OK, so thinking of trading my Acura TL for a Prius

I never thought I would ever consider this, but the high cost of gas is pissing me off to the point where I called my long time buddy who is manager of new car sales at Toyota today and asked him how much of a ding I would take by trading my leased 2005 Acura TL (four year lease with one year left) in on one of these. "No ding at all". He said - he knows my car and the condition it's in.

My issue is with the principle of paying so much for gas - I am not a pansy when it comes to cars, I have no problem with having a fuel guzzling Viper or similar in my garage for weekends or the occasional drive to the office. I drive 20 miles to work each way each day and drive around a lot as a commercial real estate agent. I am starting to push back on taking listings I feel are detrimental to me in fuel costs. Probably not a good way to run a business at this point, but the fact that a gallon of gas costs more than a pack of cigarettes now is irritating. I quit smoking to save money, btw, so maybe some will appreciate the analogy. I also rarely have anyone in the backseat of my car. I also leave it sitting in the garage on weekends and take my 4 cyl Higlander because even it gets better mileage (my girl drives this during the week).

I can get pretty much all the things I like about my Acura in a Pruis - sat radio, Bluetooth, Navi, etc. It's just smaller. I am also aware of the amount of heavy metals and whatnot that are produced in the creation of these vehicles, but do not care. FWIW, my average mileage on the TL since it was bought new is 20.2 mpg according to the computer which I haven't reset since mid 2005. My driving is 99% city stop and go. If I get one I'm thinking about blacking out the windows so people won't see me, though. LOL.

Anyone think I'm nuts or have some kind of alternative I can consider? Thanks.

RMX

 

Thinking of getting a miser-mobile as well.
But would like it to have a little life.
Considering a Mini Cooper S.
30 mpg with a smile on.

 

If your main goal is cost savings, as it seems to be, why not just get a non-hybrid Civic? You could save several thousand dollars over a Prius and get a similar-sized car and relatively similar gas mileage.

 

Not to mention a slightly better looking car. If you HAVE to have a hybrid, look at a Camry. My cousin gets over 600 miles per tank.

 

My dad did this when he realized taking the passat 70 miles each way to work everyday wasn't cost effective and has regretted it ever since. The main issue is the transmission, he and I are both more than competent stick drivers but nobody riding in the passenger seat has ever felt good after a long ride. The main reason is how awful the transmission is regardless of how competent you are you will be lurching back and forth for the entire ride; it really ruins an otherwise pretty decent ride. And I feel like in the stop go traffic of the city this problem would only be ampliphied. This of course wouldn't be an issue if you got an automatic but just pointing that out.

 

Looked into the Civics but they just seem like something a kid would drive, no offense to anyone. I dunno, but I love Hondas and I dig the interior of the Civic.

A Mini Cooper sounds like a potential possibility. I like the 'vert a lot.

My issue is with the principle of paying $4 for a gallon of gas. That is where I'm getting "hung up" so to speak.

RMX

 

+1

My neighbour has a Prius. I have a turbo Mini S.

One's like driving a microwave. The other's a go-kart.

Milage is better in the Prius and there is more trunk space but you might as well at least make your commute fun!

 

Remix- alot of us are in similar situations including me. I have a 25 mile commute, and on top of that go out of my way for family issues and the gym 3 times a week which makes me do almost 400 miles a week. I go through gas pretty fast and my daily is a honda accord.

I suggest look into a 2000 maybe even newer, yes its used, but alot better than a civic ( i agree about driving one) , and more pleasing than a prius. Youll still get up to 30mpg. Parts are cheap, easy to be found , and with tinted windows, a $250 sound system, you are set. Nobody pays attention, you can park anywhere. I like the fact I dont have a sporty fun car as my daily, its easier to commute in IMHO without getting all into performance or driving experience.
Maybe a hybrid accord or camry if youre up to it...

 

The Civic was just an example of a vehicle in that class that costs significantly less than the Prius but gets similar mileage. No offense to you, but it seems like you want to maintain an 'image' rather than save all the money you possibly can.

 

there are plenty of cars that can average +30mpg these days. Which makes me wonder why you feel the need to drive a electric death trap. If you get in a serious accident and the capacitor doesnt blow you could be zap'd with well over 1000 volts.

As a first responder, I can tell you that there are not many people who know what to do when they arrive at the scene of an accident with a hybrid car. The problem is that models come out faster then anyone can keep track of. I attended a safety class at a toyota on there hybrids and can tell you that they are safer then anyone else out there (especially ford). But even they mess up, there have been a ton of recalls on the original prius and the time that it takes for the capacitor to blow on it is far slower then the second gen prius. This makes me wonder why they put a product out which is not safe.
If you look at the toyota's with the big push buttons with the green light. That stupid little light is the best idicator that the industry has managed to come up with. Sad!

+1 on the Mini's

 

Prius...cool car...$20,000.
Any other small compact $15,000.

You are going to have to drive a lot to save $5000 in gas cost alone...

Does image matter, being in commercial realestate? Up here, it does. If you save 100$ in gas but lose a $40,000 commission...

Perhaps you could go retro-cool. Like a Kharman Ghia, or a VW rabbit. The old, first gen CRX diesels got 45 miles to the gallon...

I say buy a big mercedes, prefferably something that gets 12mpg... If anyone comments, just reply "I make so much money for myself and my clients, that frankly, mileage just doesn't matter..."

I was going to get a plate for the testarossa that read "8 MPG," but figured I would piss someone off...like a cop...

 

Lotus Elise.. Don't they get around 30mpg?

I would vote for the Civic over the Prius as well. Throw in a grand or two of suspension upgrades and you will have a car that is actually kind of fun to drive.

 

Get a Jetta TDI, you'll get better fuel economy... and slower moving prices on cetane.... and longer life of the engine. The tiny "ice" in the prius is gassed quite lean, and a very high CR of 13:1... stories abound about those engines going out. Battery life is low, and the cost of the clout vs. the supposed savings on fuel just don't match up.... not even close.

Anything but a hybrid, and if a hybrid is your only choice, scruff the Toyota marque IMHO.

 

I would have suggested a Jetta TDI, but with the gap between gasoline and diesel I'm not so sure anymore.

If you don't need much interior space, I'd say a C5 Z06 would make a decent choice. You can get nearly 30 mpg and put a smile on your face every time you fire it up.

 

When I was doing my taxes the other day I noticed you can get a tax break for a hybrid car. I'm not sure how much, but I'd find that out and add (or rather subtract) that into your calculations.

I work here at FOX in LA and we actually get several thousands of dollars from the company if we buy a hybrid/natural gas (eco friendly) car. Although I get great gas mileage for my MR2 Turbo (22/30) I've been thinking about a Prius as well. Supreme is averaging $4/gal and it's only to go higher this summer. Considering my MR2 is paid for I wouldn't be saving any money for a time but, I just HATE giving my cash to the oil companies.

 

Image? In a Prius? You kidding me? Have you ever seen one? LOL.

Z06 way too $$ much for a day to day car. I want a weekend toy and this would kind of kill the thrill of that, especially since the extra cost would eat into my now nicely growing sports car budget.

Don't think I'm going to lose any commissions over a Prius - people know my rep, I work on referrals pretty much and people hire me based on that. 1 person out of 10 may actually see what I drive anyway. If someone has a problem with what I'm diving, I have no interest in working with them to be honest. That's really poor judgment on their part and not my problem.

RMX

 

You saw that I said C5 Z, right? Those can be had in the $20's all day long.

I agree that they're probably not what you're looking for in a daily driver, but they're pretty attractive for many reasons (not the least of which is getting ~ 30 mph).

 

OK, so I've spent some time on the Mini site. Cool car, but I have to have the following:

1) Sat radio
2) Navi
3) Built-in Bluetooth

These are non negotiable and must be factory options because I don't want to f--- around with either 1) having them installed by the dealer or 2) finding someone to install them for me. Unfortuntely the Mini has none of these. I don't know much about current stereo technology or even if the system in a Mini is of some proprietary design and it cannot be easily changed. Cool car, though. Yellow with the fog lamps would be cool.

The other thing is this car gets 21 mpg city with a slush box which is about .4 better than what I'm getting now.

RMX

 

Would possibly consider a C6 base model convertible used. The C5s are weird looking to me. I still need the navi/stereo/BT thing. What's insurance like on a Vette these days?

I guess to clarify, the car has to be able to get at least 30 mpg city, not highway.

RMX

 

After reading about the required goodies, I was going to suggest that a C6 might be more up your alley. I'm sure that it's still a stretch to meet your needs, but it would be fun.

Last time I checked, rates were pretty favorable on Vettes (look at the demographic).

 

Not sure about the mini's coming with sat radio but you could always get a navi that has bluetooth. I would like to see what kinda mpg the prius gets with the A/C on CITY.

 

Isn't life funny...I was considering getting a 2009 Acura TL with SH-AWD or Evolution X to save gas over my current 12mpg e60 M5...so 20mpg sound great to me! If you want better mileage and can live with a FWD car, check out the Mugen Honda Civic...it is a great looking car that gets 30mpg...

 

Honda makes no sense to me. On an Si Civic or a hybrid Civic, you CANNOT get Bluetooth. Actually you cannot get BT with ANY Civic. The sound system has a digital card reader, DVD navi with voice recognition, XM sat, but no freaking Bluetooth. The Accord has it, but there's no hybrid version of that AND it gets gas mileage not much better than my current car. I think my TL is a dolled up Accord anyway...wtf?

I agree the Civic is a good looking design. I also looked at the Accord couple but mileage sucks on that, too.

So a Civic is OUT. A Mini is OUT. Don't want an Accord or Camry (bleh!!).

RMX

 

Bluetooth is an option on the Mini and is available under the convenience package. Bluetooth would also be a deal breaker for me. Navigation, OTOH, is not. I commute 35K miles a year - I haven't got lost once. If I needed NAV, a portable would work fine.

Bluetooth may one day be available on GM products - right now, No, they want you to use ONSTAR - for a fee of course. No Vette or Caddy CTS then.

 

How bout a Ford Escape Highbred?