Thinking of getting a Prius...

[khalloc]

K, so right now I drive a 2005 Subaru OUtback. LL Bean edition. Sucks up gas. But other than that I love it. Its paid off, I bought it new on 2004.

I drive way out of my way every day to bring DC to daycare. I am getting like 17-18 MPG on this car. But I live in VT so its good in the snow, which is nice. But before this I had a Corolla and never really had problems driving in the snow.

So DH has a 2010 Prius. I am SOOOOO jealous on his gas mileage. He's paying like $40 a month in gas MAX. I am putting in about $200. And thats at the current gas prices, and if I dont drive anywhere out of the ordinary.

I figure I could trade my car in for about $13,000. If I bought a $25,000 Prius I would have a $12,000 loan.

Really the Prius isnt smaller in terms of space for seating. My car only really fits 2 carseats in the back. I think the Prius might have a larger backseat, because the seat in my Outback is tiny. I am not a SAHM, so I never watch other kids. Just my own 2. For everyday things, I think the Prius would work fine. I'd only miss the Outback like maybe 3 times of the year when we have a Blizzard, or want to carry something on the roof, But I guess I could always get a roof rack on a Prius if I needed it.

I know with the loan it would cost more a month than what I am paying now ($200 in gas) but it wouldnt be much more, and I wouldn't be cringing everytime I had to get gas...

[jess_g]

Just a thought but you could switch cars with your dh and try his for a week and see what you think of it after you have driven it for a while and then decide. That way you can see if it realy fits your lifestyle.

I would also want to consider winter driving. I am in MA where we don't get that much snow and I got stuck twice this winter in the snow in our sedan. If your present car does well in snow I would think twice before switching.

There is also a wonderful message board called priuschat that has a lot of prius owners on it with lots of usefull advice. I have been dying to get a prius for a long time, but now I want a minivan instead for the room.

http://priuschat.com/

Jessica.

[khalloc]

Well I do drive DH's car occasionally. I have it today in fact. The interior room in the car feels the same. DH says he has had no problems in the snow with his car + snow tires on. I live in town, so I'm not driving on dirt roads, etc...its mostly in town driving on my daily commute.

My OUtback is great in the snow, but I was also fine driving my '98 Corolla. THe only difference is that sometimes on a hill the Corolla would take a few seconds to get going in the snow. Whereas the Subaru is AWD so I never have that problem...but honestly i don't think its really worth it for the price in gas. Alot of times on heavy snow days, the kids daycare is closed anyways, so I am not driving at all then.

I can't picture myself ever getting a minivan just because of the gas mileage and I dont have any friends with kids, plus I work so I will never be the mom who is toting everyone around. And if it came to that I could get a new car in 5+ years.

I do love my Outback, but just because the interior is really nice and it moves when i press on the pedal, but I HATE sinking $50 in to fill it up.

[Penny's Pappa]

Or you could "downgrade" to a different Outback. The LL Bean Edition has (I believe) a 3.0L engine compared to the 2.5L of the lower-end models. That's a big reason as to why you're eating up more fuel. We have a 2007 2.5i and we get a good 24-26mpg city. Still not as good as a Prius would get, of course, but, as you're well aware, the Outback provides other benefits that the Prius just can't match. Just a thought.

[khalloc]

Yes, if i ever got another Outback I would get the 2.5L one. This was my first new car, pre-kids, and I wanted some real pick-me-up compared to the Corolla. I dont know if its worth it to trade in my current car for something that only gets 24-26 MPG in the city though. I'd probably just keep this car until its really ready to be retired.

[Piglet]

Personally, I would be hard pressed for environmental issues to BUY anything. The cost to the environment of manufacturing is very high. Add to that the cost of transportation (all the fuel that it takes to get the parts to you) and you are not doing the environment any favours by buying a new car when your old one is still going strong. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, but it is something to keep in mind when thinking of buying something new to offset something used.

[hellokitty]

Personally, I would be hard pressed for environmental issues to BUY anything. The cost to the environment of manufacturing is very high. Add to that the cost of transportation (all the fuel that it takes to get the parts to you) and you are not doing the environment any favours by buying a new car when your old one is still going strong. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, but it is something to keep in mind when thinking of buying something new to offset something used.
:yeahthat: J

[JoyNChrist]

No input, but if you get one I'm really jealous. I have wanted a Prius SOOO bad for years and was on a waiting list and everything...they called to tell me they had one for me two days after we found out we were having twins. So now I'm minivan shopping. :( :ROTFLMAO:

[khalloc]

Personally, I would be hard pressed for environmental issues to BUY anything. The cost to the environment of manufacturing is very high. Add to that the cost of transportation (all the fuel that it takes to get the parts to you) and you are not doing the environment any favours by buying a new car when your old one is still going strong. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, but it is something to keep in mind when thinking of buying something new to offset something used.

Well I'm not really thinking of buying one because I think I'll help the environment, I'm just thinking about my own wallet when I go to the gas station, soo....

[Piglet]

Well I'm not really thinking of buying one because I think I'll help the environment, I'm just thinking about my own wallet when I go to the gas station, soo....

There are some calculators you can try to compare:

http://someyapping.com/Fuel-Efficient-Car-Calculator.aspx
http://www.hybridcars.com/calculator/
http://www.hybrid-cars.org/featured/compare-hybrid-gas-mileage

There is an even better calculator but I can't find it (it includes the cost of the replacement car). Also, keep in mind service for the cars. The older car will require more service work sooner, but the hybrid can be more expensive to service (the battery is very expensive to replace for example).

[khalloc]

My husband does all of the service work on my Outback. Things like brakes, oil changes...He can do lots more but sometimes if its a complete PITA he will just pay to have it done.

I guess that is leaning towards keeping the Subaru. I just am so jealous at his gas mileage!

[Dream]

Wasn't the Prius recalled recently for accelaration problems?

[khalloc]

The acceleration issue did not include the 2010 Prius. The 2010 Prius does have a recall for anti-lock brakes though, but they are still selling it.