Now that Esther and I work next door to each other we decided that we no longer needed two vehicles. She has been driving a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipe RS and I've been driving a 2005 VW Jetta GLS TDI.
We initially thought about just getting rid of the Eclipse but since Esther doesn't know how to drive a manual (and doesn't really want to learn) and it didn't make economic sense to get rid of the Jetta since it got significantly better mileage, we opted to trade in both vehicles. After deciding to get rid of both cars we had to decide what to get.
After A LOT research we settled on a Toyota Prius. The only problem is that none of the local dealers had them in stock. I later learned from one of the dealers that there is a two to four month waiting period on them!
Lucky for us, since I'd been asking dealers about them, when a 2006 Prius miraculously became available two days later, the dealer dropped me an e-mail to let me know. We jumped at the opportunity and rushed over to check it out. A couple of hours later we owned it.
Why a Prius?
We had a number of factors that played in to the final decision. As I mentioned, we needed a vehicle that both of us could drive (not a manual). Luckily, that need was easily met. We also wanted something that was capable of hauling more than the Eclipse and the Jetta. Finally, fuel economy was a major factor.
Both the Eclipse and the Jetta had decent storage capacity but the back seat was pretty small in both, particularly in the Eclipse. Although it was possible, having passengers in the back seat in either car was pushing the envelope.
In the fuel economy arena, the Jetta was diesel powered. I wanted to keep (or improve) the efficiency of the Jetta (I seemed to be getting about 35mpg) but over the past year and a half I have found diesel to be a major annoyance. By ruling out diesel power we were left with either tiny cars (eliminated by our storage capacity desire) or hybrids.
According to the mileage database on greenhybrid.com we were left with a choice between the Honda Civic, the Honda Insight, and the Toyota Prius if we were going to maintain (or improve) the mileage of the Jetta.
The Insight gets great mileage but it's tiny! The Civic is a nice sedan but the Prius is LOADED with neat features such as the backup camera, bluetooth, and a smart key system. In addition to the extras, being a lift-back the Prius had more room.
How is it?
Overall, the Prius won hands down for our life-style but how do we like it now that we've had some time to grow into it? We love it.
The acceleration is not as strong as the Jetta but that was expected. So far we have been averaging about 47 mpg over about 150 miles of city and highway driving. At one point in town I was averaging about 65mpg. Furthermore, the Prius is classified as a Super Ultra Low Emission vehicle (SULEV) and meets Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) requirements.
The overall layout of the various control panels and the user interface of the computer is easy to use. The backup camera is clear and well lit for night backups. The bluetooth capabilities are easy to configure and work really well so far. We both love the smart key system.
After two days, we're really happy with the purchase. I'm going to be keeping a log of the mileage before too long and will be adding to the database on Green Hybrid.
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