Recent content by Seamless

I actually haven't heard of a battery replacement in a Prius yet. And where I live is Prius country to an absurd extent. I'll grant you that's anecdotal, though! My old Prius went from 100k to 172k, and went from around 45mpg to around 41 over those miles. I think the primary culprit was the...

Possibly so. After incentives/rebates, I'm paying $16k. I could probably get a base Volt for about $3k more, but all the Prius Primes come with things like DRCC, premium audio, lane departure alert, heated seats, etc. I could be wrong, but I think a similarly equipped Volt would be a lot more.

That's very interesting. What makes for so much less electric consumption? I mean, besides the shorter EV range.

PS-- I'm still discovering just how to approach my commute, because it's a tough one. One way is a series of steps to ever-higher elevation with one major peak of probably 1700 ft, from a starting point of 65 ft. After that, it's down and up again to half that elevation. Very tough on HV or EV...

You raise very good points. And what I meant was the proclaimed combined mileage of EV+hybrid mode in each. But the specific use cases certainly differ. I was strongly considering a Volt. But it was getting on up into M3 money for the Premiere trim. The other factor I considered, fairly or not...

Nearly religious devotion to Tesla? :) Don't get me wrong -- I remain a major fan. I love what Elon M. is doing. It's truly fantastic that he's moved the goalposts so very far ahead of everyone else. I want in. But as you say -- I needed a car. For around half the price, I got a fun-to-drive...

Are you saying the something here is the M3, or is the Prius? If it's the M3, I don't think the metaphor holds, unless the silver plate runs $1,000 and its contents are steadily increasing in cost! :)

I think your conjecture is quite right -- that is probably not a part of the calculation. It's pure conjecture as well, but I do sometimes wonder if Musk has simply lost touch. Even with a total lack of malice, it's easy to do that from orbit! :) It is also true for me that the lack of rebates...

Yep, trying to be smart with total expenditure in pursuit of a green car is about the sum total of things. It can feel like heresy around these parts to say, but the M3 is not perfect in every possible way, much as I desire one and will continue to.

Ha! And the SR version only exists in catalogues for next year.

Oh! Thank you.

A fine point. Since my daily commute is 95% highway, I find this rather important.

Pardon my ignorance here, but what is PV?

That's a really interesting point. And I suppose it explains why, outside the weird bubble where I live, they aren't as popular. People in this extremely blue region went whole hog for the Prius immediately, replacing the former regional mascot, the Subaru Legacy wagon. A large portion of the...

Wow! Thank you for all that info. I can certainly appreciate the viewpoint. My original plan was to buy a cheaper used Prius to keep driving until the M3, because my experience with my old Prius was 100% positive. But $16k changed things. Really that simple. I don't maintain that the Prime is...