I'd like to say my decision is along the same lines, but it boils down to the fact that I'm cheap. ;^]
I couldn't justify spending twice as much to buy a car that costs twice as much to drive. Everyone has their own sense of value, and I hit mine. The Prius isn't perfect, but neither is my friends BMW, my brothers Mercedes, or my neighbors Cadillac. I wouldn't get any of those if you paid me. I'm putting a few mods on my Prius, and looking for more comfort in the seats (but then I traded in a 7 yr old Metro I bought new).
My value came in the fact that I can get this mileage and put 4 adults in fairly comfortably. I'm well over 6' tall. I adjusted the front seat, then sat behind it as I had it set. I would feel comfortable there for a couple of hours, and that's longer than even my best friend can stand to be in a car with me!
Of course, I miss the storage capacity of the Metro. I fit 3 17" monitors (still in the boxes) in it with the hatch closed. Same thing when I bought a La-Z-Boy, it fit in the hatch. The standing joke was that everything fits in a Metro. I certainly don't miss it enough to even think of going back, but it's an issue to consider. And the turning radius of the Prius is comperable.
</rambling>
I couldn't justify spending twice as much to buy a car that costs twice as much to drive. Everyone has their own sense of value, and I hit mine. The Prius isn't perfect, but neither is my friends BMW, my brothers Mercedes, or my neighbors Cadillac. I wouldn't get any of those if you paid me. I'm putting a few mods on my Prius, and looking for more comfort in the seats (but then I traded in a 7 yr old Metro I bought new).
My value came in the fact that I can get this mileage and put 4 adults in fairly comfortably. I'm well over 6' tall. I adjusted the front seat, then sat behind it as I had it set. I would feel comfortable there for a couple of hours, and that's longer than even my best friend can stand to be in a car with me!
Of course, I miss the storage capacity of the Metro. I fit 3 17" monitors (still in the boxes) in it with the hatch closed. Same thing when I bought a La-Z-Boy, it fit in the hatch. The standing joke was that everything fits in a Metro. I certainly don't miss it enough to even think of going back, but it's an issue to consider. And the turning radius of the Prius is comperable.
</rambling>
