We went to test one this weekend and it didn't seem all that bad. I was surprised that I liked it.

Here is what Edmunds says...

[www.edmunds.com]

Review here: [www.sfgate.com]

... bottom line, Prius-types will like it, others maybe not so much. I love my Prius, so I'd probably like it.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

I drove an economy car a couple of weeks ago on a gravel road on the way to a hiking trail point. It was pretty scary. If I drove over around 10 mph, the car had this disconcerting feeling that it was sliding instead of driving. I was actually worried that I wouldn't make it up some of the steeper hills. Would a Prius feel the same way?

If you like Prius then you will like the Prius.

No room for my gun rack!

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freeradical
I drove an economy car a couple of weeks ago on a gravel road on the way to a hiking trail point. It was pretty scary. If I drove over around 10 mph, the car had this disconcerting feeling that it was sliding instead of driving. I was actually worried that I wouldn't make it up some of the steeper hills. Would a Prius feel the same way?

I am not a Prius owner, but I would not describe it as an economy car!

It's a full mid-size sedan with lots of options and drives well with good acceleration and great gas mileage.

The more recent models are bigger and would have more weight - better for rough roads, but worse gas mileage.

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sekker

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freeradical
I drove an economy car a couple of weeks ago on a gravel road on the way to a hiking trail point. It was pretty scary. If I drove over around 10 mph, the car had this disconcerting feeling that it was sliding instead of driving. I was actually worried that I wouldn't make it up some of the steeper hills. Would a Prius feel the same way?

I am not a Prius owner, but I would not describe it as an economy car!

It's a full mid-size sedan with lots of options and drives well with good acceleration and great gas mileage.

The more recent models are bigger and would have more weight - better for rough roads, but worse gas mileage.

The Prius C is a sub-compact about the same size as a Honda Fit. In fact the Fit has a tiny bit more passenger and cargo room by volume.

I drove one about 2 years ago--lousy handling, ok other than that. And of course, the excellent MPG.

My wife came home from the grocery store the other day and out of the blue she said, "the more I drive the Prius the
more I like it". She's has a 2010 series III Prius since Fall of '09. She maintains 49.6mpg Winter and it usually comes
up to 50.2mpg in the summer, she doesn't baby it, she doesn't lay off the AC or the heat and still maintains excellent mileage.
It think she has about 16 or 17K miles on it. Cost wise, with no more miles than she drives it she probably would
have came better with something non-Hybrid that gets excellent mileage but it's paid for so to me that the main thing.

OT: Someone mentioned that replacing the batteries in a Prius cost big money the other day. Don't kow if it's a myth
or not but everyone I've talked to said Toyota has either replaced bad batteries or worked out a good deal with owners
to avoid bad publicity on battery replacements. Y'all know of anyone that has had to replace their batteries? I've
also heard stories of Prius's still going with 200K miles on the same batteries.

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Grateful11

Consumer Reports did a test in 2011 on a 9-year-old 2002 Prius and compared it with a 2001 Prius that was tested in 2001. Seems to hold up quite well. I've been looking at the 2012 Prius V (wagon) as a possibility to replace my 2001 Toyota Sienna that just turned 50,000 miles and is bigger than I need. Here's the link: [news.consumerreports.org] LyleH

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Grateful11
OT: Someone mentioned that replacing the batteries in a Prius cost big money the other day. Don't kow if it's a myth
or not but everyone I've talked to said Toyota has either replaced bad batteries or worked out a good deal with owners
to avoid bad publicity on battery replacements. Y'all know of anyone that has had to replace their batteries? I've
also heard stories of Prius's still going with 200K miles on the same batteries.

I think Toyota's standard warranty on the battery is 8 years 100,000 Miles, but if you're in California it's 10 years 150,000 Miles.

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freeradical
I drove an economy car a couple of weeks ago on a gravel road on the way to a hiking trail point. It was pretty scary. If I drove over around 10 mph, the car had this disconcerting feeling that it was sliding instead of driving. I was actually worried that I wouldn't make it up some of the steeper hills. Would a Prius feel the same way?

Gravel roads with loose gravel (not packed down) are like that. You do slide a fair amount and it doesn't much matter what car you drive. If you get out of the car and walk on the gravel it's the same thing.

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AllGold

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freeradical
I drove an economy car a couple of weeks ago on a gravel road on the way to a hiking trail point. It was pretty scary. If I drove over around 10 mph, the car had this disconcerting feeling that it was sliding instead of driving. I was actually worried that I wouldn't make it up some of the steeper hills. Would a Prius feel the same way?

Gravel roads with loose gravel (not packed down) are like that. You do slide a fair amount and it doesn't much matter what car you drive. If you get out of the car and walk on the gravel it's the same thing.

My thought too... I think a larger heavier vehicle may be worse because of the inertia on a slippery surface.