The yuppie hippie greenmobile that I drive

Published on April 6, 2005 By Angloesque In Misc

After months of groaning over the gas portion of the Visa bill, H and I headed down to the Toyota dealer and traded in our Honda CRV for a yuppiemobile: A gas-conserving, environmentally-more-friendly used Toyota Prius. And while we've probably been happier--our wedding, say, or the honeymoon--we're pretty damn pleased with our decision and the foreseeable future. However, given that we've had the car, uh, for two days, a more complete review will take place later. Here's a brief rundown of the plusses and minuses we've encountered so far:

1. Good: The warranty. Our car is used, but it's certified for 100K more miles.
2. Uber-good: The gas mileage. Our computer tells us we're getting around 50 mpg, though we won't know the actual results until we fill up next time.
3. Silly: The on-board computer. Total sales gimmick. If it had more features it might be worthwhile. (Wonder if we can hotwire in a DVD player...?)
4. Good: Passenger space. The front is fine for people our (normal) size (me = 5'7" and H = 6'), and the back seat isn't uncomfortable.
5. Good: Trunk space. The trunk isn't uncomfortable to ride in, either, so say the illegal aliens we've been hauling over the border.

6. Weird: Being so low to the ground. Before the CRV I had a Toyota 4x4 truck and so I'm used to being higher up. I don't like encountering SUVs or trucks on the road in lower cars at night, but the trade-offs make it worthwhile. And anyway, at least we're not contributing to nighttime blindness (neither, actually, was the CRV since its headlights were dimmer than crap).
7. Very good: The car handles very nicely, rides smoothly, is easy to park, good size, not too ugly to look at (definitely better than the new ones).
8. Weirdly good: The console is in the center, set in towards the window. Takes about 45 seconds to get used to. I'm unconvinced that it's safer or better, but it's not bothersome and it's less obvious when you're passing a cop and you glance down at your speedometer.

9. Bad: Replacing, uh, anything not covered by the warranty. Kinda expensive.
10. Good: Emissions.
11. Very good: Quiet, especially when it's just running on the battery. Much better than the road noise from the CRV.
12. Decent: Power. We don't--and I'd say that most average driver's don't--need a V8 or even a V6. I'm not up on motor talk, but suffice it to say we can get up hills, get into traffic, and pull out quickly if we need to.
13: Unknown: Roof rack? I assume we can get one put on, but I've never seen a Prius with a Yak rack and skis, or bikes. Hmm...will see about that.
14: Slightly bad: Cargo. No, you can't haul more than a trunkful. But for our needs, we didn't need that cargo space. It came in handy while we moved around, to and from summer jobs, to our new apartment, and even once to sleep in. But now that we're 8-to-5ers, we don't need it.
14. Slightly bad: No AWD/4WD. The AWD was nice in the snow, but we don't get much of that where we live, and our roads are pretty well plowed when it does. Mostly we get ice, and I'm not convinced that anything but driving skills get you over ice in a decent, safe manner.
15: Really bad: No cruise control. WTF? Stupid Toyota. But oh well. Again, a weird trade-off.
16. Good: Resale. If we decide to get rid of it, the car only depreciated $3k in four years. Damn, as they say, though we have no such intentions.
17. Kinda good, kinda bad: Now on road trips, everyone will want to take our car.

18. Good: Insurance rates. Our insurance company rocks--we got a discount. Just found out this morning. (Edited at noon PST).
19. Good: Tax breaks, or so we hear....
20. Good: The feeling we get from driving it, and the knowledge that this is a long-term investment.

In the end, it might not save us any more money than a regular car. But we're one more hybrid on the road, one fewer gas guzzler (the CRV wasn't that bad, 22-25, until you compare it to what we have now), two more sensible drivers in a sensible car that satisfies our needs.

Comments

BlueDev

on Apr 07, 2005

Cool. I would love to get a hybrid. I think the concept is killer.

Of course, reality kicks in and I am reminded that a hybrid just wouldn't fit into our lives right now (family size, still being a student, etc.) But hopefully they will continue to improve technology to make us less reliant on petroleum products.

Angloesque

on Apr 07, 2005

But hopefully they will continue to improve technology to make us less reliant on petroleum products.

That's what I hope for, too. I'm not a big fan of said natural resource and sometimes wish I lived in my own little cabin in the backwoods of Montana--preferably near the Bitterroot River--with a wood stove and an outhouse. But, as you say, reality kicks in. Plus I'd hate to ride horses everywhere. Yech.

But on an environmentally friendly note, I'm glad that I'm hurting our world a little less.

We're going to have a drought this summer, so my next project is to conserve water. The plants I'm gardening this year are all supposed to be drought-resistant, but in terms of showering and doing dishes with less water...yikes.

-A.

dynamaso

on Apr 12, 2005

Anglo, thanks for this. I've been interested for some time in the Prius, but I've not met anyone who owned one. I've spoken to a number of Toyota sales people who only and obviously sell up the good points of the vehicle. I tend not to take in much of what they say, so I was really glad to see your article, with the pluses and minuses.

My wife and I would like to get a new car at some point in the future and the idea of a hybrid is very appealing, particularly from the environmental point of view.

Thanks for passing this information on.

Angloesque

on Apr 13, 2005

Bwahhaha. I started typing this and realized I still had the Dvorak keyboard function turned on, and my response looked like this:

Ydabtow Maorv (That's "Thanks, Maso.")

Innyway. It's not the most interesting or well-written article, but I'm glad it helps. I'm a big fan of not polluting my environment, though I accept that I can't control other people's pollution. But we did get my father-in-law interested after we told him what we were paying and what the financing was like. He drives a Suburban so pretty much anything gets better mileage than that.

Cheers.

-A.

Spc Nobody Special

on Apr 13, 2005

Sigh........I know that change will be forced onto me eventually, but in the meantime I'm driving my 73 Mustang as long as I can.

I do like the hybrids, but they're so damned expensive, especially in regards to repairs. Don't worry, I don't drive it that often, but your in-law's aren't so bad off with their SUV. I get about 10 to 12 mpg in mine, and a lot of the pickups down here get maybe 8.

Disadvantages: Crappy mileage, emissions surprisingly not that bad. Occasionally tricky to find a few of the parts. Fairly loud.

Advantages: Tons of power, lots of cool points, spacious AND luxurious. Plenty of storage space and leg room. Cheap and easy to fix. Good handling, fun to drive.

Good luck with your new car, hope you enjoy the hell out of it.

Angloesque

on Apr 13, 2005

Don't worry, I don't drive it that often

I'm not worried. I used to drive a Toyota 4x4 that got about 16-19 mpg and it was a blast. The coolest car I've been in was a '66 Corvette with a big-block engine (or something like that). I'm sure it was getting about 8 mpg, especially the way we were driving it. But now we're grown up and stuff and own a sedan. Pfft. I think it would be nice to have a fun car.

-A.

dynamaso

on Apr 14, 2005

The other option for me would be to find a mid-60's muscle car that I wanted and have it converted to LPG. You lose a little in regards to horsepower and apparently some parts can wear quicker (I believe it has something to do with the higher temperature in the ignition chamber of the gas, but I'm not sure). Where you lose on these things, you gain on with a far cheaper fuel source and that LPG is much better for the environment.

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