Tell me how stupid I am (I bought a Prius)

Picked up a decent Gen 1 for $4400. 149k miles, clean interior, 7/10 exterior. This is to replace the evil B14 Sentra my girlfriend currently drives. The Prius is faster (yes), in much better shape all around, and gets between 30% (highway) and 90% (city) better mileage.

Right now its at the Toyota Dealer getting a new steering rack - under warranty extended to Dec 31, 2013

First commute to work:

Highway trip from Winston -> Asheville -> all around Asheville -> Charlotte -> Winston again averaged ~43mpg. Not terrible.

Other comments:

• These are not anymore soul-less than any other 4 cyl automatic car made between 1990 and 2005. I think it actually has more character than lots of them.
• Surprisingly, its very nice to drive in the mountains. Regen braking is cool when coasting downhill, and it never downshifts to climb.
• The tip-in throttle response when the engine is already spooled and the electric motor kicks in actually pretty surprising. If you happen to fumble with the gas at lower speeds just wrong, it will lay some rubber. I did this, accidentally.

Plans:

• Cleanup exterior with a good wash/claybar/buff/wax, remove headlight haze. Most important thing is headlight haze and some light scratches in the paint I am sure will come out with a good buffing.

• Drive it like its an appliance, save $

• Do preventative maintenance. Some simple hybrid-system related things, then the usual. Oil, trans fluid, filters, etc.

• Possibly refresh suspension in the next year. It feels pretty solid right now... but I'm always looking for an excuse to upgrade. I'm now 90% sure Corolla swaybars fit the rear, which means I have plenty of cheap options there. 50% on the front bar. I'm about 25% sure other Gen 2 stuff will bolt up, need to look at front suspension more. Don't intend to spend a lot/go crazy here, but it would be nice for a slightly lower/stiffer ride and mainly some fresh bushings and struts for <$500

Looks smart to me.

I've had my eye on these ever since I found out you could get a high mileage one for less than $5k. Would love to get one to replace my wife's Yaris, which is an equally miserable turd.

I approve. The Prius makes a lot of sense as a commuter.

Tell me, though, is this giant berkeleytarded handle actually on the dashboard?

Let's see. The oldest member of my local sports car club was a road racer and rallyist for 40 years, he still autocrosses, and he can kick my ass on a kart.

His 2 cars are a supercharged Jag XK-R and a 2nd-gen Prius. I don't think you're stupid. Only the self-righteous dooshbags who use their Prii as a tool of social engineering (and so you know how enlightened they are) are stupid.

Please turn in your car guy card immediately.

My only complaint (and why we bought the Jetta instead) was that we found the seats miserable around the 45 minute point. Since it's a road trip vehicle for us, it wouldn't fly. However, if you fit and are comfortable, I see no reason that it is a bad decision.

We love ours. Once you get used to it you'll get better mileage.

I've been considering getting another one for MY commute. Yes, I would have 2 Prii.

Alan Cesar wrote: Tell me, though, is this giant berkeleytarded handle actually on the dashboard?

Since I noticed the giant whale penis in the foreground of OP's picture, yes. Yes it is. WTF?!!?!

Prius make no sense for us. She can get 40+mpg out of a non-hybrid that we paid $4k for with 72k miles that's at least 5 years newer than the newest first gen Prius with less long term maintenance and cheaper parts.

That looks like a great way to die in a front-end collision, especially when it's in the D position. Maybe the angle is different than it looks.

Its the shifter. It is a bit goofy. Its like a normal column shifter except it moves straight down, instead of rotating around the column. Its not as obtrusive as it seems (especially when in "D" - when I am sitting in the drivers seat, it usually obscures the "disc/tape" button from my vision).

mistanfo wrote: My only complaint (and why we bought the Jetta instead) was that we found the seats miserable around the 45 minute point. Since it's a road trip vehicle for us, it wouldn't fly. However, if you fit and are comfortable, I see no reason that it is a bad decision.

Forgot about this. Front seats are not great... but it seems like an easy fix. Basically, the seatpan is just too flat - no incline toward the front edge. I'm just going to machine a few 1/2" to 1" spacers to raise the front edge and it'll be a lot better.

clutchsmoke wrote:

Alan Cesar wrote: Tell me, though, is this giant berkeleytarded handle actually on the dashboard?

Since I noticed the giant whale penis in the foreground of OP's picture, yes. Yes it is. WTF?!!?!

I had a German car that had the four speed shifter in the dash.

I would not go stiffer on the springs/struts/shocks. For high MPG, you want a supple suspension that will float over the bumps and such instead of shocking the car with each hit. Thicker swaybars will give you better handling without ruining your Miliage.

I have thought of getting an insight (1st gen) for commuting

May not be an F product, but I don't see it as stupid. Decent price, low cost of ownership, and many commutes are not exactly interesting, so appliances work just fine.

Hopefully Bryce can weigh in and give you tips on making sure the battery packs are working byond the normal logevity.

Now, here's a real challenge- hyper mile drive without hypermiling. If that makes any sense. See how good that can be without being a bother to other drivers. I bet you can do closer to 50. Criminy, the Fiesta boards have a whole group that is getting 50, some are even bragging 60 once in a while. Once you break 50mpg, break 60.

I had one for a while as a patrol car at work and liked it. It looked a bit funny with a light bar on the roof but we put a lot of miles on it and it ran well right up until a coworker found out it wasn't very taxi proof.

alfadriver wrote: Now, here's a real challenge- hyper mile drive without hypermiling. If that makes any sense. See how good that can be without being a bother to other drivers. I bet you can do closer to 50.

You know the first picture I posted of my commute was >54mpg, right?

DaveEstey wrote: Once you get used to it you'll get better mileage.

Yeah. If I drive it, possibly. The GF will just get in and drive with no concern for mileage. That's what makes it so great - you have to really try to get bad mileage.

If it somehow ends up as my commuter, I'd consider an EV mode switch. EV mode for like 20 feet will get me out of my driveway and allow me to coast the ~10% of my commute.

Bobzilla wrote: Prius make no sense for us. She can get 40+mpg out of a non-hybrid that we paid $4k for with 72k miles that's at least 5 years newer than the newest first gen Prius with less long term maintenance and cheaper parts.

Yeah, they don't make sense for some people. We both have short in-town commutes, and do the majority of our driving in town... areas where hybrids excel and other cars don't.

The Asheville trip is a once every few months anomaly.

In terms of maintenance concerns, our 07 has 120k+ miles on it, averages 50 mpg and the only non-wear item we've replaced was the water pump at 105k.

We did the front brakes for the first time at 115k thanks to regen braking. Rears are drums, so I don't expect to ever have to do them.

Other than that - change oil every 7,500 miles.

DaveEstey wrote: In terms of maintenance concerns, our 07 has 120k+ miles on it, averages 50 mpg and the only non-wear item we've replaced was the water pump at 105k. We did the front brakes for the first time at 115k thanks to regen braking. Rears are drums, so I don't expect to ever have to do them. Other than that - change oil every 7,500 miles.

Pretty much the same with mine. Only car I ever bought new, during the accelerator peddle scandal. Then sold used for more money then I paid even the tax, gas was at 5.10 a gallon out here.

Only thing that I had issue with was it had a slightly weird smell, like the plastics were made of the weird low VOC paint when ever the car got left out in the sun.

ProDarwin wrote:

alfadriver wrote: Now, here's a real challenge- hyper mile drive without hypermiling. If that makes any sense. See how good that can be without being a bother to other drivers. I bet you can do closer to 50.

You know the first picture I posted of my commute was >54mpg, right?

LOL!! No I didn't read the picture, I read the text just below the picture where you got 43 mpg- totally missed the info in the picture... funny. (sorry about that)

So then 60mpg is your base challenge, and 70mpg is now the stretch challenge.

I actually kinda like the 1st gen. I'm actually surprised they haven't come down in price even more. The 1st gen cars don't have that distinctive "hybrid" look and I figured that was a turn off to the people that drive them as a smug status symbol.

In reply to ProDarwin:

Agreed. The wife drives 70+ miles a day, 5 days a week 90% highway. Any Hybrid(not just Prii) aren't a smart economical decision for us. She'll put 200k miles on this one we just got and then we'll throw it away (with close to 300k) and get another cheap one.

This seems like a smart move, especially for the price. I have some regret about having bought a commuter that gets 12 mpg and requires premium. With an older model like this, are there any expensive battery replacements/other maintenance that you'll have to do in the near term?