Another Prius Convert

[jeapa]

It depends where you live and what you mean by the word 'cold' -- back in January I noted that my MPG was not too good since it was 'cold' and 25-30 degrees outside, and Acdii fell out of his chair laughing... in my experience from this FFH and the last one, it dropped off about 5 MPG on average, which was a bit less than the dropoff on the Prius that was probably around 7-8 MPG or so.

My idea of cold is in line with yours. I am only a couple of states up from you and are winters aren't usually that cold. Time will tell I guess.

I wish I had kept better records on my Prius throughout the 7 years I owned it. It would be interesting to compare notes since I have driven same routes everyday for the past 11 years.

Edited August 1, 2013 by jeapa

[acdii]

This last winter was especially brutal. Cold here meant a high of 10*, and for the most part our winter was single digit. Unusually cold in IL last year. I know it contributed some to the crappy numbers the SE had, Some, but something was not right with that car. I expect my winter numbers to be around 38 MPG actual this winter in the HyTi, since my expectations(which I expected to see in the first one) are between 38 and 44 MPG for the roads I drive on, and so far that is exactly where they are falling. My lifetime since I drove off the lot is 43.6, and I am very happy with that. When winter comes, I expect it to fall off to around 40 on average, dash, with the cold cold snowing nasty ugly days being around 36-38, and nice days around 42. Right now I get 47 average round trip, dash.

 

These are my daily to and from work numbers, throw in a few short low MPG trips during the week and weekends and it falls right at 43 MPG dash. Actual MPG based on fuel used is 1 MPG under.

[hybridbear]

Check out our Fuelly history for the effects of real cold weather lol it's quite drastic. lolder said it would be 2 MPG for each 10 degrees below 60 when the car first came out and he was exactly right!

[dcarson777]

Just for the newbies I currently have 17553 miles on my hybrid and I am still averaging 46.3 miles per gallon. I have never reset the lifetime average from the time the vehicle was purchased.

[2014FordFusionSE]

My first post here.

Glad to see happy Prius converts.

 

I'm on the fence between getting a FFH SE and a Prius III.

I've always liked relatively larger cars, which is why I'm looking at the FFH SE with nav and MFT. Are there any other options that are worth paying for?

 

I currently have a 99 Ford Contour with 165,000 miles which has been awesome and trouble-free.

I'd rather sell it in it's current working condition than to wait for it to die. The Contour will need new tires soon and probably a new timing belt, water pump, etc.

Rather than spending money on this car, I thought I'd get a hybrid.

 

I was going to message hybridbear since he owns both cars but I've found this thread.

The reason I'm even looking at the Prius is because of the better gas mileage, overall quality and lower price for a well equipped Prius III (with a nav.) We also own a Toyota Sienna which is an awesome van. Awesome quality.

My commute isn't much but since I keep cars forever, I thought I'd get a hybrid so that 5 years down the line, I don't feel like I'm driving a gas guzzler, polluter, etc. when all cars will be very fuel efficient.

Winters are very mild here in Northern California and so I'm hoping to get great gas mileage.

 

I'll look around the forum for the following, without posting off-topic:

- prices paid for a FFH SE with the same options, nav and MFT

- service frequency and how much is DIY (I pretty much maintained my Contour myself since the day I bought it.)

- options that people wish they had bought

 

Please let me know if I'm missing anything.

Thanks!

[hybridbear]

I highly recommend some of the advanced safety features on the Fusion. The Driver Assist Pkg is fantastic! The Prius is lacking many of these options, or to get them you have to pay for a Prius 5 which is just as expensive as the Fusion. The SE w/ Luxury Pkg seats have been commented by many as being the most comfortable of all the seat options. Compare your comfort in both cars, back to back if possible, but you'll likely find that the FFH is much more comfortable than the Prius.

 

I also highly recommend the back-up sensors. The Prius doesn't have them and even with the camera I have almost backed into stuff many times in the Prius because I'm used to the audible beep in the Fusion. A friend of ours just recently backed into someone when parking, back-up sensors with their audible beep really prevent a lot of those types of accidents by helping you judge just how close you are to another object.

 

If you want sensors in the front then you should get the Active Park Assist. Even if you don't use the parallel parking feature very often, the front sensors add a lot of value because they're always active. One small accident scraping the front end on a pillar in a parking ramp or on the side of your garage door would more than make up for the cost of those sensors. I'm really glad that we have them.

 

I'd also recommend buying the Push Button Start. Having PBS makes driving so much more convenient. All Prius models come with PBS, and it's so nice to walk up to the car and never have to worry about keys. My wife just leaves her Prius key in her purse for weeks at a time without seeing it. Having a combination of PBS in the FFH along with the keycode access would make it incredibly efficient to get in and out of the car. This is the one option that I really wish we had.

 

If you really want navigation built in then I'd encourage you to compare the Toyota nav system to the Ford nav system. The Toyota nav system feels like it's about 5 years old. The FFH nav system feels like 2013 technology that's now only a year old. The Prius navigation is very slow to respond, doesn't understand voice commands as well, has a lower resolution screen and really struggles with POI brand names.

 

As far as gas mileage, as I've said elsewhere, my wife drives the Prius because she can get 45+ year-round MPG in it without trying. In the FFH she could barely get 43 MPG in ideal weather. You can look at my Fuelly history for the black FFH and see that we had some tanks of 55+ MPG last summer, with both of us driving it. I'm hoping to get at least one tank of 60+ MPG this summer when it's only me driving the FFH. With your moderate climate it shouldn't be too hard for you to get 50+ MPG in either car. The Prius definitely gets better MPGs on the freeway. The FFH does better in short trips because of how the Prius is programmed to warm up. Check out the warm up thread, while the FFH allows you to skip the inefficient warm up cycle, the Prius does not and thus is less efficient on very short trips. My wife and I regularly see <25 MPG on short trips in the Prius, even with a warm engine. The FFH can manage 45+ MPG on similar short trips with a warm engine.

 

As far as pricing, shoot for invoice price. This might be a little harder if you're buying a car off the lot, but if you special order with your exact options then you should shoot for invoice price. If you can't get invoice price then check out this info about how to get an X-Plan PIN.

[acdii]

Hey HB, did you get the recall notice on the Prius yet? 1.9 Million are being recalled to reprogram them so they dont shut down while driving.

 

I used to own a Prius, and would never go back to one no matter how great its gas mileage was. Once I drove the Fusion, they don't compare in handling, comfort and features. From what I have heard, Toyota customer service makes Fords look great. I also owned a 2009 Camry Hybrid, and the Fusion has better quality that it did. The SE has more features than the loaded Camry does too.

 

I do like the Avalon though, but its pricey! Feature for feature the Avalon is the closest to the Fusion.

[hybridbear]

Hey HB, did you get the recall notice on the Prius yet? 1.9 Million are being recalled to reprogram them so they dont shut down while driving.

I commented about this in the Prius recall thread. No letter yet, but many PriusChat members have already had the work done. We'll do ours at the 10k mile service.

[DeeCee]

Agree with Hybridbear's recommendations. The option I like best is Adaptive Cruise Control. The luxury package is quite comfortable and recommended. I have never owned a Prius but have friends that have them and the ride handling and comfort are hands down in favor of the Fusion Hybrid. I have a regular commute of 37 miles round trip and can easily get 50 mpg when the temps are above 50 F.