[jshore]

In a few political discussions that have broken out on this Board, I have been made aware of the fact that not everyone who owns a Prius is a "liberal tree-hugging environmental-wacko" like myself...In fact, at least a few are about as far from that as I could possibly imagine. Since my main motivations for buying a Prius were the environmental ones (although I now love my car for many other reasons too!), I am curious to hear what other people's motivations for buying the Prius are.

As one particular hypothesis, I did notice that the Prius seems to be "cross--marketed" to people who are "techno-geeks" who would be early-adopters of any new technology. Does this description fit those of you for who environmental concerns were not very important? [I, for one, am closer to being a Luddite than an early-adopter and indeed this is probably one of the only technologies that I have been anywhere near the forefront of.]

 

[Howie]

For me it wasn’t the MPG, as lots of cars achieve, if not exceed the Prius in the UK & Europe. I currently have a VW Golf TDI and on my weekly trips from Yorkshire to West London average 60MPG along the 180-miles of motorway.

The combination of “drive by wire”, Power train and just the difference of the vehicle were all contributory factors. Being “Mr Cautious”, if VW had something along the same lines I would have stayed with them. Plus, as more local councils are trying to control the access to town centres, I’m just trying to pre-empt them and may be they will allow, along with buses, Hybrid vehicles into restricted areas! At the moment Central London has a congestion zone which costs £5 per day to enter. At least with the Prius you pay a one off fee for registration and that’s it, no daily access fee!

Howie

PS
Still waiting for my Prius to arrive!

 

[melgish]

The gas mileage, the gadgets and the green... in that order.

 

[SkipHuffman]

Does this description fit those of you for who environmental concerns were not very important? [I, for one, am closer to being a Luddite than an early-adopter and indeed this is probably one of the only technologies that I have been anywhere near the forefront of.]

Three factors:

1) Yes, I am a liberal tree hugging loonie

2) Yes, I am a technophile, Gadgets are Fun!

3) Wanted something different, but not rude.

 

[stevesol]

The gas mileage was number one. It made me sick to think of sending any more oil money to the middle east. The environmental issues were also important but I would not call myself a tree hugger. The technology is way cool and was certainly also a factor for me.

 

[hyperion]

My purchase was as a protest against all our administrations since the establishment of OPEC who have been bought off by the lobbyists in the oil industry. I.ve anticipated the problems with the middle east for years and have been disgusted with the lack of planning by our government. Not one interest in cutting back on our oil consumption. I think the mentality of both political parties has always been the same. If it gets real scarce we'll just go in and "get it" I bought my Prius because I was curious if the engineering would work for the life of the car and would not even have considered it except for the exceptinal warrenty. I'm hoping it steers the American manufactures into the race because the administration in Washington sure aren't about to. Is it the car I would like to be driving? No. I would prefer a small wagon or better yet convertible, but this is all there is and the principal of and the engineering are amazing. I just wish the Japanese had done a little more for the American taste of car afficiandos with the addition of a few operating guages unstead of just having you driving around "in the dark" Sorry about the "rant" And before you ask, I do have an appointment this week to look at a hybrid Ford "Escape" The milage does'nt concern me as much as the principle and I'm really curious as to what Fords warrenty will look like.

 

[Victor]

Being “Mr Cautious”, if VW had something along the same lines I would have stayed with them.

If I was being “Mr Cautious”, I wouldnt buy a VW. Toyota is more reliable anyday. :lol:

Still, Fuel prices was the reason. EURO 1.20/ltr

 

[moocatdog]

The combination of ultra-low emisisons and high MPG are what most attracted me to the Prius. I'm too fiscally conservative to be a true pioneer of new technologies, but I do tend to embrace second-generation products early on. I always yield to classic Prii and say a silent "Thank you" whenever one passes by.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[Canadian Prius]

In my mind I know living wastefully is not good for anyone, but now that I have a Prius I know that it also feels much better to use resources wisely.

I would rather find an old, well made item at a garage sale than buy a new, brightly packaged plastic version that performs the same function, but has a limited life cycle built in for the benefit of the manufacturer. The Prius is one of the very few present day examples of the philosophy built into many of those old items.

I enjoy filling the tank after 700 km with the same amount of gas I used to buy after 280 km.

I really like stopping to talk to a neighbor, and the ICE turns itself off so we can both appreciate the silence of a country road.

I like supporting a company that has the guts and wisdom to be first in a risky venture that will benefit everyone.

I like the quality of workmanship, and the powersplit device and the intelligent software that conforms to my driving agenda, and doesn't impose imperatives on me.

I like owning a vehicle, (or any manufactured item for that matter), that I can be proud of as expressing so many of my values.

I don't remember ever hugging a tree, but I do spend a lot of time trying to prevent wanton destruction of the natural environment.

Lots of good reasons to buy a Prius.

 

[finman]

Prius buy reasons...

1) Smart Key (immediately after shown this feature, I said I have to have this!).
2) The performance (0-60 in 10 seconds is good enough for me, plus no shifting and no shift-shock transitions).
3) Gas mileage (less dependence on other countries for our addiction)
4) First on the block technology that I could afford.
5) Greenness factor (no stinking fumes in the garage, etc.)
6) SO said she liked it too. (Whoever said the women in our lives don't influence us men are living a fantasy world!)

And I'd also like to say despite the nay-sayers in my life, I WANTED one of these so badly to prove it is dependable and proven technology: I have 2 sets of aunts/uncles that had each had a classic and gave up on them after the tires proved less than satisfactory. One also had a bladder replacement (the car not the person!). One had trouble with -20 F degree weather. And believe it or not, one had trouble with the 'engine always turning on and off'. Yes, it really IS supposed to do that. They really did not appreciate the finer Prius points. Love my Prius!

 

[DuncanNixon2004]

why buy a Prius

We went looking for a larger truck, like a quadcab. I said to my wife that as long as we were looking at a Tacoma just for fun we should look at the hybrids. Honda is next door to Toyota so we parked on the Toyota lot and walked over to the Honda and jumped in their "hybrid". Works fine but no "wow" factor. Back to Toyota, no quadcab in sight, so tested the Prius but told a long wait was in order. Call us if you can get one within the month, we said, since we were leaving on a long, long trip then. Continued looking and a couple of days later found the quadcab we were prepared to buy, a zero options stickshift Nissan Frontier. My wife was really reluctant to commit to this vehicle since the Prius had won her heart. We put down a deposit and when we got home the phone call from Toyota was on the machine. Undid the deal with Nissan and did the deal with Toyota.

Why?

Who wouldn't! I something of a techogeek and love the spaceage features. My wife is a total Luddite. We like green and have recently purchased the more expensive washing machine that has the eco features and when installing the fishpond went for the more expensive but energy efficient pump. My wife is a homecare nurse who gets paid by the kilometre. No real answer, but put it all together it adds up to being the first on the block who gets to snicker when people complain about the rising cost of oil; to revel in all the information that is available by touch screen; to think that down the road in our own small way we are helping our children and grandchildren and etc to live a cleaner life...

Duncan

 

[Jim Biggs]

Why a Prius

In order:
1. midsized 4 door - I need to put clients in the back seat
2. MPG - I drive about 56 miles one way to work. (Gee I've seen that exact number somewhere before) about 50,000 miles / year
3. WOW factor - You get noticed when you drive a Prius (more than a Camry)
4. Price - I think its a lot of car for the bucks

Jim Biggs

 

[LazyBear]

I am still waiting for the Prius, but here are my reasons. I am currently driving large, sporty, expensive (as > $50K) car which I feel I don't use much. I just need a decent car for 30 mile a day non-highway commute to work and back. However, it may sound snobbish, but since I can afford higher end cars, I won't even come close to Civic or to previous generation Prius (which looks as dorky as Echo). MPG is good too, not moneywise, but more emission wise. However, I am not crazy about it.

So Prius looks like a decent conbination, relatively inexpensive, technologically interesting (I am a geek) with good features like HID lights and such. As for sporty car, I'll probably buy a dedicated one for track driving.

However, ideally I would prefer slightly bigger car with slightly more power and more features. C'mon, I didn't drive car with 4 way seats for years, excluding maybe rentals.

Unfortunately, there is huge gap in hybrids between Prius @110 hp combined power and Hybrid Accord @ 270 hp. I would love Accord with 50 hp electric motor paired with 4 cylinder standard Accord engine. Since standard 4 banger Accord is rated 26/34 mpg, hybrid would be somewhere in 36/40 range. I personally don't care about 50 mpg anyway.

 

[BIF]

Reason I began looking:
My research into the bell-curve of oil production and "peak oil" scared the [email protected] out of me.

Reason I chose a Hybrid:
Best bet until there's no oil left and I have to start riding a horse.

Reason I chose a Prius:
I have too much junk to lug around on my back or on my poor-horse-to-be's back!



..post homework silliness...no, I have not been drinking, honest!

 

[MUGlover]

Simply, I like a good design.

What did it for me was the announcement that Prius had the lowest coefficient of drag of any production vehicle.

Not interesting in itself but it backs up the claims that the Prius operates efficiently, quietly, and with good mileage.

After driving this car for four weeks, I can say I have never experienced such a large car on the inside and such a small car on the outside. I still expect to find a hidden door in the car one day and 27 clowns tucked in behind it. :roll: And it IS quiet.

 

[wombatua]

1. My 1992 Ford Escort blew a head gasket last year and ached for the Elysian Fields until I acquired my Prius. Toyota makes quality cars.

2. I'd like to have as light a footprint on nonrenewable resources (or extremely slowly renewed resources, anyways) as possible. I consider myself an environmentalist, and I'm willing to use my money accordingly.

3. I'm able to afford a Prius. I couldn't have bought it otherwise.

 

[jshore]

Thanks, everyone, for your contributions. They are fun to read. As for myself, as I already stated, my main reasons for buying a hybrid were the environmental ones, both lower pollutant emissions and lower greenhouse gas emissions...although, other issues involving our unhealthy dependence on oil that others have mentioned here also played into it.

I chose the Prius specifically because the only cars I have ever owned are hatchbacks and I like the convenience of being able to put my x-country skis or bicycle in. (I could have probably settled for a trunk with a fold-down seat, but as you know that wasn't an option with any hybrids yet.)

The high-techness of it was actually a bit off-putting for me when I test-drove it although I have quickly grown to like it more. When I test-drove, I actually like the Civic Hybrid with manual transmission better since it felt more like what I was used to driving (Plymouth Colt w/ manual). But, I really wanted the hatchback and decided I would get used to the feel of the Prius. Now, I am glad I made that decision.

 

[Daniel]

It's green, it's clean, it's geeky, and it's a Toyota for reliability. I like the mileage for bragging rights, though I really don't care how much I spend on gas. I don't drive enough miles for that to make any real difference in my budget. I like the drive train design, with no tranny or clutch. I like that it can go on electric with the ICE stopped. I wanted to move up to a car with ABS, but before the '04 Prius there was not an acceptable alternative to my old Civic station wagon, as I did not want a large car and I will not buy an American-made car because they are not reliable enough. I was sold on the '04 Prius as soon as I read the first reviews nearly a year ago. (Ordered it early in November and got it 2 months later.)

 

[Tux42]

First I would like to say Yes I am a "liberal tree-hugging environmental-wacko"
but most importantly I have a kid on the way and need something safer than my previous (1984 Honda Accord).
With the price of Gas I needed something a little cheaper, but I also wanted the comfort. I did 3 months of research and looked at every car from 2000-2004 (except Fords, I don't do fords) and did comparisons based on fuel efficiency, Greenhouse Gas emissions, Safety ratings, Conform/Luxury features. The prius came out on top overall. so I purchased one.
Clean, Simple, Logical

Later

Tux42

 

[jshore]

(Ordered it early in November and got it 2 months later.)

Well, I ordered mine in early November and got it 7 months later! Who says life is slower out in the middle of the country?!?