They gave me a Prius...

[Griswald]

I took my FFH in to have the body work done and the rental car I got is a Prius.

 

First Impressions:

 

Granted, its a rental with 19000 miles on it but:

 

1. Its a freakin terrarium, I was roasting from the sun beating down on me from every direction. That alone would make me not buy one.

 

2. With all that glass surrounding you, you'd expect to be able to see in any direction, not even close. Visibility is awful in any but the front 180 degrees.

 

3. Radio is crap and sounds cheap.

 

4. Interior feels cheap, not even close to a quality "Japanese" feeling of other imports. Closer to how they felt back in the early 80's.

 

5. Dashboard layout is odd, with the speedometer and other graphics 3 or 4 feet away.

 

6. Hybrid info screen pretty weak.

 

7. Hybrid system is not invisable to the user. Lots of felt switching, In the FFH, sometimes I don't even realize it has gone from EV to ICE.

 

8. Gotta give props to its econonmy. It seems to be better in that regard.

 

I will have it for 3 days, they say. Might be giving another report after that.

[hybridbear]

Be glad you got a hybrid so you aren't spending much money on gas in it.

[acdii]

The only good thing about a pppprius :) is the fact it is really easy to get good MPG in it, without really trying. Everything else you stated, Dead ON. Camry is not much better, so you can imagine my surprise after buying one just how cheap it was.

[machoman1337]

Be glad you got a hybrid so you aren't spending much money on gas in it.

 

Well, if they give you a full tank and you only have it for 3 days... unless your commute is super long you could have a non-hybrid and still be able to return the car without needing to fill it up yourself.

 

I do admit that the Prius's mileage is phenomenal but that's natural - it's designed from the ground up as a hybrid whereas the FFH is more like the Camry Hybrid - a regular car with a hybrid system "bolted on".

 

The Prius does have more cargo room too for the same reason :P

[hybridbear]

 

Well, if they give you a full tank and you only have it for 3 days... unless your commute is super long you could have a non-hybrid and still be able to return the car without needing to fill it up yourself.

 

I do admit that the Prius's mileage is phenomenal but that's natural - it's designed from the ground up as a hybrid whereas the FFH is more like the Camry Hybrid - a regular car with a hybrid system "bolted on".

 

The Prius does have more cargo room too for the same reason :P

You aren't required to return it full? Every rental car company requires you to return the car with as much gas as when you started. Dealers I've dealt with who offer loaners from their fleet have taken the same approach. Thus driving one of their loaners or a rental is usually an expensive proposition since you have to pay for the gas.

[machoman1337]

You aren't required to return it full? Every rental car company requires you to return the car with as much gas as when you started. Dealers I've dealt with who offer loaners from their fleet have taken the same approach. Thus driving one of their loaners or a rental is usually an expensive proposition since you have to pay for the gas.

 

True, rental companies need at least as much gas as when you started. For loaners, my experience has been that "as long as the needle hasn't moved much", they'll let it go. YMMV though.

[hermans]

I recently rented a car in LA from Dollar and the contract said I had to fill up within 10 miles of the airport and would have to produce a receipt proving I filled up the car.

[djminfll]

My dad drives a Prius, and I'm always impressed at the gas mileage he gets with it - generally close to 50mpg, at times as much as 62 or 63mpg. But whenever we go somewhere together, he always says the same thing - "we'll take my car, you can drive." And every time I drive it, I ask myself how anyone could buy one instead of a FFH? And every time we go in my car, he always says, "I LOVE this car!" I agree with pretty much everything griswald says in his analysis of the Prius.

Edited November 25, 2014 by djminfll