[DOMs335D]

I am sorry but Prius' aren't even allowed to park in my driveway if they are coming for a visit. Couldn't imagine actually owning one. Any small diesel will give you better mileage hence sales records are much lower in Europe where they have some true fuel sipping competition.

[Meeni]

It's the proper tool for the job. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing exiting.

[plasma23]

Originally Posted by DOMs335D

I am sorry but Prius' aren't even allowed to park in my driveway if they are coming for a visit. Couldn't imagine actually owning one. Any small diesel will give you better mileage hence sales records are much lower in Europe where they have some true fuel sipping competition.

I'm afraid I would have to disagree with you here. The diesel cars are better (more eco) than Prius only in motorways.
For short journey/city stop start the Prius is much better to drive, more eco and wouldn't have diesel particulate filter issues (cheaper maintenance).

I've drive a 116d loaner before and it was pretty crap in comparison to the Prius. Felt underpowered for a rear wheel hatch, the Prius was much better off the line and had smoother/more power delivery throughout the rev band. Where I thought the 116d would excel was handling but no. Not really 50/50 weight distribution, more front heavy.

All in all, I think a Prius is better than a 116d

[hellrotm]

In the Prius price range I would much rather DD a Focus ST or even a Fiesta ST for that matter. But then again I enjoy cars, at no point do I want to be behind the wheel of an appliance.

[plasma23]

Originally Posted by BlackJetE90

In the Prius price range I would much rather DD a Focus ST or even a Fiesta ST for that matter. But then again I enjoy cars, at no point do I want to be behind the wheel of an appliance.

At the end of the day ones opinion of what is an appliance or not is subjective. One can say the standard 3 series is still an appliance(esp the oil burners), relative to the M series.

As such, yes the Ford ST in my view is still an appliance, just a 'juiced up' fancy one. You may argue by that logic all cars are appliances and that ie true...to an extent. I definitely would not consider the M3, lotus or even a Honda S2000 as appliances.

[fecurtis]

I've driven a late model Prius before. It had as much personality as a fax machine.

Fun fact, the plural form of Prius is Prii. Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/21/t...prius-is-prii/

[c_ozanich]

I've always wanted to take a prius... and put a diesel engine in it... so I can blow black smoke from it

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by plasma23

At the end of the day ones opinion of what is an appliance or not is subjective. One can say the standard 3 series is still an appliance(esp the oil burners), relative to the M series.

As such, yes the Ford ST in my view is still an appliance, just a 'juiced up' fancy one. You may argue by that logic all cars are appliances and that ie true...to an extent. I definitely would not consider the M3, lotus or even a Honda S2000 as appliances.

Originally Posted by plasma23

As such, yes the Ford ST in my view is still an appliance, just a 'juiced up' fancy one. You may argue by that logic all cars are appliances and that ie true...to an extent. I definitely would not consider the M3, lotus or even a Honda S2000 as appliances.

The new Focus ST is the hottest hot hatch right now. It is loads of fun to drive. Go to the dealer right now and rip around a new manual Focus ST. It is not an appliance.

The Prius is an appliance because it is boring. There is nothing fun about the Prius, it is slow as piss (0-60 in 10 sec) and handles like a POS. Prius gets you from point A to B, thats it. That is why it is an appliance.

Prius is about as interesting as my toaster oven.

Focus ST, Fiesta ST, FR-S all in the Prius price range are very capable and fun cars. There is a list a mile long of cars new and used I would buy before I am forced to drive a Prius. Mid $20k can get you a lot fun.

[PopsnBurbles]

If only they look better and better drivers drive them, I'd be fine with them. Unfortunately, they're not very good looking and the usual prius drivers are pricks.

[derryck]

Originally Posted by roadkillrob

320d - loads of torque and only 5mpg less than a prius!

Maybe on the highway but doubtful that it can touch a Prius in around town mpg. I recently leased a 2014 Lexus CT which shares the Prius drive train and I'm getting just shy of 50mpg around town and the car isn't even broken in yet. It's got more oomph than I thought it would in 'sport mode' and the CT is nicer on the inside and handles better than the Prius. It's a quiet and comfortable car that gets outstanding gas mileage around town. I looked at the Prius, Focus and Fiesta line up, Audi A3 and VW TDIs and while most of them were more entertaining to drive than the CT...the CT easily beats all of them by a sizable margin in around town mpg. I have a 600RWHP 300ZX and FBO 335i waiting on my RBs and thought I would regret the CT purchase but 50mpg around town on 87 octane is very difficult to beat and I smile when I fill it up once a month for about $35 (10 gallon tank). I mostly sit in traffic to and from work so driving either of my 'fun cars' isn't fun anyways.

[plasma23]

Originally Posted by BlackJetE90

The new Focus ST is the hottest hot hatch right now. It is loads of fun to drive. Go to the dealer right now and rip around a new manual Focus ST. It is not an appliance.

The Prius is an appliance because it is boring. There is nothing fun about the Prius, it is slow as piss (0-60 in 10 sec) and handles like a POS. Prius gets you from point A to B, thats it. That is why it is an appliance.

Prius is about as interesting as my toaster oven.

Focus ST, Fiesta ST, FR-S all in the Prius price range are very capable and fun cars. There is a list a mile long of cars new and used I would buy before I am forced to drive a Prius. Mid $20k can get you a lot fun.

I agree that the Ford ST is not an appliance, relative to a Prius that is. But here in the UK, to have a ST as a daily driver isn't exactly practical. Urban traffic, I would imagine the ST giving no better than 30mpg and with fuel prices at around £1.30/litre not to mention the road tax on the ST, it just isn't cost effective and that defeats the whole point of a daily beater. With the Prius on the other hand, you would save few hundred in fuel a year and you pay zero in road tax. It's probability as reliable if not more than the ST, holds it's value better and probably cheaper to maintain.

[plasma23]

Originally Posted by PopsnBurbles

If only they look better and better drivers drive them, I'd be fine with them. Unfortunately, they're not very good looking and the usual prius drivers are pricks.

I definitely agree that the average Prius driver, at least here in London, are pricks. That said, BMW and Audi drivers do not have a great reputation either but what I find ironic with the Prius drivers, you expect them to be slow and courteous on the roads with the whole eco green thing going on, but no...they are very aggressive. It's probably due to that low down torque.

[PopsnBurbles]

Originally Posted by plasma23

I definitely agree that the average Prius driver, at least here in London, are pricks. That said, BMW and Audi drivers do not have a great reputation either but what I find ironic with the Prius drivers, you expect them to be slow and courteous on the roads with the whole eco green thing going on, but no...they are very aggressive. It's probably due to that low down torque.

I'll admit, what I did was mean. One time, I was behind a Prius at a red light. He took off fast. I paced him and found he was going 65MPH on a 35MPH road. The other time, my friend had a Prius loaner. He wanted to see how much gas a typical Prius driver was saving. It turns out, he barely saved much gas compared to his Cayman S.

[Boost4me]

If you can get past the Prius/Hybrid stigma then you will realize the car is great for what it is, I had a CT200H loaner for a few days, which is basically a luxury Prius. The interior was really nice, had a lot of tech gadgets & was kind of fun to try & save gas. The car is light & nimble so its very tossable & fun to throw in the corners. Acceleration did take me by surprise since I expected it to be much much worse. Overall if your day to day commute is bumper to bumper traffic a hybrid would do you fine, I used to be pretty frustrated that there was no room for me to mash the pedal when I drove my 335i or C63 to work so I would just end up driving like a asshole trying to squeeze some of that "fun" in, but in the Hybrid, I just crank up the tunes & relax on the drive home after a long day at work. Plus getting 40-50mpg was way better than the 8-9mpg in the C63 idling all day in traffic.

[SgtGoldy]

OP I found your next car when I went to the gym:

[P1]

I don't know why people buy a Prius when you can get a Golf TDI.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by roadkillrob

The Prius is proof that most people don't actually like driving a car!

[Lups]

Originally Posted by P1et

I don't know why people buy a Prius when you can get a Golf TDI.

I live in a prius infested street, and I have had the time to ask them. It's because they feel the need to be environmentally aware.

The best thing to handle this neighbor relation matter was to ask, do they know how much worse they are making it with their cars. Now I don't have to worry about my kids hanging with people who assume and get the slogan, not the fine print.

They look bad, and the drivers, well they live on my street. I have not driven one, mainly due to my lack of willingness to stand hypocrisy, but I actually try to be kind to the environment. It's not just the gas and miles and car that counts.

[accordRE]

Originally Posted by P1et

I don't know why people buy a Prius when you can get a Golf TDI.

TDI will only be able to match Prius' MPG on the highway basically, around town it's still going to be chugging along using the diesel engine.

Not so in the Prius because it uses the electric motor either by itself or in combination with the engine to ease the load on the engine, so the engine is doing less work and therefore is using less fuel.

[derryck]

Originally Posted by P1et

I don't know why people buy a Prius when you can get a Golf TDI.

Because around town the Prius will best a Golf TDI by a margin of about +20mpg..it's not even close in town.

[derryck]

Originally Posted by c_ozanich

I've always wanted to take a prius... and put a diesel engine in it... so I can blow black smoke from it

I'd love to get an old Prius and drop and LS9 in it...talk about a sleeper.

[P1]

Originally Posted by accordRE

TDI will only be able to match Prius' MPG on the highway basically, around town it's still going to be chugging along using the diesel engine.

Not so in the Prius because it uses the electric motor either by itself or in combination with the engine to ease the load on the engine, so the engine is doing less work and therefore is using less fuel.

Originally Posted by derryck

Because around town the Prius will best a Golf TDI by a margin of about +20mpg..it's not even close in town.

It's actually more around 10 US MPG. But in any regard, the Golf TDI is an actual driver's car. The Prius, not at all.