Anyone out there own one? What kind of mileage do you get when you travel on the highway for trips?

Do you like your Prius? Any tips for a newbie? (We're #7 on the list....)

Thanks!

We've had our Prius for 10 months. It's great and we tend to get 50 - 55 mpg on a trip. If we go 60, we get 55 mph. If we go 65, we get 50. It tanks (LOL) from there. So the moral is, you can get good mileage if you don't go over 65 mph. I think air conditioning can affect mileage a little, but we haven't noticed it affecting it too much so far. We're going on a road trip (San Jose area to Portland soon), which will be our longest one to date. We have done Nor Cal to So Cal a couple of times with the Prius. It's actually pretty roomy for a small car, both for passengers and luggage. Hope my info helps lynnejoel.
--Karen

It sure does! LOL- let me just say I'm really excited to be getting a car with air conditioning!

You'll have to post a trip report, highlighting the Prius' performance, upon return.

A hybrid won't save you fuel on the highway. You might want to just buy a Corolla (which gets around 40mpg) and save yourself thousands of dollars.

If we get 50 - 55, I think that's a savings from 40 mpg. Especially with gas prices where they are today. We test drove the Corolla, and frankly the Prius was a much better drive and very quiet in comparision. For us it's worth the money.
LynneJoel- Also check out the new Camry hybrid.

If one drives 15,000mi a year, he'll use 275 gallons of gas at 55MPG; 375 gallons at 40MPG. Saved a whopping $300 a year!

MSRP for base Prius is about $22,000, but most people are paying a few thousands more after options and some dealer markup.

A Corolla LE MSRPed at around $5,000 less, and you won't pay MSRP. Let's say with similar options the cars are $4,000 apart, it takes 13 years at current gas price, or close to 200,000 miles to break even.

I have read several articles recently about how disappointed hybrid owners were since mpg was not as high as they had expected, especially at highway speeds.

We are decades-long Toyota drivers (own 3 currently) and opted out of a hybrid for reasons of cost, availability, and gas mileage issue.

So buy one because it is cool, shows some environmental awareness, you just want one - but not because it is going to save you money or mega-gallons of gas.

Sorry to disagree a bit, but
we've had the current Prius for 2.5 yrs now. Only a few disreputable dealers charge over MSRP.
Easy to find ones selling at MSRP.

We get 55-60 on the highways which
as most probably know is the *worst* mileage that these fine cars get.
Their best mileage is done on side streets where you can regularly ride on battery.

Why taxis are not yet all hybrid just floors us! It gets its best mileage after being warmed up...
longer than 5-10 minute rides.
AND, if you're idling, stuck in traffic, waiting to pay a fee at your local parking garage, etc.
is awfully satisfying knowing you're not wasting a whiff of gas!

400 miles PLUS on only 8 gallons of gas?
I think MOST would take that, if they
really thought about it much.
But most drivers don't, alas. :-\
Or, they only go partway...still buying SUV's but now getting them hybrid. Helps some...but do you really only want to get twice as good as a regular SUV gets? Helps some, to be sure, but...
could enjoy it even more, going for a regular size car.

Btw, I didn't even LIKE the car much originally...is hubby's car!

And I would hardly call it 'trendy' or cool. Its looks take some getting used to...doesn't have an obvious appeal to *some* of us, anyway.

Felt it a bit awkward at first to get used to, BUT,
it quickly grew on me, once I noted we could do a whole trip btwn San Francisco & LA and,
when the tank was empty STILL only fill it w/8 measley gallons of gas!!

I myself have a Mini Cooper & altho' small, it holds 14 gallons of gas & let me tell you, almost ALWAYS requires close to that when I fill it.
(and to add insult to injury, I don't even have the sportier model, but still it requires Premium gas)
Have I tried it w/out? Sure.
But it felt rougher, clearly.

Anyway, the Mini is a fun car, but when it comes to seeing hubby filling *his* car soooo very infrequently, coupled w/barely filling the tank...compared to me in my little car, well...
it doesn't take a rocket scientist to
be 'won over' in short order! ;-)

And, his car has PLENTY of room. We regualarly do road trips in it to the Northwest...and have done Canada twice now, as well! (again, seems painless)

At one point he calculated it...and it was only costing us so very little to drive all the way to Canada! Simply floored me. With many airline rates now costing more & more...
it gets easier for us to just consider driving!

But purchasing a Prius does not solely revolve around the dollars or economics question, does it?

Clearly, it feels better knowing you're doing your part (where you can) to reduce our great dependence on oil...and the worldwide messes THAT have ensued from that.

If the car ONLY contributed in this way, and didn't do another thing, it would be worth it. Am I a true 'convert' now? You bet.
And I had considered the Honda Insight back when I was buying but due to very poor salesmanship in this area,
ended up not going that route.

Must lastly add
that it's *awfully* cool to be cruising along on battery into one's own neighborhood, realizing that you're not adding to your neighborhood's air pollution one iota while you drive, nor even its noise pollution much! ;-)

You're just cruising along, quietly.
Enjoy your new car, lynnejoel!!

Btw, don't forget...
when I'm filling my Mini w/its 14 gallons of gas
I am NOT getting anywhere near 400 miles or more on it!

Not even CLOSE.

I too have been looking at the hybrid, but more in the suv line. I have two tall kids and I need decent back seat room for our family car. I also want four wheel drive for when we ski (we plan to go to the mountains often). My hubby drives a subaru (gas) and it is great, but so tight in the backseat. Any recommendations on the suv hybrids?

I bought my Prius about 4 months ago, and I LOVE it! I'm getting about 47 miles per gallon so far (this is mostly interestate driving).

I also will get a nice-sized tax deduction at the end of 2006.

The back seat is roomy enough for my 6'3" son, the trunk is large, and I've been extremely happy so far.

That mileage is incredible!! We've just been looking at Lexus and I was vacillating on their rx 350 or 400h...both mid-sized SUVs, with the 400h being their hybrid. It was intriguing to think of the gas savings, but at 31 hwy, 27 in town for the 400h, I didn't think it'd be enough of a savings to warrant the $5000 extra. This morning I've been reading that the mileage isn't even what they claim it to be, and that's customers major dissatisfaction with the vehicle.

I thought it sounded very complicated switching from battery to gas. Do you have service issues with that? I cannot imagine turning on my car and hearing no noise! Do you have to be extremely careful driving through parking lots etc, because people walking with their backs to you wont' hear you coming? I know these may sound like dumb questions to Prius owners...but they are things that occurred to me and I'm wondering if it is an issue? I'd almost want to beep my horn if I were approaching a pedestrian from the rear.

Saving 100 gallons of gas will not reduce US' dependence on foreign oil, and will not do a single thing on total energy consumption, even if every American drives a hybrid.

US uses foreign oil because they're cheaper than locally produced ones, and the less oil we use, lower oil price will be, and the more the rest of world like China or India, will use them.

Ironically, high oil prices is the only thing that's damping oil consumption (by promoting conservation or alternatives). So, for those who're very conscious of the environment, they should pray that we'll see $10 per gallon of gas.

Plus, if that happens, they you'll save $1,000 a year, and will make up the difference in the Prius' extra cost in about 4-5 years. Certainly will make you every happier. So, go pray for continued high oil price!

I've been considering trading in my Corolla to get a hybrid, so this is very interesting. I was listening to the radio yesterday, and on one of the talk shows they had an automotive expert who said that the special battery they use in hybrids should last anywhere from 5 to 10 years (but as the cars have not been around that long, they were't quite sure which was more accurate, the 5 or the 10). What they also said was the cost of replacing one of these batteries was around $2500 #-o. Which means (I think) if I buy one, I'd have to consider just how long to keep it, because selling it after 5 (or 10) years would mean that the new owner would have to replace the battery at considerable cost...and would they want to buy the car because of that? Kind of throws a monkey wrench into the whole concept, doesn't it? Any thoughts?

Daydreamer,

My wife's Mini S regularly gets 31 MPG under fairly hard driving conditions. If you're getting worse, you should have it checked out. Is it a CVT? If so, maybe that's it, I'm surprised they lose that much via the tranny.

Hello friends,

We're buying a Prius first and foremost because we want to cast a vote in favor of environmentally (more) friendly vehicles. We've applauded the hybrid movement and have been drooling over them for YEARS!! My brother has an Insight and he LOVES it. We're finally able to afford a second car (our other is a 1995 Buick with 125K miles on it), so we're going with the Prius! My husband even made a short film called "Prius Envy."

Anyways, we're Prius freaks and can't wait. The second reason that we're getting the Prius is the sweet $3150 tax credit that we'll get.

That's it. We really don't concern ourselves with saving money on gas each year. In fact, I think we ought to pay way more per gallon for gas than we do currently in America. Though that opinion is not popular, gasoline is not a renewable energy resource and it pollutes the heck out of the environment. I'll budget whatever it takes for gasoline, and I'm smiling as the prices go up. Sorry, I'm putting on the flack suit now for nasty reactions I don't mean to sound like a jerk!! It's just that I believe there IS a cost we must pay for living the kind of life we do, and I'm accepting of that.

lynnejoel1015 - While I totally disagree with your position, I do respect yours. You understand that high fuel price will cut down on oil consumption, which is the truth.

I have no problem with you. Who I have problem with are people who complain about fuel cost, and said that they're all for the environment, but had been driving a big SUV for years when gas is cheap. Until now. Now they say they want to buy a Prius, not just any hybrid, but a Toyota Prius so that all their friends know they're "green". Those I have problems with.

My Husband corrected me: if we go 60 on the highway on trips, we've been getting 58 mpg. So I concur with Daydreamer.

Gail---there are different types of hybrids. The Prius has the best technology and does indeed get 50 mpg or so. Your disappointed friend must have Hondas or other types.

lynnejoel---I completely agree with you; raise the price of gas to the true cost. We ride bikes whenever we can anyway.

rkkwan--I'm having trouble deciphering your position, but if you are opposed to SUV's becaue of the gas consumption that's OK. I would like to hear more from you about where you stand.

Noradog - My positions are these:

- I shouldn't be wasteful of resources. Driving a big SUV solo to work is wasteful, whether gasoline is $0.99/gallon or $3. Therefore, I've never owned a SUV.

- I shouldn't spend more money than necessary. Paying several thousand dollars more for a Prius over a Corolla to save $300 a year in gas is stupid.

- Even if every American uses 30% less gasoline in their cars a year, it will have little affect in global oil consumption - as the lower demand here means lower oil prices around the world, which will encourage people from elsewhere to use more - like in China, India, etc. So, it's foolish to think that buying a Prius will affect oil consumption.

- The reason the US is buying more and more foreign oil is that foreign oil is cheaper than local oil. It has nothing to do with domestic demand. If we want to "rely" less on foreign oil, then we can either limit importation by imposing taxes or placing a limit; or make local production cheaper. We can cut total US consumption to 1 barrel of crude oil for the whole country a year if we want, and if Venezuela is selling that for $1 less than what we can produce for, then guess where we will buy that 1 barrel oil from? And yeah, while demand has gone down 99.999999999% (or whatever) over what we use today, foreign oil percentage can still go up to 100%.