What Motivated You To Buy A Prius?

[AnnaClare]

Hi all!

I am doing a project for university centred around the Prius/ Hyrbrid (based on my on fascination!)

I know why I went for a Prius, but I am trying to gather some other opinions.... what was your motivation to buy a Prius?

I got some interesting feedback from other members on another thread, so someone suggested I started a new thread for this topic alone!

Would be great to hear your thoughts!

Thanks

Some of the responses include:

'Low running costs (bar depreciation, but this was negated by buying second hand). 'Green credentials' were secondary, if I'm totally honest.'

'I was the same, more focused on the free residents parking and tax etc, but I am definitely more aware of the way I drive now, and I never thought much about car emissions before but now it interests me.'

[sanzomat]

If I'm totally honest it was the company car tax being low and the way that business mileage is reimbursed by my company i.e. based on HMRC rates so better for petrol than diesel. I need a biggish estate car due to disbaled daughter's wheelchair and a dog so until the Prius Plus came out there wasn't an option for me to have a Hybrid but the 'plus fits the bill perfectly and a bit of a green halo doesn't hurt either.

[RK123456]

I am a company car driver.

I was persuaded by my local toyota dealer that the prius plug in was the ideal car for me as a company car driver to pay the minimum company car tax (I only went in to choose the colour of my next company car, I had decided on an Avensis tourer).

I was about to choose a prius plug in as my next company car. The ONLY reason for this was the low 5% benefits in kind company car tax that I would be liable for, I didn't particularly like the prius, I was puzzled that toyota / lexus could make such a nice looking car as the lexus hybrid on the same platform as the prius. But I was willing to live with this as I thought that I would grow to like the prius and the large company car tax saving was a huge incentive.

I tried a prius plug in on a 3 day test drive, see my post "Suitability & Power of Prius Plug In" dated 27/01/2013, when I quickly came to the conclusion that the prius plug in was not the car for me.

In conclusion, my only motivator for choosing a Prius was the low company car tax liability.

When my company car is next due for renewal in 2017, I will consider a hybrid, but it will have to have a torquey diesel engine, manual transmission and a non floor mounted parking brake. (The new Audi A3 hybrid may be the answer)

[Opifex]

.............. I was puzzled that toyota / lexus could make such a nice looking car as the lexus hybrid on the same platform as the prius.................

The shape grows on you after a time - honest.

[kithmo]

Firstly I was fascinated by the technology and secondly the low running costs & reliability.

[Opifex]

The short answer is the reliability, space, technology and low running costs in no particular order.

The long answer is ........

My first contact with a Prius was in 2007 when I hired an automatic from Hertz and by chance was allocated a Prius. At the time there was a deal between Hertz and Toyota France that you could specifically ask for a Prius but in my case it was pure luck.

After about 15 minutes trying to work out how to start it and then finding where they had hidden the handbrake we finally got underway. As a techie by profession and eco by nature I'd been interested in the Prius for some time and was pleased to have a weekend to try it. I turned onto the motorway outside the airport and was surprised to find that I was very soon smoothly and quietly cruising along at over 130kph (80mph). When I got to the hotel I spent the evening reading the manual and discovering all the technology. Next day tried the self parking in the hotel car park but abandoned it when the front end was swinging out dangerously close to a concrete pillar. Not a complete success but I was facinated that it could do it at all. After the weekend the car was definitely on my desirable motors list.

When I came to look for another car I was running a large saloon and a sports car both capable of 0-60 in less than 7 seconds and 145mph top speed, but pensioner poverty was setting in and I finally admitted they had to go. On the list of replacements it was a case of the heart in the shape of Lexus IS 250, Mercedes C320D, and BMW 350D (may have got the numbers a bit wrong but you get the idea) versus the head in the shape of the Prius. (Lexus CT wasn't out then).

Power and comfort versus reliability and cheap running costs.

In the end the head won and we got the Prius. My pocket is certainly feeling the benefit but I still miss the effortless cruising in the old saloon and the agility and sure-footedness of the sports car.

I'm hoping that by the time I want to replace the Prius, Lexus will be selling a luxury small turbo-charged hybrid. That would be interesting.

[johalareewi]

I needed a reliable automatic with room for 4 adults and holiday luggage, air con, heated door mirrors, low running costs, and massive miles per gallon. And it had to be cheap to buy. The gen3 Prius ticked all the boxes and was the cheapest.

[AnnaClare]

Thank you all for your responses. It's really interesting!

It definitely seems that for most people price is more important than the green credentials. I wonder if it hadn't had the same cost saving benefits if it would have done so well.

[RK123456]

If I wasn't a company car driver, only used 1 family car, never had to carry any passengers or anything big / heavy and all my journeys were local, I wouldn't buy a car at all.

I would use a bicycle and public transport in bad weather if I wanted to be really green.

[valmiki]

My other reason for buying a Prius was that it was completely different to the vast majority of other cars on the road, and it's always a talking point! I love driving 'something different'.

Most discussions go with me either saying 'the flux capacitor should outlive the life of the car' (and watch people stop and do a double-take) or tell friends that the car is costing me a fortune in double-A batteries, lol.

Only wish it had a bit more sound insulation, it would then be perfect :-)

[Dacre]

The 4 cars I owned from before my curent Prius were 2 x Mercesdes E Class Estate diesels and 2 x Chrysler 300C Estate diesels. I realised I was doing 15,000 business miles a year with my car costing me 20p per mile and my employer was paying me 16.5p. I also realised that I was spending 90% of the 22,000 mles a year I was doing on my own - why did I need such a large car.

After some research I realised that a Prius would save me money on fuel, tax, congestion charge (my employer would save money rather than me) and stress! I drive slightly slower than I used to to help the fuel consumption and arrive at my destination very relaxed.

i think the hybrid is a brilliant way to propel a car and I'm seriously thinking about getting a plug in as my next car but will wait until the 2014 Prius is launched before making a decision.

The reason for a Prius? I like the shape and it is just about big enough to get me, my kids and all the camping stuff in (with a roof box and bike rack on the back).What really swung if was the 5 year warranty. I bought my Prius when it was 12 months old and will run it for three years and then change. It will be under warranty the whole time. I was caught with a couple of big repair bills on one of the Mercs and one of the Chryslers when they were over 3 years old. The Toyota 5 year warranty gives me peace of mind.