Should i get a prius?

Question

i was thinking about buying either a prius or that lexus 400h. or should i just stick with a gas car

Answer 1

If you want the basics,

With the Prius you'll get better miles and probably save A LOT in the long run. Especially with our gas prices these days. However, the car doesn't look that great.

The Lexus's mileage isn't as great as the Prius, but it's a Lexus and looks great. You'll still be saving money on gas with this car also.

Gas cars are considered the norm now, however it's slowly starting to change. Colleges and other establishments now offer incentives in their parking lots by offering alternative fuel car reserved spots. I would go with the Prius ;)

Answer 2

You need to way all the pros and cons and how it will affect your life personally.  I am all for going "green" but one thing I wonder about the Prius (and I think is a good question for you to ask someone who owns one) would be what kind of maintenance do they need? What happens if it breaks down? Is it expensive for repairs? I would imagine that only the dealer would have a mechanic that would even know how to work on it. It's important when making a major purchase like this to really research all the problems that could occur and the benefits and make an educated decision.  Good Luck!

Answer 3

There are a few good hybrids out there.  Look around and see what u can get.  Hybrids are a great way to do your part.

Answer 4

I would LOVE a hybrid car, but they are just so darn expensive!. Since I don't drive all that much, to work and the store, I think it would take a long time for the car to "pay for itself" in gas savings. But I still would love one just to make myself feel better about owning a car.

Answer 5

NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!

The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.

Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.

The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?

You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.

However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.

“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.

All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.

So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.

One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.

Answer 6

i think you should go with the prius- i've done research on it and it seems like a great car with great benefits. you could also check out the honda civic hybrid

Answer 7

Both the Prius and Lexus will get good mileage so either one should be fine.  With gas prices rising so rapidly, gas mileage has become such a hot topic on automobiles.

I think we all remember when the "important" options were leather, power seats, CD player, sun roof, etc.  Shows how much society has changed.

We've even adjusted our purchasing power toward helping the environment so the Prius is a fine choice

Answer 8

I would suggest you buy a Prius because the model of the car is nice, lots of new technology, and best of all, SAVE big buck BIG time. My suggestion.

Answer 9

We have a Prius and love it.  A lot of it is made from recycled, which is an aspect that you don't hear much about, I don't know about the Lexus - you should look in to that.

Depending on where you live, and how much you drive, however, there is another alternative that might be available for you, and might suit your needs very well - a "car sharing program", such as Flexcar.  You aren't tied to the car, you don't have to provide your own insurance.  You can choose different vehicles for different tasks, too!  Going grocery shopping?  Get the super-efficient hybrid.  Need to move a sofa?  Get a pickup or SUV, if that's what you need.  But, you DON'T have an SUV or pickup the other 364 days of the year.  Traveling?  The program in your area might also be in the place you're going.

Answer 10

I would buy the Prius. they come from a great companay who is the Number one selling company in america over GM. They last a long time. You will save a lot of money on gas and they have relatively cheap matience costs. I'm not sure anymore but i know you used to get a tax break for having a hybrid which would save you even more money. The prius is also not a "weak" hybrid they have a littel pep and a fun to drive. so i would forget about the lexus

Answer 11

Go with a Prius. They are so much better for the enviorment!

Answer 12

I really like the Prius.  My husband is planning to get one for me.

Answer 13

the lexus is an amazing car!!! However, the prius is a might cheaper.

Answer 14

Personally, I'm waiting a few years hoping one of the major car companies will come out with a "plug in hybrid."  2010 is when the plug-in-prius is supposed to come out, but the car companies need to pressured, we need to let them know people are interested, so they will make them.  

If you get a prius now, you could get a some one to install a kit that would give you an extra battery and allow you to plug in your car as well.  With a plug-in-hybrid, one is supposed to be able to get like 100 miles to the gallon.  How awesome would that be?