I would appreciate opinions/experience on which of these would make thewisest purchase of a new (2008/2009) car for 5-10 years?I look upon cars as utility items and was thinking of Corolla. SO seems smitten with Camry and keeps saying Corolla's back seats seemcrowded (as if we are running a taxi, it is a rare day when anyone sitsthere). I have nothing against Camry, but I am thinking we spend moremoney and get porer mpg.Finally I said, if we are into Camry price range, why not considerPrius too and at least get the mileage? That's where we are.They are all good cars, but I'd appreciate your opinions on relativevalue.

There is no way that anyone can make that decision for you. You know the difference in the size of the cars. Only you can decide if you need a larger car.

In article , "bungalow " wrote:Your Prelude never came close to 45mpg.I know. I owned one.

Corolla, Camry, or Prius?

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Ray O 18 years ago

I didn't mention trunk space because the OP didn't mention trunk space as a factor in his decision. The Corolla has 12.3 cu. ft. trunk volume. The Prius has 14.4 cu. ft. The Camry has 14.5 cu. ft

Of course, the shape of the trunk is just as important as cubic feet, but it appears as if the Prius is pretty close to the Camry in trunk space.

Why are the batteries so long life and what

The batteries are nickel metal hydride.

The batteries have a long life because the charging control system keeps the batteries' state of charge in an optimal range without ever depleting the batteries or charging them to 100%. NiMH batteries in consumer electronics have a much shorter useful life span because the range of charging and discharging is much greater.

The batteries are just as reliable in very cold climates.

-25 temp reduces its capacity but doesn't eliminate it. In other words, you're still ahead, but not as much as in a warmer climate.

Salt may raise one's blood pressure, but in hybrid Toyotas, the battery packs are not exposed to road salt since they are in the vehicle's interior.

I don't plan on buying a Prius because I don't need a new car right now. I would consider a hybrid Highlander or RX 400h when it is time to replace our Sequoia after we are empty-nesters.

My sister has a 400h and likes it.

Toyota plans on eventually offering a hybrid version of all of its vehicles. The limiting factor is the capacity of the plants that produce the batteries. Toyota recently announced that it is building 3 new plants to produce batteries.

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Elmo P. Shagnasty 18 years ago

No, it doesn't.

It has a small 12v lead acid battery, the purpose of which is boot the computers and open the relay to the 201v traction battery.

Once the relay is opened, the 201v traction battery then powers everything.

How big is your asshole that you can pull this type of crap from it, anyway?

The hydraulic brakes in normal operation aren't used until the car gets down to 7mph. The generators do all the braking down to that point during normal operation. The accumulator is there to handle panic stops.

So what if the power steering is electric and not hydraulic?

Toyota designed the Prius such that normal things that are run off the engine in a normal car, aren't run off the engine in the Prius. The AC is electric, the power steering is electric, all run by the main 201v battery.

Not sure what you're saying up there, pal, but it seems to be pure crap from a misinformed asshole.

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bungalow_steve 18 years ago

Power from a fossil fuel plant at your AC plug in your house is about

1/3 the cost of gasoline, in terms of energy, that's why it's better in terms of cost.

For the environment the idea is that it is much easier to control the pollution at a single site (coal plant) vs each car.

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bungalow_steve 18 years ago

good for him/her, I got the mpg number from toyota's web site.

sure did, many 80's cars got great mileage, then they dropped down in the 90's when everyone started to forgot about the 70's gas shortage and mileage got worse again in the 2000's (peak of SUV craze)

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Elmo P. Shagnasty 18 years ago

Your Prelude never came close to 45mpg.

I know. I owned one.

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Daniel Who Wants to Know 18 years ago

OK (ignoring the insults here) what if the car is in ACC or IG-ON mode instead of READY? In those 2 modes the system main relays are not energized so the DC-DC converter is not active and the 12V battery supplies everything. The same is true if the DC-DC fails while you are driving and while not likely it has happened before. Go to

formatting link

and scroll about half way down.

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Elmo P. Shagnasty 18 years ago

Right.

Just like a normal car, where if it's in ACC or IG-ON mode the "motive system" (engine) is not on and therefore the 12v battery supplies energy for radio, lights, etc.

So? What's your point? What does that have to do with anything that's being discussed in this thread? It doesn't. Your assertion was this:

electric

Your assertion was INCREDIBLY incorrect, yet you strutted around spouting it like fact. All I did was correct things for the record, for any lurkers who might have seen what you wrote.

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Tomes 18 years ago

good for him/her, I got the mpg number from toyota's web site.

_____________________________

We get 55-56 MPG in our Prius every day here in NJ; about 52 in the winter. Tomes

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Elmo P. Shagnasty 18 years ago

Toyota's web site did not specify "summer numbers, brand new batteries" when it specified 45mpg.

And since the AC uses as much energy as running the car for heat, that

45mpg in summer is just as bad as the same 45mpg in winter.

If you can keep the climate control off AND keep it to 55 and under driving around town, you'll see 55mpg no problem. If you turn the climate control on and just drive it like a normal car, you'll see 45mpg.

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Tomes 18 years ago

Just for clarification, I did not write what is attributed to me above. Tomes

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JEB 18 years ago

If you consider the Prius, why not the Camry Hybrid? Gets great mileage and has the room. They are harder to get now and there are no discounts when you buy. (Fortunately I got mine in 07.) Still worth a look.

John

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Mitch 18 years ago

Just bought a 09 Corolla for one of my IT field techs here in San Diego. It's the standard model, basic white, with only the extended

7/100,000 warranty and an alarm system with front door actuators added as options.

The dealer was offering this car in one of those ads in which the car is never there when you show up to see it. However, the fleet manager arranged for me to get one the following week when that ad came out.

I still can't believe this deal:

$13,997 (car) + $1200 (extended warranty) + $495 (alarm and door actuators)

The sticker was slightly over 17K. I don't know the actual invoice cost, but it has to be much higher than the ad price. I'm guessing about 15K, mas o menos.

Here's the best part: Nothing down, 0% interest for 36 months. I was ready to hand over two or three thousand dollars. So much for that!

He also offered a 3 year 15K/yr lease for $165 per month with only $400 down! What? How can they do that? The problem is that my techs drive 25K-30K per year, so that's obviously not cost effective.

I probably paid a bit too much for the warranty and alarm, but I wasn't going to argue over those things since they gave such a great deal on the car and financing. I figured we'd burn through the standard warranty in 18 months, so it was worth the extra cost. I was also told that the warranty can be canceled and pro-rated at any time.

Possibly the best deal I've ever made on a vehicle. Funny though, as I'll probably never even sit in it!

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Corolla, Camry, or Prius?

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