wife is incapable of driving 5 speed, plus at this point I’d rather have an auto DD. I’m old and boring. My civic will be done in spring and be 6 speed though
2010 or 2011 insight. way cheaper than a 3rd gen prius and newer than a 2nd gen. gets close to prius mpg too.
I bought mine last year. I saved 6k vs a 2010 prius with similar mileage and have a cpo warranty until 100k or 2017
it would take me ~30 years driving the prius to reclaim that 6k saved in the purchase price. (I average 43 mpg year round average and I hear the prius could do around 50)
There is no real end to their “life time” so to speak. We’ve had Prii with upwards of 200k still riding fine on the factory battery. The only deterrent is they don’t like to sit for extended periods of time, as the cells discharge. They are re-charged through driving, so the car is pretty self sustaining.
I have seen MANY Prii at auctions throughout the country with 350,000+ miles. It’s almost a regular occurrence to see in the midwest.
They burn cleaner, oil looks better when changed, etc. You’re splitting the load between two motors instead of just one, and the electric motor has less moving parts than an internal combustion engine. ICE has a timing chain as well, no tbelt.
Step 1: Set the ignition switch to ON, not READY. To do this press the power button two times, without pressing the brake pedal.
Step 2: While the transmission is still in park §, fully press the gas pedal two times.
Step 3: Apply the parking brake to ensure that the vehicle will not move during this step. Put the transmission in neutral (N) and fully press the gas pedal two times.
Step 4: Put the transmission back in park § and fully press the gas pedal two times. The car will display “!Car!” in the upper left corner of the LCD screen.
Step 5: Press the brake pedal and turn the ignition switch to the start position, without going back to the ready position, to start the engine.
If these steps are followed correctly, the vehicle will start with the traction control system defeated.
Followed by more disappointment because you just disabled traction control on the lamest car ever.
Edit: And before one of you MPG loving hippies says something I like a number of other hybrid cars but after using one of these for a couple weeks as a rental it was the most boring, lamest, unfun, and ugly car ever.
We have a TDI and a Prius, and the Prius is hands down better for fuel economy, where as the TDI is nicer in everything else. Average year round mpg on the TDI is 38 or so, where as the Prius in the same area is 46 mpg. Warranty covers the Prius batteries until 300k (I think), and it takes 87 octane. It’s a nice car, just boring and sloppy to drive.
What about leasing a Chevy Volt? Sure, it’s more $$$ for the car payment, but with barely any gas costs and $1.42/day in electricity, perhaps the budget will allow for a new car, rather than an older Prius?
I guess it all depends on how many miles a day you’ll use the Prius for. When considering a Volt, it’s not just looking at the car payment, but also including fuel costs in the decision, as well as Electric range before the engine kicks on.
I’ve had mine for almost 6 months now. I can help you decide if a Volt would make sense to your driving styles and needs… let me know…
I was going to ask about these. Where does the volt land in the world of hybrids? It seems like to correct combo to me with one alteration… a DIESEL not a gas generator.