Talk me out of a Prius!

[Danbob]

Hi guys! I am a car fiend who currently drives a 2009 Suzuki SX4 Crossover that I love. I have owned a taurus sho, a modded saturn (believe it or not), and my wrx which was an awesome machine that I dumped a lot into. I guess I am maturing a bit because the whole good gas milage/saving the environment thing is very appealing to me now. Sooooo...........

I have a wife, 6 month old baby girl, and 50lb dog. Tell me if I will be comfortable in this car and why it is better than a Prius (aside from the fact that the interior does not look like a freekin spaceship). If you can, think as honestly as possible about the amount of space that the car has to offer and let me know if you think it'd be a good fit for me. My SX4 is awesome but does not get good enough gas milage (only 33 for my best tank ever and it's a stick). I have a long commute (70 MIles of highway driving per day plus ten of stop and go). Thanks in advance for your honest opinions.

Dan

[Zwolfe]

1. It looks better than a Prius.
2. You'll be the only kid on your block with one, or in my case, probably the county.
3. (You) having owned a WRX, you'll probably appreciate the road feel and handling a lot more than a Prius.

If you want comfort and like to float along on clouds, go with the Prius. You can feel the road with the Insight, but it's far from teeth rattling.

As for space, assuming you want kid + dog with you, the rear seats fold forward individually. If your dog doesn't want to lay there in the hatch trunk space, it can sort of chill up by your kid as you're going down the road if you don't mind.

If you want to take your entire family, including the dog on a vacation, you'll probably run into a cargo issue regarding the dog unless you don't take a lot of stuff with you. Then again, I suppose you could install a hitch and have your luggage roll down the road with you, but I would find that to be a PITA. But that's just me.

[freezin4]

You will probably get your wish and end up being talked out of the Prius, because most members on this site are very satisfied Insight owners. But to be fair, both are great cars.
Prius with more room. (it is a Mid-Size vs the Compact Honda)
Prius is rated at 51 mpg City / 48 mpg and the Insight is 40 mpg City / 43 mpg Hwy, so if you drive well above the average US driver, than your savings will be meaningful, but if you don't, the price premium may never be recouped.
Prius comes with knee airbag.
Toyotas come wit 2/25K roadside assistance and 2 year free maintenance.
I really like the Synergy Drive technology. Trying to keep it in electric mode is somewhat akin to trying to maintain leanburn in the Gen 1 Insight.

But the driving dynamics of the Honda win. And I couldn't deal with the center dash instruments of the Prius.
If backseat and cargo space are not a huge concern for you, get the Insight and save some money up front.

[Zwolfe]

Originally Posted by freezin4

Prius comes with knee airbag.

Are you serious? That's ... I don't even know what to say. I've never even heard of a knee airbag before. If you're going to have a knee airbag, you may as well get an airbag for the family jewels.

That's it. Get the Prius. It has knee airbags.

[popennell]

Originally Posted by freezin4

Prius is rated at 51 mpg City / 48 mpg and the Insight is 40 mpg City / 43 mpg Hwy

Don't let this difference scare you. As you get more miles on your Insight and start practicing better driving habits, you get substantially better fuel economy. I'm around 3,800 miles on mine and just filled up the tank again today. My average on the last tank was 51.5 mpg

Take that, Prius.



Oh, if you need a reason not to drive a Prius, find a grown man driving one and see if he looks like he's having fun. Now, go test drive the LX or EX version of the Insight and see if you don't have fun.

[tmacier]

I can add that the rear seating provides plenty of room for your current child with room to grow.
One strong requirement that I had was to be able to fit my family of four (as a backup vehicle), including a two year old in a forward facing car seat and a six month old in a rear facing car seat. This car does it quite well, and I am 6'-1"tall and have the drivers seat all of the way back.
Good luck.
Tim

[Jayemtee]

Get whatever your wife wants. It will make life much easier in the long run.

[Zwolfe]

Originally Posted by Jayemtee

Get whatever your wife wants. It will make life much easier in the long run.

This.

It (sorta) sounds like your wife wants a Prius but you're looking for a reason not to.

On one hand, don't pay for a car you don't want. Alternatively, don't get something the wife doesn't want.

Perhaps bicycles are a compromise?

[jdnow09]

Dan,

I am also shopping both cars. I really prefer the handling of the Insight. The prius feels like you are sitting in the middle of the car driving a boat .

The extra savings on the Insight is a large factor too. I also like Honda cars in general since they are friendly to work on.

If anybody can tell me why the Honda site only lists one color interior option when choosing EX model for Taffeta white (only gray interior) but I remember seeing it beige at the dealership.

jd

[kjanracing]

Perhaps bicycles are a compromise?[/QUOTE]
Yeah!!! a TANDEM!