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Toyota Camry Hybrid vs Toyota Prius

50 messages,  Last post on Nov 25, 2012 at 12:27 AM

You are in the Toyota Camry Hybrid Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota Prius, Hybrid Cars, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 4 of 5

#31 of 50 Re: Owned a Prius, got a Camry [acdii] by hihostevo

Apr 28, 2008 (3:16 pm)

Replying to: acdii (Apr 28, 2008 2:10 pm)
Thanks for the Reply acdii................
 
My wife decided to go for the mileage and we bought the '08 Prius on Saturday.
 
As we had to travel to find a "deal" we drove it home 680 miles and I did notice the car moved a bit when the large trucks would zoom by the opposite direction on a two-lane highway.
 
Perhaps my wife will change her mind as time goes on... but she felt the ability of the hatchback to swallow more items, unusually shaped items, and the fact that she can lower the back seats one at a time or together made the decision for her.
 
Personally I think the her daughter telling her the Camry looked like an "old person's car," may have also held some sway! (although we have seven grand-kids we try and pretend like we are still in our 20's...)
 
So hopefully my wife and her Real Estate Clients will both like the Prius!

#32 of 50 Re: Owned a Prius, got a Camry [hihostevo] by acdii

Apr 29, 2008 (6:03 am)

Replying to: hihostevo (Apr 28, 2008 3:16 pm)
If you don't have car seats, then you have enough room for 3 in the back. I have two little ones and a teener, so the Prius quickly ran out of room when the youngest graduated to a full size seat, too quickly I might add. Overall the Prius is a great car for most people, I on the other hand like a solid car, I grew up driving rear wheel drive large cars, My favorite was our old 1979 Ford LTD wagon. I put 300K on it before age took it away. The Camry I am liking it more and more each time I drive it, more power to get up and go and the traction control doesn't put us in jeopardy if the road has loose gravel or sand on it. I live out in farm country and drive 43 miles each way to work, most roads are beat up 55MPH lanes with no lines on them, and trying to get onto route 20 in the morning, sometimes you need the juice to get out and up to speed quickly, the Prius has had to make us wait for a large enough opening in traffic so as not to cause an accident. Once the car is moving, it gets up to speed quick enough, but turning out onto the road with the pedal halfway to the floor causes the TC to kick in, and when that kicks in you go no where fast.
 
Whats funny is you mention a grandma car, my mom smashed her Grand Marquis a week or so ago and asked me to find her a grandma car. I did, a 2007 Lincoln Town Car. She loves it! Now that is a real estate sales car for sure! It would be save for the price of gassing it up! I got her a sweet deal on that one too, with 18200 on it she paid well under current retail, and got it for the price I could have gotten on a brand new Grand Marquis Palm Beach. OTD of a little over $26K. It is top of the line too!

#33 of 50 Re: Owned a Prius, got a Camry [hihostevo] by stevedebi

Apr 29, 2008 (1:33 pm)

Replying to: hihostevo (Apr 28, 2008 3:16 pm)
"Perhaps my wife will change her mind as time goes on... but she felt the ability of the hatchback to swallow more items, unusually shaped items, and the fact that she can lower the back seats one at a time or together made the decision for her. "
 
Sorry I didn't see your post sooner. She could have gone for a Ford Escape Hybrid, which is rated at 34 MPG in the city. That is decent for an SUV, and the driver and passengers sit high up, which would be an advantage when cruising to view real estate.

#34 of 50 Re: Owned a Prius, got a Camry [stevedebi] by hihostevo

Apr 29, 2008 (5:28 pm)

Replying to: stevedebi (Apr 29, 2008 1:33 pm)
We considered that, but Consumer Reports did not have much good to say about the Escape ... although my wife surely likes the sitting up high perch!

#35 of 50 TCH vs Prius for family of 5 by suzemc

May 08, 2008 (10:31 am)

any one out there who has small children- needing room for 3 in the back- one in a regular car seat, one in a booster and one not needing either?

#37 of 50 Re: Owned a Prius, got a Camry [hihostevo] by hihostevo

May 15, 2012 (1:40 pm)

Replying to: hihostevo (Apr 29, 2008 5:28 pm)
Well just a quick update in case anyone still reads this thread...
 
My wife put 55,000 miles on our '08 Prius then we traded it in on a '10 Prius and put another 55,000 miles on that car.
 
As they have made a significant change to the Camry's MPG we thought we would give it a try. So we traded our '10 Prius IV in on a Hybrid Camry. To get the color my wife wanted (White) our only choices was a base model and one with every know option... guess which one we took. Trade in amount was too good to pass up so we are now driving a loaded White Hybrid Camry.
 
Interestingly enough the MPG reported on the cars computer is actually less than I calculate by filling up to the same amount on a level surface, then repeating the process and doing the simple math. Computer is reporting that we are averaging 42 - 43 mpg, while the math says 45.
 
We have only owned the car for about 10 days and already have over 1000 miles on it!
 
The car handles quite well and as you might expect as a much heavier vehicle it is more stable on the highway. So far we have been able to fit everything into the trunk and single fold down rear seat that we used to cram into the Prius, but the Prius is set up better for unusually shaped items with its hatchback design.
 
The way my wife drives I figure it will probably cost us an extra $300 a year in fuel, but so far it seems to be a reasonable trade-off.
 
As far as how the Prius worked as a Real Estate Vehicle for those of you that might be interested it was terrific! As you would expect the gas mileage made showing property (running people all over town) much less painful, but what I was surprised at was that no one... I mean no one no matter what their financial status felt demeaned by being chauffeured around town in the Prius. It she had clients that were very well to do they were impressed that my wife was taking a "green" approach to her business while folks at the other end of the spectrum simply thought the car was cool-looking.
 
We had selected the IV model with the solar roof, which turned out to be fantastic here in Las Vegas. We would have bought the new Prius V when it came out, but they did not offer a solar roof option and you could only get the "smart-key" system (on all doors) on the top model 5 of the Prius V... which also gave you those stupid (my humble opinion please forgive if you disagree) acrylic panels which cannot be opened and simply cook the interior here in Vegas.
 
If this thread survives we will post back later, but like the guy who jumped off the 100 story building was heard to say as he passed the 90th floor... "so far so good!"

#38 of 50 Re: Owned a Prius, got a Camry [hihostevo] by ctl

May 16, 2012 (3:14 pm)

Replying to: hihostevo (May 15, 2012 1:40 pm)
Thanks for providing a valuable review! My wife is thinking about a new Prius (she drives a 2003 I-4 Camry now), but her drive to work is around 46 miles round-trip and all highway, hilly at that too (need power to climb), so to me a Camry hybrid seems better -> more powerful for hills, safer (being longer and heavier), close in MPG.
 
Trying to persuade her to Camry, although I know Prius has way more "hybrid appeal" to her. Will be great if you can give me your takes on this... thanks!

#39 of 50 Re: Owned a Prius, got a Camry [ctl] by bobw3

May 17, 2012 (9:03 am)

Replying to: ctl (May 16, 2012 3:14 pm)
A hybrid gets the best MPG at 35-50mph type driving where the batter can be used, engine shuts off at stoplights, etc. For straight highway driving , especially with hills the gas engine will be pretty much running the entire time (except on steep downhills). What sort of MPG was she getting with the 2003 Camry I-V?

#40 of 50 Looked at both Prius V and Camry Hybrid by oz_22151

May 17, 2012 (11:20 am)

We looked at both Prius V and Camry Hybrid.
 
In the end, we went with Camry Hybrid XLE. So glad with decision, been 3 weeks since we took delivery of car.
 
When you need it, Camry has the muscle. Been averaging 38 MPG, now 2nd tank of gas but I am lead footed.
 
I seem to get better MPG while on highway than city however, wierd.
 
I paid $30K exactly for XLE model, fully loaded to the brim.
 
Refused every add-on they offered in Finance.
 
5 year 2.49% with credit union.

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