Why should I buy a Toyota Prius?

ANGGELICA

Why should I buy a Toyota Prius?

ramblinreck89

Because you like spending a lot of money on an incredibly boring car just to pretend you're saving the environment and lots of money when in reality you won't make back the premium over a Corolla for almost 10 years.

sd

To save money in fuel...

spotlite

the environmental impact is non existent ,,, the price of the car is not cost effective. you can buy a VW jetta with a diesel, and if you wait till later this year they are coming out with a Blutec diesel, that is ultra clean and quiet..and gets 50 mpg... that is the way to go, because you do not have to but batteries every 3 years....not tune ups, just regular maintenance. and you will be prepared to go for 200,000 miles with out any trouble..

mrvadeboncoeur

The Prius is a roomy midsize hatchback, that comes with a lot of nifty features and tech, which just happens to have great fuel economy and low emissions. It also has great reliability ratings and a long warranty, and high US resale values (low depreciation) leading to a low total cost to own. Add in any state or local incentives (like state income tax credits or no sales tax or emission tests or single-occupant HOV lane usage or free local parking), and it is a great car to own.































The Prius is also the least expensive hybrid car available currently in the US, at $21,100 base MSRP. http://www.toyota.com/prius/































The Prius is also the most popular hybrid choice in the US, with this one model being about 50% of all of the hybrids sold in the US. http://www.hybridcars.com/market-dashboard.html































I've never seen anyone do a cost-benefit analysis for a v4 vs v6 vs diesel engine, so why do one for a hybrid drivetrain? Most cost analysis articles neglect trade-in value which the Prius does very well in maintaining. (in some areas, used Prius are still selling for near new prices for availability and rising gasoline prices!). Don't forget to include federal and any state tax incentives in your calculation (Consumer Reports forgot, and had to issue a retraction that hybrids are cheaper to own/operate than their gasoline cousins). Edmunds.com still doesn't take into account the true depreciation value (as seen by manually looking for a Prius trade-in value) when calculating their TCO, but they still say that hybrids will pay for themselves even when using their lower than actual trade-in amounts: http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/22/...eut/index.html































Hybrids do cost less in the long term than their conventional counterparts. (Intellichoice used a 5 year ownership comparison in 2006) See http://www.intellichoice.com/press/Hybrid-Survey-2006 and http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuyi...ypeOverHybrids































While Consumer Reports in 2006 only found the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid would pay off within the same 5 year frame. The Honda Accord Hybrid, the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Lexus RX400h, and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid were also studied.















(I'll note that there was a mathematical error in the initial publication of Consumer Reports' hybrid vehicle cost analysis, which a retraction was published later... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11637968/ )















Since this publication, many more hybrid models have become available, so I can't use this to say about hybrids "in general." However, in the US, the Toyota hybrids have sold so many that they no longer qualify for the US Federal hybrid vehicle income tax credit, but Honda and others still have theirs.































Check out the April issue of Consumer Reports if you want reliability information. The Toyota Prius makes their best bets for new cars and for used cars.















http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...picks-2007.htm















http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...-406/index.htm















and the best new cars under $25,000 list: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...view/index.htm















and the Prius is best rated in owner satisfaction for the 4th year in a row: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...view/index.htm































There is more to vehicle ownership besides initial purchase cost and the amount of gasoline used - there is also the costs to maintain and insure it, and also depreciation costs.































However, the societal costs for emissions are not usually included. The hybrids tend to be at worst an ULEV, with many (like the Prius) an AT-PZEV. Some are only sold in CA-emissions states. (Compare that to the often suggested VW TDIs, which cannot be sold new in CA-emission states because of their poor emissions.) In the US, hybrid models (like the Prius) tend to be the best in fuel economy in their respective classes, using the same testing procedure to compare all cars (hybrid/gasoline/diesel/flex-fuel/etc.), and that is for BOTH highway and city driving: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/best/bestworstNF.shtml































The Prius was in Kelley Blue Book's 2007 Best Resale Value Awards: http://www.kbb.com/kbb/ReviewsAndRat...lueAwards.aspx though if you're not in the US resale values may differ...)































The Prius is also in edmunds' used cars best bets list as well, their lowest true cost to own list, and their highest marks for depreciation (holds their value):















http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/tco/2008/index.html















http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestb...les/index.html















http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/alg/index.html































Maintenance is about the same as a regular car - use your favorite mechanic or DIY. Typically just oil/filter changes and tire rotations.















Toyota scheduled maintenance guides:















http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com/















http://www.toyota.ca/cgi-bin/WebObje...9nuRKQCm0/3.11































as for cost differences, make sure that you are comparing similarly sized and equipped vehicles. If you were looking at the Camry Hybrid, it is best paired against the top of the line trim Camry XLE model, for example. For the Prius, the closest comparison is the midsize Camry Hybrid, or the Camry XLE, to match size and options (and not the smaller compact Corolla). The US state of Colorado has already done such calculations for state income tax credit purposes, and presented the incremental price difference between the hybrid and closest non-hybrid model, here:















http://www.revenue.state.co.us/fyi/html/income09.html















The incremental price difference is:















2008 Toyota base Prius is US$2370















2008 Toyota touring Prius is US$3654















2008 Honda Civic Hybrid II is US$3675































In the US: basic new vehicle (bumper to bumper) warranty is 3 years/36,000 miles. powertrain warranty for 5 years/60,000 miles. hybrid vehicle system (which includes the inverter/converter, electric motors, battery ECU, and hybrid battery) is for 8 years/100,000 miles. If an AT-PZEV Prius in a CA-emissions state, the hybrid battery pack is further covered out to 10 years/150,000 miles. That's full warranty, not pro-rated.































Remember that the Toyota Prius is celebrating it's 10th Anniversary this December 2007, so it's hardly new technology!















http://web-cache.stream.ne.jp/www09/...rius/main.html















http://www.toyota.com/html/dyncon/20.../birthday.html































You would probably do better to

Dana1981, Master of Science

I think the best reason is that it's the greenest car on the planet:































http://www.reuters.com/article/envir...7?feedType=RSS































It also has a great warranty, is roomy, comfortable, fun to drive, has lots of cool featrues, it's low maintenance, has awesome resale value, and saves on gas.































I've never heard of a Prius owner who's not thrilled with the car.

Eric M

don't get one... you can get a "gas" with no little stupid hybrid stuff to break. for alot cheaper... hybrids suck. get like a little yaris or somthing if you want toyota atleast its not a hybrid and if you care about the earth alot get that anyways because its a ULEV=ultra low emiossions vehical.

HUELLE!!!

the prius is a very good car that gets very good gas milage, an EPA estimated average of 46-48mpg. it is also about the same price as other vehicles. you can get a FULLY LOADED prius with everything you can imaging, Navigation, leather seats, heated front seats, premium audio, etc. for around 24,000 which i think is a pretty good deal. the base price is about 21,100. if you can't spend that much money than a yaris would be a good alternative. it would not get the same gas milage as a prius but it is still very good, and cheaper.

HUELLE!!!

the prius is a very good car that gets very good gas milage, an EPA estimated average of 46-48mpg. it is also about the same price as other vehicles. you can get a FULLY LOADED prius with everything you can imaging, Navigation, leather seats, heated front seats, premium audio, etc. for around 24,000 which i think is a pretty good deal. the base price is about 21,100. if you can't spend that much money than a yaris would be a good alternative. it would not get the same gas milage as a prius but it is still very good, and cheaper.

Helder F

Comparing a Yaris to a Prius............ Maybe because both are Toyota's. I've compared to a Mazda5, Citroen C4, Mercedes B class, Audi A3, BMW series 1, and guess who won. The Prius, better gas mileage, greater features, better price, cheaper service (cheaper than a Yaris), longer warranty, fun to drive etc....etc....etc.....