Just out of curiousity (car recs)

[hrj]

So, just out of curiosity, if I decided not to go through all the stupid hassle** that is evidently necessary to obtain the Prius of my dreams, what would people recommend that I buy? It has to have the following characteristics:

* Good fuel efficiency (duh!) - I may not commute, but I do like my occasional road trip.
* Cargo space sufficient to transport my SCA camping gear or (on separate occasions) a large folk harp. This means no sedans and preferably something in the wagon family. (I squeezed things into a Camry hatchback when I had to, but it was way too tight.)
* Reliable; good maintenance and service from the dealer.
* Must come in at least one non-boring color (and models in that color must actually be available for purchase).
* Ideally, should have navigation system and hands-free phone set-up.

** I put in my official request at the Toyota.com web site to have a Prius built to my specs. They forward this to your designated local dealership. The dealership sent e-mail #1 saying they'd follow up shortly with a quote. They sent e-mail #2 with no quote, but a suggestion that if I specified a second and third choice of color it would speed things up. I responded noting that if I were willing to accept a second or third choice of color I would already own a new Prius, and would they please give me a quote for the car I actually want to buy, please.

Comments

[mastersantiago.livejournal.com]

You would have been able to get your camping gear into a Prius?

Currently I am driving a Honda Civiv Hybrid. I know that is a sedan type car, but it is very good on your other requirements.

I also looked at the CR-V, The Fit and The Element all from Honda and found them all to be worth considering.

[johno.livejournal.com]

With the rear seat folded down, a Prius has a remarkable amount of space.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Also, recollect that I did say that I've successfully gotten the gear into a Camry hatchback.

[etaine-pommier.livejournal.com]

I loved, Loved, LOVED my Element, when I had it - it was orange, and named Sally. (Zat car, she was a Lego.) Plus Anna and I could fit *two* encampments in it, and it still got 28 mi/gal.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I have to say, the Element definitely comes in several non-boring colors!

[aastg.livejournal.com]

My seester got an Element and she's crazy about it. She's averaging 28 - 30MPG with it.

[sue-n-julia.livejournal.com]

I second this! Our Element isn't electric (but they now make ones that are), but I can't complain about cubage. And I can reconfigure the interior myself!! At least as long as I only fold the seats up and don't want to take them out.

S

[johno.livejournal.com]

A friend like her Ford Hybrid Pilot.

We love our Pontiac Vibe (large station wagon/small minivan) which gets 30mpg. It's the same as the Toyota Matrix.

You'd want to test your harp, but we've fit some pretty large things in the vibe.

With the rear seat and passenger seat down, you might be able to fit the harp into a Prius.

If your local Toyota dealer is being non responsive. Call Toyota of Fremont and ask for Ricky Hirose. He sold us ours and was always very responsive and didn't emit the car salesman vibe. ...googling... (925) 699-6450

[answers-within.livejournal.com]

I realize I'm coming out of the blue here, but you're a friend of a friend and I sympathize with your plight.

We have a 2006 Prius and we adore it. However, they're MUCH easier to get in Colorado, even with the tremendous state tax credits here, so other than waiting 6 months like most everyone else, we got exactly what we wanted without any markup. The car is awesome in all ways, and yes, actually has quite a bit of space - we have daytripped many SCA events in it here, both with people/dogs in the back seat and minimal stuff in the back and also with seats folded down and stuffed to the gills.

I've been starting to think about a 3rd car though - our other vehicle is a Nissan Murano that while awesomely comfortable and able to haul anything we need, gets 20 mpg. That's just not reasonable for a daily-driver, not at these prices.

If I'm able to manage a 3rd car, I am going for a Mini Cooper. The baseline version gets a blended mpg of 32 with the manual transmission, which is not too shabby for a non-hybrid car that's also SUPER fun to drive (I test-drove one and almost couldn't bring myself to get out.)

The regular Mini Cooper only has 5.5 cu ft with seats up, but 24 with them down, and the "Clubman" wagon they've just come out with has 9.2 cu ft with seats up and 32.8 with them down. I can't find an official figure for the Prius' cu ft with seats down, but I believe the 14.4 cu ft figure I've seen is with seats up, so this is probably pretty comparable - and the Mini is more box-shaped so you don't lose as much space due to the sloped back of the Prius. It also has a split rear door rather than a typical hatchback door, and also a very small "suicide" door behind the front door, so I would imagine loading and unloading would be a snap in Clubman.

Finally, if you *wanted* to you could get a roof rack for the Mini, which is obviously not an option for the Prius. I'd rather have the entire-roof-open sunroof, but that's just me. :-)

Minis have, to the best of my knowledge, become solidly reliable in recent years - the first few years were definitely filled with quality issues but many of them seem to have smoothed out. They're not going to be necessarily on a par with Hondas and Toyotas, but they seem to be acceptable.

Since "boring" is subjective, I'm not sure what would meet your crierion for that, but they do at least come in bright red, bright yellow, and an assortment of other more sedate colors - although in my mind British Racing Green is neither sedate nor boring. My pfennig. :-) You can also get the Union Jack in a decal on the roof, checkered-flag mirror caps, and other fun and silly things not generally available on most cars.

Finally, according to the website, it definitely has a navigation system optional and something it lists as a "Bluetooth and USB/iPod adapter", which would indicate hands-free phone usage - I don't think Bluetooth is used for anything else in cars, though of course I could be wrong.

Anyway, since all of this has been on my mind and I actually own a Prius for comparison, I thought I'd share.

Good luck, and on the off-chance you get a Mini, do tell us all about it!

[cellio]

My Honda Fit is a tardis. I can't believe how much stuff I can get in there! And Honda does have non-boring colors and excellent reliability. I'm getting about 27-28mpg city with a four-mile commute (so not a lot of time to really warm up); it hasn't been on a road trip yet, but I'll get some highway data later this month.

[blaurentnv.livejournal.com]

I'm really happy with my Yaris, but I'm not sure that the cargo space (with the back seat down) is fully adequate for you. If it's not, I'd suggest moving up to the Matrix. Since you've been talking about winter travel, the latter in the 4 wheel drive version might be an excellent choice.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

I got my Toyota Matrix not long after johno got his Vibe. I have the AWD model, which is very agile even in snow, and gets 27-28 mpg local, 31-32 highway. It took them three weeks to hunt up my first-choice color and accessory package, but I've been very satisfied with the car.

It holds our pavilion with segmented poles, jducoeur's armor, three days' food and clothing, my MOL/herald paraphernalia, and is still comfortable.

[xrian.livejournal.com]

It may not be big enough for your purposes or particularly cute, but just for the record, my 2000 Honda Civic DX hatchback is *still* getting 36+ miles per gallon. It was 40 when it was new. And Honda has just this year surpassed Toyota in Consumers Union's reliability index.

I seem to recall that 40 mpg didn't seem especially outstanding to me at the time, but these days I keep seeing models "boasting" about 25-28 (which causes me to scratch my head in puzzlement). And then of course there are the hybrid SUV's that get an "amazing" 21 mpg....

[xrian.livejournal.com]

BTW, re-reading: it's not that 28 mpg isn't decent mileage per gallon by today's standards -- the head scratching is because some people seem to think it's *spectacular.* I guess if you're comparing it with 16...

[nedlnthred.livejournal.com]

I'm going to throw out another option here. I bought a used Nissan Altima and I love it. I got it with 50K miles on it and have put on another 50K and it's still going strong. Yes, it's a sedan, but it has a hole in the trunk that allows me to easily pack my pavilion and the week's gear for Pennsic. Or a lot of stuff from IKEA or Home Despot. It gets great mileage but still has guts and is pleasant to drive. And it's comfortable for carrying people, too.

I've been pondering my next car as well, but I just saw a new Altima hybrid on the street, so I think that will be it. It's not a sports car, but it suits all my other needs so well...

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Looking at the recommendations above -- the Yaris got good mileage (and I looked at it at least semi-seriously), but a lot of it depends on what you consider good mileage. (I think the Yaris was 36 Highway listed.)

I also looked at the Nissans -- rented an Altima looked at the Versa (amazing rear seat leg-room -- and I think it was a hatch-like trunk, so large things would fit) and one other car (don't remember which) -- but the highway miles were 31 for a stick and 33 for automatic. (Some people think 30 mpg Hwy is good mileage. I think "we can do better".)

Bought a 2009 Corolla, and have gotten over 40 mpg on the one drive at 100 KPH from Port Huron to FKO to home. Its computer reports an overall fuel economy of 35.9 (after a long highway trip) or 35.8 (after I've spent a week driving to and from work) -- but my gas log tells me it's really closer to 30-something-small. (I can look it up if you care.) But it is a sedan. Don't know if it comes with 5 doors.

I think it was the Mini Cooper that the one fellow I know with an Upright Bass drives. Yes, it takes up the entire back and part of the passenger seat, but it _fits_. I like the minis from the outside, but not the inside, and their mileage wasn't enough to drag me away from the Corolla.

Spouse drives a Forester (Subaru). And had a Legacy wagon before that. Both roomy. (I think the Legacy more so.) But AWD does hit the mileage and I think he gets about 25. (And he's broken the $50.00 / tank barrier. Ugh.)