Drove an 08 Prius

M

maxmk8

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So a good friend of mine just finished building his parent's house and is now selling his Dakota Truck and picking up something "more fuel efficient".

His dad works for google so he gets a $5000 discount of a "Hybrid Car".

He found a 08 Prius with the package 2... which includes the back-up camera, and a decent stereo as well as keyless go for $2500 less than MSRP (Of around 24500).
So at around 22000, he still gets another 5000 off... 17000 is an amazing price for that car.

Now for the car itself, of course I gave him crap about losing his man card etc... but I have to say I left overall impressed with the car.

It is pretty big and has plenty of space on the inside.
The ride is pretty soft and the car is relatively quiet especially if you don't mash the throttle. I heard that it rides pretty bad and is small on the inside which is BS.

Even if you don't get a nav you still get a nice touch-screen with the back-up camera which I found very nice to use... But the seperate audio controls on the bottom of the screen are redunant and just take up space....

This car also has insanely tight turning radius.

If was was driving 30-50k miles a year and I was looking for a new commuter car I would look no further.

It offers plenty of space, drives pretty darn good and gets great fuel economy. When you buy one new you get a pretty decent warranty too... That said I still think they are pretty expensive for what they are and I'd get a civic for 5k less.

But if I got a 5000 discount from my employer I'd be driving a prius or would have a prius in the family for sure.

Paying $400 a month for gas which is what I currently do is getting really old, really fast.
 
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I don't think I could ever have one. I'd rather have some efficient four cylinder. Is it really electric sounding when your on the gas? I couldn't stand it if it was, I need combustion to make my ears happy. Plus it'd be useless here in the winter. I've heard those have some retarded traction control that makes it nearly impossible to move in slippery conditions.
 
Umm the car is nearly silent... I didn't really like the way that gasoline engine sounds anyways so it is a good thing.

This car was designed with only one purpose in mind... save gas.

That said I wouldn't buy one because it will never offset the premium asked for over other economy cars. But if I were to get a discount as mentioned in my post, I'd drive one of the lot today.

It is a very technologically advanced car that drives no different than a say Corolla while having 1000s of additional components and getting 50mpg.
 
Max, just by driving a Prius, you already sacrficed a small percentage of your driving ability.

if you end up purchasing a Prius, leave your Vette keys at the door, for you will completely lose 100% of your driving ability.

At least thats how it seems to be on the road. Prius drivers simply cannot drive. Period.

it is so odd, one would think it is a conspiracy. Many of them simply plant their suppository-shaped cars in the fast lane, and do the speed limit, as if to say "I am doing my part to conserve fuel...and so will the rest of you, if I can hepp it"

seriously...everything you know about operating an automobile will be forgotten as soon as you purchase a Prius.

take notice today as you drive home, and you will see.

I also think it is against some consumer faction for any one individual to own a Prius and American V8 Muscle/Performance car.
 
Jeez Craig... I am going to take a wild guess and say that I won't see one in your garage anytime soon.

I am simply sharing an experience of a car that sparked my curiosity and that I see every day many times over... they are selling incredibly well in California... and I see nothing wrong with having a technologically advanced car that saves tons of gas while sacrificing little especially if it was priced more competatively.

Sure it is no Corvette lol... but I can't get 50mpg in the Vette or put 5 ppl inside... apples and oranges really.
 
Oh, no Max...dont get me wrong...go for it...I applaud technology...I just wanted to warn you what will become of you as a driver.

if the Prius owners keep up their freeway antics, eventually, there will be a "open season" on Prius owners, and you'll read about them being shot up on the news ;)

I say go for it...I wont, but I wouldnt blame someone who does...I just steer clear of them that's all.

Hell, I should be driving a Hybrid...my $450/month gas expense is insane...but I am well-paid at my job, love where I live, and love the car I drive...such are life's sacrifices.

I am enjoying my 28-29 mpg average with my 94 Mark VIII 173k and climbing steadily.

You know where I stand with cars...I'd rather pay a little more at the pump and drive a car I thoroughly enjoy, than pay massive insurance, repair costs, car payments, and save a few bucks at the pump...
 
I am not going to buy one at the cost they are currently selling them at...
My company only offers prime parking spots for ppl who drive hybrids but no buying incentives... so i am better off with a Civic if I wanted to buy a NEW appliance car.

At this point in my life I have no need for that but obviously many Americans do. I liked the car for what it was and now I know why ppl buy them.

Before you shut them all down with some kind of wierd stereo-type (maybe too late :p) I recommend driving one ... it is a bit of fun... a completely different experience from driving your regular 100% gasoline powered car.
 
Max...as soon as the majority of Prius owners drive normally, I'll view them as normal.

stereotyping?...nah...disgusted with them simply because I have yet to encounter one on the freeway during non-commute hours who respects the lanes by designation.

I am not alone...I thought I was being narrow minded, perhaps even dilusional...until I over-heard someone else pointing out the same thing.

They call them "fast lane obstacles" and "moving chicanes"

so it isnt just me.

I dont know how the rest of the country, or even the state is for that matter...but the bay area freeway regulars have had it with Prius drivers who almost seem to either have a non-functioning speedometer, or a bad attitude towards us non-GREENIES.

But dont worry...I just use MORE gas trying to pass them, so their little ploy doesnt work...it makes matters worse.

Back to your topic though...I am fascinated with the technology behind hybrid vehicles. I want to learn more, as some day, we will all be driving them.

I did hear an interesting take on Hybrids vs SUV's though...I have no way to verify the theory but none the less...food for thought.

every object on this planet leaves what is called a "carbon imprint". every tree, piece of bread, person, pet, rock, light bulb...every thing...

the statement was that the carbon imprint left behind from building 1 Hybrid Prius...is equal to the carbon imprint left by 1 gas-burning moder-day SUV idling for 1 year.

so as I understand it, the imprint left on the earth by BUILDING 1 hybrid is the same as the imrpint left by an existing SUV running its engine for 1 year.

can this be true?...the discussion goes further as to say how much of an imprint the disposal of the properties left behind by used-up hydrogen cells will leave when they are no longer usefull.

like I said...food for thought....but that's another discussion.

BTW...those Prius' have KILLER headlights!!! :(
 
Yup there is something to be said about new cars... completely useless exercise... and yes we don't need cars and if we all lived in the city and used the subway the world would be a much better place haha...

But you got to love the new car smell though :D
 
stereotyping?...nah...disgusted with them simply because I have yet to encounter one on the freeway during non-commute hours who respects the lanes by designation.

I am not alone...I thought I was being narrow minded, perhaps even dilusional...until I over-heard someone else pointing out the same thing.

They call them "fast lane obstacles" and "moving chicanes"

so it isnt just me.

I dont know how the rest of the country, or even the state is for that matter...but the bay area freeway regulars have had it with Prius drivers who almost seem to either have a non-functioning speedometer, or a bad attitude towards us non-GREENIES.
Click to expand...

I think its were you live no problem here its just another econobox.

The owner were I work has one I drove it I just thought it was no different then any of the new fuel efficient cars just plain transportation he went from a chrysler 300 wanted to go green I guess.
 
Like Max said..."appliance cars"...I like that saying...good one Max.


although one of my drivers today said a brand new Prius with dealer plates(as in...advertising dealer's name, no state plates issued yet) actually flashed it's passing beams at him to move over...my driver was going 70 mph.

I told him it was because the Prius take 12 minutes to get up to that speed, and like a restrictor-plate race, the last thing they want to do is "lift" ;)

I think he believed me.

It must be where I am, because I am sure not every Prius owner drives like that...maybe they just feel like they are travelling faster than they are...I dont know...if people saw it themselves, they'd seriously think it was a conspiracy.
 
Well see the problem with Prius owners is some of them are gas mileage "crack addicts"... there are sites where ppl compete for the highest mileage etc... I have been to that forum once to see what these folks really average... and the majority of discussions are related to the tire pressures (44psi which is what they use) and what tire brand gives them the best MPG... Completely different world from ours but interesting to get some other perspectives non-theless :D.

The gas mileage display on the prius is super fancy too... it has bar graphs and everything... so those suckers will move at exactly 65mph to achieve maximum gas mileage for a good portion of the time... I would guestimate that it drops from 50mpg at 65 to 35 or so at 80-85 and there is no way a Prius owner would want that :p.
 
Hey craig, here is a thought from the far side.. and NO I DONT LIKE HYBRIDS.

But a year or two ago at one of our car club bracket races one of the girls showed up in I think it was a prius.

She'd never been on a dragstrip before and we were running 1/8th mile brackets.

We had her go make 3 back to back passes so we could get some data in regards to "hot lapping" and such

First pass was stone cold
Second two passes were round robin.

The car ran 11.702 on the first pass 11.705 on the second pass and 11.700 on the third pass.

more than likely the differences in ET were more accounted for by "where she staged, rather than any "hotlapping, hot or cold, blah blah blah".

We were pretty amazed that granted it was slow as a molesasseses.

It was one of the most consistant cars I'd ever seen, with the exception of my buddies bone stock 79 indy pace car replica that ran 10 passes between 15.80 and 15.808.

Funny stuff though, sorry for going so far "off topic" Max.
 
Ford nut said:
Whats funny is I get a kick seeing how bad mileage I can get when I stomp on the Mark :D
Click to expand...

If so, hit the metric/standard button on your MPG display and look at the display in metric.

Instead of trying to hit a high number, you are now trying to hit a low number because it reads in liter/KM rather than "miles/gallon".

the formula reverses itself from standard to metric
 
maxmk8 said:
tire pressures (44psi which is what they use) p.
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I have for a long time had 45-50PSI in my front tires, since back in 1999 or 2000.
Still haven't had any wear issues you would think in regards to "overinflation".

my tires still reflect more inner and outer wear due to my agressive cornering habits, rather than wearing out the middle of the tread.

My front tire wear at 35 lbs eats up the inner and outer edges of the tread, which I was always taught this meant you were under inflated for either the "load" or the "type of driving".

SO.. I increased the pressures until the wear evened out alot better than it was at stock air pressures

For conversations sake, Autocross folks typically will overinflate their tires compared to the "suggested recommended tire pressures".

When we ran my 84 SVO in "showroom stock" it went on the course with 55PSI all the way around on stock goodyear eagles.
 
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