Diesel or new Gen 4 Prius for my driving profile?

[A900ss]

Looking to buy a new car and opt out of the company car scheme but before I decide on a diesel, should I consider a Prius?

My concerns are that I am a 'swift' driver and I do hardly any town/city driving. Not a great start for a Hybrid I guess?

I do circa 30k miles a year and currently plan on buying a 1 year old diesel, keeping it for 4 years so getting rid of it at 5 years old with circa 130k miles on it. It would be a 1.6/2.0 diesel auto.

OR I could buy a new Prius (I see very few sold at 1 year and the savings aren’t worth it) but keep it 5 years and sell afterwards at 150k miles.

My driving is 80% single A roads cutting through the Cotswolds at 60/70 MPH. I don’t race to overtake but am rarely overtaken. 15% of my mileage is motorway at a circa 80MPH cruise. The other 5% is running around town.

Although I would consider myself quicker than average (maybe not quicker than the average PH’er), I also consider myself a fairly economical driver. I anticipate and read the road so use the brakes infrequently and carry momnetum. FYI, my current car is a Mercedes C220d and I currently average circa 58MPG. (probably 60 ish in the warmer months and 56 ish in th colder months)



Based on on what I’ve said, what MPG would you REALSITICALLY expect me to deliver?

I would expect a Prius to offer savings in tyres and brakes, have no DPF issues and be worth more at resale time.

Thanks in advance.

[Swoxy]

Prius.

I switched from 330 Ci to 330d to E350 CDI to CT 200h then IS300h and am very happy, cost of ownership outside of servicing and tyres has been £0.

I would find it tough to go back to a diesel, especially with regards to NVH.

Plus, high a mileage newish Prius will still be worth good money - especially if it still qualifies for PCO in London.

Edited by Swoxy on Thursday 11th January 20:08

[AmitG]

I would say Prius.

I have the Gen4. Based on your driving profile, I reckon that if you get the posh version with 17 inch wheels, you will get about the same fuel economy as you are currently getting from the Merc. If you get the cheaper version with smaller wheels you will get noticeably more.

They are surprisingly quick. The acceleration is quite linear, so unlike diesels where you get a big shove at the start and then nothing, you get an unremarkable but constant increase in speed.

They seem to hold their value really well. There is strong demand for these cars from Uber drivers and the minicab trade (in London, virtually every private hire vehicle is a Prius). Whereas owning a diesel is likely to become harder and harder, wherever you are in the UK.

Plus they never go wrong.

Definitely worth a look I would say.

[Chris-S]

With respect due to the strengths a Prius does have, ‘swift’ isn’t really one of them. It isn’t what it was designed for.

Is MPG the ultimate arbiter in your decision? If so, and given your profile, there are better choices. If you want more than simply the best MPG then that’s a bit harder.

Given you know MB, have you looked at the C350e, soon to be placed by the C400e with a bigger battery, another 40 odd bhp of EV power and a few more bhp of petrol power as well. Reasonably ‘swift’ with a 0-60 under 6 seconds and a shed load of torque.

[RicksAlfas]

Chris-S said:

With respect due to the strengths a Prius does have, ‘swift’ isn’t really one of them. It isn’t what it was designed for.

Is MPG the ultimate arbiter in your decision? If so, and given your profile, there are better choices. If you want more than simply the best MPG then that’s a bit harder.

Given you know MB, have you looked at the C350e, soon to be placed by the C400e with a bigger battery, another 40 odd bhp of EV power and a few more bhp of petrol power as well. Reasonably ‘swift’ with a 0-60 under 6 seconds and a shed load of torque.

But over 30,000 miles a year, his mpg will be 40 as he won't be able to make use of the electric only range.
It would be a lovely way to do those 30,000 miles, but I suspect it will add a fair bit to his fuel bill.

[A900ss]

RicksAlfas said:

Chris-S said:

With respect due to the strengths a Prius does have, ‘swift’ isn’t really one of them. It isn’t what it was designed for.

Is MPG the ultimate arbiter in your decision? If so, and given your profile, there are better choices. If you want more than simply the best MPG then that’s a bit harder.

Given you know MB, have you looked at the C350e, soon to be placed by the C400e with a bigger battery, another 40 odd bhp of EV power and a few more bhp of petrol power as well. Reasonably ‘swift’ with a 0-60 under 6 seconds and a shed load of torque.

But over 30,000 miles a year, his mpg will be 40 as he won't be able to make use of the electric only range.
It would be a lovely way to do those 30,000 miles, but I suspect it will add a fair bit to his fuel bill.

I'd love to get a C350e but the sums don't add up. I would be purchasing a car outright and the MB would be considerably more than a Toyota and would cost more than my allowance + BIK saving when averaged over 4 or 5 years.

[raspy]

If you are planning to do 30k miles a year outside of urban areas, I don't recommend a Gen 4 Prius. At higher speeds, tyre noise is quite intrusive.

[sjg]

AmitG said:

They seem to hold their value really well. There is strong demand for these cars from Uber drivers and the minicab trade (in London, virtually every private hire vehicle is a Prius). Whereas owning a diesel is likely to become harder and harder, wherever you are in the UK.

Plus they never go wrong.

Purely on economics, this makes a lot of sense. I'm seeing more and more Toyota hybrid minicabs outside of London (Auris estate is getting popular for that too) as people realise how reliable and well suited they are, so will probably get you more money at the end.

MPG probably very similar to a modern diesel. Petrol is a few pence cheaper too.

Business Edition has all the kit I'd want - Adaptive criuse control, heated seats, reversing camera, DAB, bluetooth, etc and it's on the smaller and comfier wheels. £20857 via DtD. It's what I'd buy to do that sort of mileage in out of my own pocket.

[liner33]

Why not see if you can get a demo for a few days and try to see if it will work for you?

[arguti]

Chris-S said:

With respect due to the strengths a Prius does have, ‘swift’ isn’t really one of them. It isn’t what it was designed for.

raspy said:

At higher speeds, tyre noise is quite intrusive.

Totally agree. Prius is best in urban/suburban environment, noisy on motorway and whilst economical, I much prefer our Touran TDi for long motorway trips.

Prius does everything well and really does not go wrong but not a driver's car by any means in the conventional sense.

[liner33]

arguti said:

Totally agree. Prius is best in urban/suburban environment, noisy on motorway and whilst economical, I much prefer our Touran TDi for long motorway trips.

Prius does everything well and really does not go wrong but not a driver's car by any means in the conventional sense.

and a diesel Touran is a drivers car ?

[A900ss]

Thanks all.

Some debate then, some say yes, others say no.

Either way, I went into a showroom today to have a look and feel inside and it’s now a definite no.

The seats were just not that comfortable for me. They seemed a little small, especially in the thighs support length.

I think I’ll be going for either an Octavia or Superb diesel.

Thanks again.

[liner33]

A900ss said:

Thanks all.

Some debate then, some say yes, others say no.

Either way, I went into a showroom today to have a look and feel inside and it’s now a definite no.

The seats were just not that comfortable for me. They seemed a little small, especially in the thighs support length.

I think I’ll be going for either an Octavia or Superb diesel.

Thanks again.

We went from a Superb diesel to the Prius , some people have issues with those seats as well but you should be able to get a loaner from Skoda to try

[Frimley111R]

You'll look like a taxi driver in a Pruis! And although you'll be inside it mostly, at some point you'll see what it looks like from the outside!