Centurion

I have a Pathfinder STL. I hate it. It drinks fuel, I have no need for 7 seats and drive around town a lot. Highway driving is unusual for me and my kms are low. I off road about as much as supermarket trolley if Im honest and its limited to once or twice a year.

The wife has a Mazda BT-50 pickup and uses that to haul horses and so on. two 4WDs we do not need.

So, here I am thinking the new Prius. Yes, I realise its not going to save the planet. But it is much better than previous incarnations and the fuel effeciency around town appeals a lot (better than the 14.5l/100 Im getting now ).

Its a car that polarises opinion I know, but I want something that will last me say 5 years by which time I suspect we shall be seeing the introduction of electric cars.

So, if you had the capital, would you ? If not what would you do ?

Broad Shoulders

Probably I would. But also one to consider, and often a hybrid that doesn't get the attention it deserves is the Honda Civic Hybrid. It's about $10k cheaper (at about $30k I think) and looks exactly like a normal Civic. The reasons I think it doesn't get the coverage as much as the Prius is because Toyota decided to productise a completely separate Hybrid car, which has been great for the Hollywood A listers who want to be seen as "green", even though they use their private jets to get around the world. It's like the iPod, they have become status symbols more than anything.

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of cutting our emissions, I just sometimes wonder about the intentions behind some people's decisions to purchase them.

By the sounds of it, you have some very valid and good reasons to do so.

Mipik

I would say that going from the Pathfinder to a Prius might need a bit of adjustment, you will feel like your bottom is scraping the road.

Prius sound good in theory but economy side of the things is not there IMHO.
Plus if it breaks who will be able to fix it?

I would go for something with better fuel economy but still a traditional car/suv.

Rav4?

Broad Shoulders

That's always been a question I have had. Does it mean you are forced to go to Toyota for all servicing?

Yeah, but as Centy said, he does a lot of city driving. If he does a lot of Peak Hour City driving then he could theoretically do the trip without using any petrol whatsoever

Mipik

He would have to go there with a new car anyway to keep the warranty.
To be honest I would be afraid that any more complicated problems might have even local Toyota technicians baffled.

As to the economy, even with lower fuel use how long would it take to pay back the price difference?

Broad Shoulders

Incorrect, it is against competition laws for vendors to invalidate manufacturers warranties for not having the vehicle serviced through their dealers.

Dealers can offer dealer extended warranties that force you to have it serviced at the same place, but that is different to a manufacturer's warranty

Broad Shoulders

price difference between a new Prius and a new RAV4?

There appears to be a $6-7k differential between the two entry level cars. If you are constantly doing under 40km/h you will essentially do the trip without using any petrol

Mipik

Rav4 was just an example, but I would say a good alternative to Pathfinder.

Rav4 would be ~15k cheaper that would mean 120kkm in Prius to pay for the difference even it did not use any fuel.

Broad Shoulders

quick look on Carsguide says the entry level RAV4 is $34k, while the Prius is $40k.

Mipik

I looked on Carsales and on more optioned/upmarket models and on quick glance assumed 55k for Prius and 40k for Rav4.

However you look the price difference is still substantial and Rav4 is not the most economical car around.

homewardbound

My friend is given a company car - he has a vw vento or something anyway his friends at work all have Prius's and they love them and they do ALOT of k's and no probs - some of the cars are up to 5years old and still great.

Centurion

I'm really only doing local stop start driving and really want to steer away from 4WD and SUV urban shopping trolleys. The RAV4 does not float my boat at all and the civic hybrid gets such bad write ups and having owned a honda in the past would not care to go there again.

I realise the Prius is never going to make up the price difference in fuel to capital cost but for its size, 4 doors and can seat people comfortably, its the best out there in terms of its green credentials, economy and emissions.

I'm struggling to find an alternative to it. The equipment list on it is just so impressive.

Amazulu

The new Ford Fiesta diesel has better fuel economy than the Prius. Same for the Fiat 500. Even the 1.9TDI Golf will have similar economy. All these cars cost a lot less than the Prius.

homewardbound

I have a Hyundai Getz and its REALLY economical, nippy and cheap as hell!

Grayling

My wife has just bought a new Ford Fiesta (petrol version). It is a really neat economical little car and actually feels like a much bigger car to drive.....more like a sportscar than a hatchback.

G