saw a pizza delivery guy pull up somewhere in a new prius yesterday. as he got out i asked him "how do you like it?"

he said "it's great, especially the gas mileage!"

i said "nice, what are you getting?"

he said "51! my payments went way up from my last car but i think i'm still saving money"

(speechless for a moment but trying to think of something positive to say)

i said "well, you're still driving a new car."



wish i'd taken a picture. i think my golf cart has bigger and better looking wheels.

 

Yeah it's a head scratcher for sure lol.

Having owned a hybrid, I won't buy another one. More expensive for a less refined driving experience. Yes gas mileage is good, but the premium never gets paid for especially with gas prices like they are now. And the new Prius is just criminally ugly IMHO, but my opinion goes for all cars.

Yeah he gets 50 MPG but he could be getting 40-45 MPG in a much cheaper car

 

Agreed that it may (?) take a lot of gas saved, over several years, to recover the difference in purchase price of a Prius over, say, a cheaper Corolla or Yaris. But hybrids do not sell on just gas mileage alone. Depending on local, state, and Federal laws, Hybrids sometimes also qualify for tax credits, HOV privileges on busy freeways with only one or two people in the car, discounts on license/registration, and other benefits.

 

Especially considering stop and go driving and the idling behavior that a
delivery car would experience it really plays into a hybrids strengths.

Yeah he gets 50 MPG but he could be getting 40-45 MPG in a much cheaper car

It is unlikely anyone would get that level of mileage around town as a delivery driver.
If you leave it running for A/C or heat the MPG will obviously suffer. If he shuts it
off every stop it will strain the A/C compressor being repeatedly being restarted.
The brakes will last longer, there are not any belts/pulleys to stretch/squeal.

 

That's a good point. I had forgotten about the lower levels of stress and wear that the regenerative-braking systems put on brake pads and rotors.

 

LOL, do the math on this....

 

.....btw I would have no problem buying a gently used Prius C if I had a long commute to work as my daily beater.....crazy MPG and reliability. I'd never pay $20K for it, but.....for this price...

 

yeah but the permanent grin on my face would be worth something.

 

to me, if i had a long or slow (stop/go) commute i'd want to be in something quiet, very comfortable, and nice to look at. this doesn't qualify...

 

I'm not interested in a Prius, but we are loving the hybrid system in our Highlander. We found it to be incredibly smooth and refined, which is what pushed us in that direction rather than the conventional motor.

At our current driving style, miles per year, and gas prices, I figured we'll break even right about 3 years in. That may shorten a bit as gas prices increase and we are achieving better mileage than we expected/calculated in. The savings for us calculates to about $500 a year.

 

so the hybrid version was only $1500 more than the gas version with same other features? i thought it's about $5k in the u.s.

 

It was about $5,500k more for the hybrid if you are buying it, but we lease. The negotiated price of the non-hybrid was less, but of course so was its residual. The hybrid had such a strong residual that it knocked down the price difference to $1500.

It went something like this (I forgot the exact numbers):

Non-Hybrid
negotiated price - $44,000
residual - $29,000

So the lease cost was $15,000.

Hybrid
negotiated price - $49,500
residual - $33,000

Lease cost was $16,500

So it cost us $1500 more for the hybrid. Both models were Limited Platinum with otherwise the exact same features.

 

You would be surprised. Modern cars have engine start/stop systems, A/C and heat systems don't have the same impact on MPG they used to. Anyways leaving a hybrid "on" with A/C heat running impacts that MPG too, trust me I had one.

Remember, that he's paying ~$7-10k more than a comparable economy car for a Prius. Thats a lot, a lot of additional expenses have to happen to that non hybrid car to get to that, and you have to deliver a lot of pizzas to hit that figure too.

 

To me, the Hybrid is another drivetrain option, just as the V6 is one of the drivetrain options on the Camry; the Camry V6 would be a waste to me but the Hybrid is not. I do not mind paying more for the Hybrid option on my ES, considering what it gives me.

I like the fact that I can drive in EV mode, not burning any gasoline at all. This is especially nice during stop-and-go rush hour highway driving, when everybody else is sitting and spewing emissions. To me, being able to drive in clean EV mode means more than saving at the pump.

The 4-cylinder with electric motor hybrid drivetrain in the ES 300h offers a smoother, more refined drivetrain than the V6 in the ES 350.

 

then you don't wanna driver a beater.....simple as that....I used to drive about 50 miles RT a day x 5 days a week - A Prius was the perfect reliable, comfortable cruiser and got 60mpg every time. Filled up once every 3 weeks or so - it was sweet, plus gas prices were much higher.

Also - do the math on owning any Lexus vs owning a Toyota