Prius or Camry

[martin213]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site and was hoping you guys would help me. I'm thinking about getting a hybrid in 2009 and was wondering which would be best for me. Beginning Jan., I will be driving from Los Angeles to San Diego four days out of the week for work. Each day I will be driving about 190 miles and was curious for this type of long trip; is it best to buy a Prius or Camry?

Thanks!

Martin

[Tideland Prius]

Depends what your other needs are.

For highway driving, the TCH (Camry Hybrid) will be your best bet. It's a lot quieter, more comfortable and more powerful than the Prius. As you can guess, you do lose some mpg over the Prius. It also helps if you have a second vehicle for hauling because of the smaller trunk. There is a pass-thru for long, slender objects (e.g. snowboard/skis). Well, the right passenger rear seat folds.

If you need a one-does-it-all, then the Prius is a better choice because of its flexible cargo area, fold-flat rear seats and high mpg.

[MightyHybrid]

Easy picks:
1) If you want better mileage and don't mind a little noise and less comfort: PRIUS
2) If you don't care getting an average of 10mpg less for a quieter and smoother ride: CAMRY

Also, Consumer Report has the PRIUS as the highest rated in 'reliability' among hybrids.

[carolinacamry]

My dealer gave me a better deal on the Camry than on the Prius. Figured if I'm gonna pay that much for a car, I'd get the most for my money. Like the others said, the Camry is much roomier and rides much better than the Prius but the mileage will be better with the Prius. However, my Camry did hit 40.1 mpg this morning.

[GvilleTCH]

Originally Posted by martin213

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site and was hoping you guys would help me. I'm thinking about getting a hybrid in 2009 and was wondering which would be best for me. Beginning Jan., I will be driving from Los Angeles to San Diego four days out of the week for work. Each day I will be driving about 190 miles and was curious for this type of long trip; is it best to buy a Prius or Camry?

Thanks!

Martin

If you are entering into a 190m/day commute you should be beyond "thinking" about getting a Hyprid. There is no "best" , they both have plus'es and minus's. Set your price point , visit a Dealership that has them both in stock and test drive them. The available inventory and out the door prices when you want to buy also greatly effect the process.

All the responses above are good and as I'm an extreme commuter (176m/day @ 42.5mpg) I went with the TCH , but it all breaks down to your preferences for features/looks/feel and mileage. Of course you did post your first thread/post in the Camry Hybrid Section so most of us here made the TCH over Prius decsion...

[martin213]

Thank you all for your responses. I guess there is no way of knowing until I get into the wheel and test drive both models. Thanks for your help guys!

Martin

[Frodo65]

Originally Posted by martin213

Thank you all for your responses. I guess there is no way of knowing until I get into the wheel and test drive both models. Thanks for your help guys!

Martin

The Camry is a serious mile-muncher - very comfortable, and if you keep speed below warp 7 (< 70 MPH), will do low to mid 40's. The Prius will do OK, but is not as comfy. The Prius is also quite a bit cheaper - the 'plain and simple' version stickers in the low 20's, compared to 25 for the base Camry.

Other things to consider:

You're going to be putting on crazy miles. Consequently, the depreciation is going to be the biggest expense on any new vehicle you purchase. How long are you going to be doing that this? If it's a couple of years, a better bet (financially speaking) may be a Yaris, for say $ 14K, compared to the cheapest Prius at $22K. It'll do OK on fuel, but experience lots less depreciation (as it's lots cheaper).

Either the Camry or the Prius will take a huge depreciation hit when they go out of the factory battery warranty (120K miles in CA, I believe). With the kind of daily miles you're looking at , that's just about 2.5 years. If you're looking at this as a 'drive it until it dies' car, then it's not so much an issue.

Another option may be a used Prius (the TCH is too new to have too many used vehicles out there), although the current market conditions are such than that they'll be premium-priced.

[adobo_dawg]

Originally Posted by martin213

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site and was hoping you guys would help me. I'm thinking about getting a hybrid in 2009 and was wondering which would be best for me. Beginning Jan., I will be driving from Los Angeles to San Diego four days out of the week for work. Each day I will be driving about 190 miles and was curious for this type of long trip; is it best to buy a Prius or Camry?

Thanks!

Martin

Martin,


Hey bro I do exactly what you do but I drive from San Diego to LA 4 times a week. I have a 09 TCH and I average 40+ miles per gallon. The ride is super comfortable and quiet. I test drove a Prius and to me it felt it had no pick up and it was super loud too. So I would go with a TCH Bro... But Yah I would definitely get another car to haul stuff.. because there is not a lot of trunk space... I bought an 09 Scion XB for that....

[lynche88]

If you're just buying a commuter car and want to save money, buy a cheap, gas only econo car w/ minimum add-ons.

If you're set on a hybrid, then there's actually four cars to consider: Prius, TCH, Nissan Altima Hybrid and Honda Civic Hybrid.

Prius and Civic have the highest mpg ratings and MSRP are lowest of the four. Civic doesn't have many options. Prius has several packages that take the MSRP from about $22K to over $27K. Civic may also still allow you to claim some tax credit, which gives it a price advantage over Prius. Prius is the most popular hybrid, which makes it hard to find right now, at least in California, and also makes the dealer less inclined to negotiate a discount. The ones that are still available tend to be the most loaded ones, which of course defeats saving money.

TCH and NAH are priced about the same, have similar mpg ratings and the same hybrid technology. Nissan licenses it from Toyota; the hybrid engine has Toyota's name on it. NAH allows you to claim $2,400 tax credit if you qualify; TCH does not. Nissan also offers a $1,250 rebate. TCH has better reliability ratings; Nissan's is only average. TCH gives you more standard features than NAH. NAH's options come in expensive packages, so if you want more bells and whistles, NAH's price advantage fades. You can still negotiate discounts on both; Nissan dealers will go $4K under (at least three weeks ago in SF Bay Area) while Toyota might go $2K, although you can get lucky. Like the Prius, availability is the biggest problem for the TCH. Lots of people, like me, can't find the Prius in the cheaper trim and have opted for TCH. A loaded Prius is $2,000 more than the base TCH; negotiate a discount on the TCH and that spread can be twice that. (I got my 2008 TCH two weeks ago for under $22K, almost $5K off MSRP. It was the dealer's advertised weekend special, which is what I meant by getting lucky!)

If your set on Toyota only, consider that if you put 20K miles on a year, in a Prius, you'll be using 400 gals (at 50 mpg) versus a TCH's 500 gals (at 40 mpg - a bit high but some people are claiming that on long freeway commutes). In other words, a TCH will cost you 100 gals x $4.50/gal or at least $450 per year in gas alone more to run a TCH than the Prius. I expect to drive only 12000 miles/year so my gas hit is only about $270/yr.

For me, the $5K difference between my TCH and what I would have to pay for a Prius today was more than worth the gas cost hit. I'm still saving $100+/mo. in gas over my old car.

[caadoptees]

We got the TCH over a Prius due to what amenities my wife wanted. Adjustable steering wheel, power seats, dual temperature control. The Prius made more sense size-wise (she is a Hospice/Home Health nurse) but the luxuries outweighed that. It is a personal preference.

[danorthface]

the TCH Isn't great on fuel consumption when on the highway.. might was well get an I4 and save some money since you're mostly doing highway driving

[Frodo65]

Originally Posted by danorthface

the TCH Isn't great on fuel consumption when on the highway.. might was well get an I4 and save some money since you're mostly doing highway driving

Not exactly true.

TCH EPA rating is 33/34, the Camry 4 is 21/31 EPA rating, giving the TCH a roughly 10% advantage. On the highway trips I've taken, I've been able to get 41-43, keeping speed below 70. Also, the 'highway' mileage at rush hour will likely involve traffic slow-downs, where the regular Camry will get spanked.

Now, if you cruise in the 80's and beyond, the mileage will go into the crapper. But the TCH will still do better. Just not by as big a percentage, since the fundamentals (like frontal area) are close to equal.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by danorthface

the TCH Isn't great on fuel consumption when on the highway.. might was well get an I4 and save some money since you're mostly doing highway driving

You still get an advantage from a few things

- The 2.4 litre is an Atkinson cycle engine. It's still burning efficiently on the highway

- CVT lets the engine rev lower than the 5-spd on the regular Camry