Hi Boca,

I have a mini cooper S with stick shift and from new it's returned just under 30mpg in a combination of city and freeway driving. We drive it pretty hard, because it's that type of car :-) Ours is the super charged version, the new turbo's might do even better.

In comparison our rx400h which is used in a similar way, is about as fast, maybe a little faster on acceleration but can carry a lot more stuff and has averaged over the past 12 months nearly 29mpg overall. What's more in stop and go traffic to and from work a distance of 6 miles, I sometimes see 39 mpg !!

Quite amazing for the size of the vehicle and like someone else commented - very low brake wear, in fact hardly any brake dust at all.

 

So have I but:

First of all, check the requirement/status of the carpool lane privilege. In California, you need to have these yellow stickers issued by the DMV on the rear bumper. But there was a limit to these stickers and they are long gone.

Secondly, buying an econobox like a $15k Yaris makes much more sense to me. I know some might argue their Prius has a lot more options, but it also cost $20k-$30k. The few Prius I looked at were around $25k (no leather, no nav) so let's use that for comparison. A Yaris will get at least 30mpg in real life, and a Prius will get at least 45mpg. Let's say you put 15k/yr on this commuter alone. So with a Yaris you use 500 gallons/yr and a Prius you use 333 gallons/yr. So even at $5/gallon, 167 gallons is a saving of $835/yr. It will take 12 years to recoup the $10k.

Personally, I spend that $10k elsewhere as I dont see much difference between a Yaris or a Prius, both are great commuter cars but thats about it.

 

Yes, pretty much a 18 mile commute each way, 65% freeway at 75mph avg and then city at 25mph avg.

 

Sounds good. How much did you paid for it?

 

$500 over invoice year and a half ago. Honda dealer in Westminster,CA good purchase experience.

 

I think you should prepay for $25K worth of gasoline, and keep a tank in your back yard. They you can drive your Porsche or Z06 anytime. $25k will buy a lot of gas, and you won't enjoy driving the car, it's underpowered, hideously ugly, and cheap inside. If you're looking for a cheap commuter, there are lots of alternatives coming out within a year or so.


John

 

Actually NO they don't.

I went to look at one. 35 MPG only.

What's the point??

 

smart cars...first off.. dont get the greatest gas mileage.. second... imagine their safety.

 

lol - of course Scott - Us prius drivers need some more supercar/exotic drivers using em!

 

If you're considering a hybrid, and care about the way it drives at all, you should check out the Altima hybrid: http://www.edmunds.com/nissan/altima...08/review.html

It essentially uses the Toyota technology, but wrapped in a more driver-oriented package.

 

Ok, thanks for the info.

 

I too saw a smart car at an auto show. I was surprised at its fuel economy. For such a tiny car it didn't get very good mileage. I believe it was 33 mpg city.

This is second hand info but a friend of mine said his neighbor replaced their battery pack in his Prius recently. I was told this person had about 100,000 miles on their Prius. With parts and labor he said the replacement cost for the battery was $8000. WOW

 

Smart car with MB engine gets 60-65....only 1100 sold in the US

 

Should've just traded the car in... it's not like the dealer would've initially even known the battery was done for

 

Funny sh*t re: di***ck size

I think Prius is a great idea...had a spare Echo to drive for a month or so and I almost ran out of petrol because I'd forget it needed the stuff to run...it seemed that irrespective of mileage, I only needed to fill up every few weeks...great feeling....