Prius or Camry Hybrid?

[gstjoker]

Okay my dsm fellows, I just want to get your inputs and your opinions on my decision to choosing the right new car. What the situation is, is that right now, I have a 03 Saturn Vue V6, AWD monster that eats up gas like 20 mpg. As you all know, gas price ain't helping either.

I was debating between a Toyota Camry Hybrid or a Prius. Anyone have any personal experience with either of these cars? Good or bad? Any major maintenance issues? I've searched on google already for user reviews but just thought I throw this out here to see if any of you guys have any opinions/suggestion towards these two cars. The Camry Hybrid is just a tad bit more, but I like the body of the Camry better than the old lady Prius.

[Scrmegl]

Isn't the Camry A LOT more car for the money? If they are even close in mileage I'd think the Camry would be the better long term purchase and more satisfying for the money. I haven't seen the newer Prius's though.

[Kracka]

Neither, get a Civic. Unless you are trying to make a political statement a hybrid car will not save you money when you factor in all the costs. A Civic (or many other base econo-cars) will get nearly the mileage of a Prius for $5-10k less.

[gstjoker]

I'm not trying to make a political statement. I'm just trying to buy a nice modern classy looking car. I'm not a rich guy either so I'm buying mostly used car, and from what I've seen from searching for the used price on Civics, to Prius and Camry, they're all around the same price. The *estimated gas mileage seems to take the Prius for the win.

[Kracka]

In the real world, Prius' aren't achieving the mileage they are rated at. Hybrid-technology is still fairly new, and although its for the most part trouble-free, when it breaks, and it will as it gets older, its going to cost a lot of money to fix/replace (especially when those batteries need replacement).

[rose0529]

My mom has a prius and really likes it. She got about 40mpg all winter for an average. mostly freeway driving. During the summer she was averaging about 47-48.. They just got to florida today and averaged 44, they made it only filling up twice.

[blageo23]

I heard the batterys are like $10000(at least awhile ago they were). But I also heard that the automaker will replace them for free.
I would get the camery, It looks alot better. The prius is just so ugly IMO.

[JET]

If you look around there are some nice cars much cheaper than any of those. Mazda makes a nice car that drop in value pretty fast, Nissan's are very nice and don't hold their value like a Honda/Toyota too. I would check out a Mazda3.

[Kracka]

Mazda 3's, last time I checked, are holding their value just as well as Civics are...but for good reason, they are really nice cars. My roommate has one and other than the fact Mazda has denied all of his warranty claims he loves it.

[b00stcreep21]

Get the camry out of the 2. The prius is fucking ugly

[xveganxcowboyx]

My aunt just bought a camry hybrid. Not even home yet, but hopefully I'll get to give it a try in the next day or two. I'll try to post back with my opinion.

If it means anything, they dropped the price for her by $4K, which seems pretty good.

[Shotgun!]

JET has some good points. One thing to look at is the Toyota Echo. It's a bit old now but they should be very cheap now. Toyota had to stop making it so they could sell the Prius. The reason is simple; it gets the mileage of the Prius (or better) and was about $10000 cheaper.

[DSM_421]

Buy an 08 Honda Accord 2 door with a 4 banger. 5k or more cheaper than a hybrid and looks super nice.

[Goat Blower]

If you only do city driving, hybrids aren't bad. If you're on the freeway a lot, they're a waste of money. Prius's may have gone up a bit with gas prices, they were dirt cheap used about two months ago. You might also want to consider Hyundai's. They are still cheap, come with a 6/60k warranty for the second owner, and get phenomenal mileage. Probably the best deal for the money out there right now. I've got orders for two of them this week alone.

[turbo-soundz]

Check out these cars under $20K.
-Toyota Yaris (3-door, sedan) $12,000 base model (40+MPG)
-Honda Fit (4 door) $16,000 (35+ MPG)

These two cars are in the top 10 fuel savers. In my best opinion, do your research, see what you like and not like and go from there.

Im riding my Gixxer1K on dry days. *think* (40+MPG, without full throttle)

[JET]

I'll be getting some serious miles on the gixxer1k this year too 38 mile commute each way FTMFL! A fit is another great option, but looks a bit odd. Steve is right on with the Hyundai comment too, decent cars at a great price.

[Kevin 1G Drummer]

Out of the two listed, I would take the Camry Hybrid. But as others have suggested, do more research and you might find something that would work a little better for you. Oh yeah, My SV1k was averaging 43-45 mpg last summer with me being not so nice on the throttle every now and then, but not beating it.

[merkzu]

gangsters like the prius

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6prxGbsawXc

[Kevin 1G Drummer]

^^ Hahaha that vid was pretty funny

[Kracka]

http://www.goodcleantech.com/2008/03...us_in_mpgs.php