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Prius C

Posted: October 4, 2013, 9:48 pm
by Winnow
I'm not much of a car person. I'd do without if that were an option. The only other real thread I had on this forum was about the Smart Car.

That's too small. My Camry finally died after 240,000 miles and it was going to be too expensive to be worth fixing the engine so I gave it away to the AAA tow truck guy for free.

I didn't want to be in a rental car for long so I crammed researching cars for 2 days and ended up buying a 2013 Prius C (2014 models aren't out yet)

I didn't want to buy a new car but the resale value of Prius hybrids is so high, it wouldn't have saved me much money to buy a year or two older model used.

So, before I decided on the Prius C, I had a few things that were important to me:

1. Good gas mileage
2. Decent Control Center with Bluetooth and Nav system
3. Reliable
4. Key-less entry and Push Start

Not important:

1. Looks
2. Cargo Space
3. Acceleration. (as long as I can cruise at 75/mph on the highway I'm happy)

So far, after about 20 days, I'm really happy with my purchase.

First of all, USAA fucking rocks. If you're military or come from military family, that's where you should be banking. It's an unbelievably great financial service. It took me all of 5 minutes to switch my insurance over to my new car online. I've never had to talk to USAA on the phone, their website rocks. I used USAA's car buying service so it was completely hassle free. I picked the car I wanted and then printed out the USAA guaranteed price certificate. USAA gave me three local dealer choices to go to. I picked out a car, gave the dealer my certificate and I had my car.

As for the car, I was leery of batteries in hybrids but they've come a long way and aren't really a concern anymore. You get a ten year/100,000 warranty on the battery just in case though.

The car isn't the prettiest thing out there:

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It's based off the Yaris chasis I think. That's the color I got (metallic blue) but of course the steering wheel is on the other side and it's a 2013 not 2012!

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It's perfect for me who doesn't give a shit about cars, thus also doesn't give a shit about the look of a car but it gets the best gas mileage of any car on the road except for a full plug-in electric car.

I got 59.5 mpg on my way home today (15 mile trip).

Bluetooth works great. I keep my iPhone in my pocket, the car detects my iPhone and starts playing my podcast/audiobook without me having to do a thing and pauses it when I leave without me having to touch anything. I know some of you have had this capability for awhile but it's freaking awesome for me that hasn't.

It has a USB iPhone/iOS compatible (and Android) port as well if you want to direct connect.

Key-less entry / Push Start:

This is also something I can no longer live without now that I have it. My "key" never leaves my pocket. Open door, push start, drive away instantly. No engine to start as that doesn't kick in until you hit about 20 mph. This whole key-less system is something I'll never do without again. I'm coming from an ancient Camry so I know this isn't news to a lot of you.

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This Eco screen is addicting. It constantly scores you on your driving habits and you can see when the battery is charging, when you're in eco mode or when you're in the "red/power" area and probably burning through fuel fast.

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Some of the other screens

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It tracks your best days...like console achievements!

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One cool thing about the Prius is that the more traffic there is, the better the gas mileage you get. The Prius C gets better gas mileage city driving as opposed to highway driving which is the opposite of most cars. I've been averaging 54 MPG on my current tank of gas.

As for driving experience, it's a small car and so handles very well and is easy to park , etc. It's deficient mostly in accelerating from about 20mph to 75 mph. It can be fast up to 20 mpg as you're using the electric engine. It cruises without any issues (doesn't feel like it's struggling) at 75mph and I cruised a little at 80 mph although I'd only do that on long trips. I thin kit's be fine up to 85 mph but that's not it's strong suit for sure. The ride is stiff as it's build for efficiency, not luxury and has small tires.

There are four versions of the Prius C. One, Two, Three and Four (no fancy names for them!) I bought the Three for 21,000. It was the first version that had the Key-less/Push Start feature and Upgraded Navigation/Speaker system. Although I didn't want them, my car had the upgraded alloy wheels as well which does make it look a bit better.

This car isn't for everyone but if you want incredi-fucking-bul gas mileage and reliability, it might work for you. I'm hoping to get 10+ years out of my car. For my driving habits, I calculated I'll save about $1,000/year on gas at current prices. I don't drive that much anymore. (10-12K/year so if you drive more, you save more) That, combined with a very high resale value on Prius cars makes it a decent new car investment for those that don't care much about sporty cars, etc.

Re: Prius C

Posted: October 5, 2013, 7:40 pm
by Aabidano
Supposed to be a great car, especially if you've a mixed city/hwy commute, straight highway it wouldn't seem worth the extra $$ over a non-hybrid?

Co-worker who bought the first one got a free battery post warranty in both time & mileage.

Smart car is a rolling political statement, can do much better for the $$.

Re: Prius C

Posted: October 6, 2013, 10:36 pm
by Winnow
Aabidano wrote:Supposed to be a great car, especially if you've a mixed city/hwy commute, straight highway it wouldn't seem worth the extra $$ over a non-hybrid?
Prius C window sticker: 53 City, 46 Highway Combined: 50 mpg

Not bad on highway, just not as good as city driving. So far I'm averaging 53 mpg with a 24 highway/6 city split each day. (that's slightly revised from my previous post after recalculating my mileage. A 53 mpg average is pretty good considering my city/hwy split. I think that will improve slightly as well as I've gotten used to how to drive a hybrid in order to best recharge the battery.

It's probably worth it even if you drive more highway miles than my 63% highway miles since the mileage appears to be a little better than indicated on the sticker from my experience and from reading a Prius forum where people discuss that kind of stuff. You're probably looking at ~47 mpg pure highway if you keep it at 75mph or below. Then again, you're looking at possibly ~60 mpg if you are pure city as I hit 59.5 mpg even with my mostly highway miles. You're driving style/habits make a big difference.

One way to look at it is that the more traffic (slow/stop and go), the better your mileage in a Prius C so at least you know you're saving money for the time wasted in traffic jams instead of wasting it.

Re: Prius C

Posted: October 7, 2013, 2:20 pm
by Aabidano
Slow, go with minimal stops is probably ideal, need to re-plan your route for maximum efficiency (and nerdiness) :)

Re: Prius C

Posted: October 9, 2013, 1:28 am
by Funkmasterr
That thing come with a dental dam?

Re: Prius C

Posted: October 9, 2013, 11:52 am
by Sylvus
You held on to your other vehicle, right?

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Re: Prius C

Posted: October 9, 2013, 12:25 pm
by Winnow
Funkmasterr wrote:That thing come with a dental dam?
I wouldn't care if it was hot pink with yellow rims as long as it gets me from point a to point b cheap, in comfort and hassle free.

Re: Prius C

Posted: October 9, 2013, 4:06 pm
by Funkmasterr
Sylvus wrote:You held on to your other vehicle, right?

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:lol:

Re: Prius C

Posted: October 9, 2013, 4:31 pm
by Winnow
With that ugly midwestern landscape and background, it looks like that van's located in your neck of the woods. Take that pic out your front window?