We are going to the Toyota dealership tomorrow.

[Deleted]

I am excited! I have never test driven a car! (That's because I'm a SCRU--my parents gave me my first two cars.  ) I am pushing for a Prius, but H says the interior feels cheap and uncomfortable. He is pulling for a Camry hybrid. I'd be happy with either. I drove a '98 Camry from 1999-2011, and it was a great car. I'm also going to look at a Prius V, but I'm not sold on it. We have decided not to look at SUVs for now. I really want to get good gas mileage for my long commute, and we'll trade in if the car becomes an issue with kids. 

[Deleted]

I really like the Pruis V and the new Camry is really nice looking - but unfortunately, the new ones both didnt do well in a crash test on the front. While its just one report, I crossed them off my list since there are so many other cars. Google if interested, I'm on my phone.

[Deleted]

Sigh. WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT??

[SusanBAnthony]

Keep in mind that the trunk space is tiny in the Camry Hybrid. If kids were on my mind, I wouldnt buy one for that reason.

[scout8]

Get a prius! I love mine.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 8:30:02 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Keep in mind that the trunk space is tiny in the Camry Hybrid. If kids were on my mind, I wouldnt buy one for that reason.

Hybrid is 13.1 cubic feet, vs. 15.4 cubic feet in the regular Camry. I'm willing to take that hit if we like the car. 

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 8:36:26 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Get a prius! I love mine.

Do you take it on long trips? Is it comfortable to ride in? I have never been inside a Prius, but my H has and he is not a fan. 

[mccallister84]

Have fun!

PS - what does SCRU mean? Google isn't helping.

[SusanBAnthony]

Tell your H to jump in a lake! If he wants your mercedes, and to later get to buy himself an expensive car, he can shut up and let you pick your sensible fuel efficient car

[Deleted]

Spoiled children are us. community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/50297152.aspx

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 8:44:40 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Tell your H to jump in a lake! If he wants your mercedes, and to later get to buy himself an expensive car, he can shut up and let you pick your sensible fuel efficient car

He's not taking my Mercedes away from me. I am dying to pass it off. It costs me >$50/week to commute!

[scout8]

Jan 20, 2013 8:38:25 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

Jan 20, 2013 8:36:26 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Get a prius! I love mine.

Do you take it on long trips? Is it comfortable to ride in? I have never been inside a Prius, but my H has and he is not a fan. 

We have taken it on a couple of long trips and it has been comfortable. My inlaws have one too and they have taken it on a bunch of road trips. I have an older model. I wonder if you could get some upgrades in the newer models that might make it feel nicer inside for your H. The gas mileage really is terrific. I average about 43 mpg. My MIL who drives hers in the burbs gets close to 50.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 8:50:05 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Jan 20, 2013 8:38:25 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

Do you take it on long trips? Is it comfortable to ride in? I have never been inside a Prius, but my H has and he is not a fan. 

We have taken it on a couple of long trips and it has been comfortable. My inlaws have one too and they have taken it on a bunch of road trips. I have an older model. I wonder if you could get some upgrades in the newer models that might make it feel nicer inside for your H. The gas mileage really is terrific. I average about 43 mpg. My MIL who drives hers in the burbs gets close to 50.

OMG this sounds like heaven. 

[kaylie]

You can get an upscale interior on a Prius, but if you're looking at used the options might be limited. The hybrid Camry doesn't get the same gas mileage as the Prius. It's much closer to a traditional sedan.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 8:52:07 GMT -5 carrotsmakemefat said:

It is all about how the car feels while driving IMO. When I was buying my car a year or so ago I did so much research, but at the end of the day it was how the car drove. I don't get your H's hangup but cheap versus expensive feeling. If you are driving it mostly, then pick what you like. Toyota is not known for being unsafe or cheap...just because it isn't a BMW doesn't mean it isn't a good car. BMW gets terrible ratings in consumer reports, Toyota does not.

We're not getting a BMW. But it doesn't make sense to get a fuel efficient car and then not take it on trips because my H is uncomfortable in it. We're a unit, yes? This isn't solely my decision.

[kaylie]

Jan 20, 2013 8:50:05 GMT -5 scout8 said:

Jan 20, 2013 8:38:25 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

Do you take it on long trips? Is it comfortable to ride in? I have never been inside a Prius, but my H has and he is not a fan. 

We have taken it on a couple of long trips and it has been comfortable. My inlaws have one too and they have taken it on a bunch of road trips. I have an older model. I wonder if you could get some upgrades in the newer models that might make it feel nicer inside for your H. The gas mileage really is terrific. I average about 43 mpg. My MIL who drives hers in the burbs gets close to 50.

This has been my experience as well. When we drive long distances we take the Prius because of the gas and because it's pretty comfortable. Everyone has plenty of room even with four people in the car.

My H wasn't a Prius fan from the get-go either because he didn't think it was fun to drive. He made me try five other cars but the whole time I knew I was getting the Prius. The entire engine system is warrantied for 8 years/100K miles. That combined with the gas mileage made it the most common sense purchase. We're always worrying about the next expensive repair his car will require, so the peace of mind I get from the Prius being so reliable is important to my mental health.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 8:59:37 GMT -5 kaylie said:

Jan 20, 2013 8:50:05 GMT -5 scout8 said:

We have taken it on a couple of long trips and it has been comfortable. My inlaws have one too and they have taken it on a bunch of road trips. I have an older model. I wonder if you could get some upgrades in the newer models that might make it feel nicer inside for your H. The gas mileage really is terrific. I average about 43 mpg. My MIL who drives hers in the burbs gets close to 50.

This has been my experience as well. When we drive long distances we take the Prius because of the gas and because it's pretty comfortable. Everyone has plenty of room even with four people in the car.

My H wasn't a Prius fan from the get-go either because he didn't think it was fun to drive. He made me try five other cars but the whole time I knew I was getting the Prius. The entire engine system is warrantied for 8 years/100K miles. That combined with the gas mileage made it the most common sense purchase. We're always worrying about the next expensive repair his car will require, so the peace of mind I get from the Prius being so reliable is important to my mental health.

Yeah my H doesn't get to veto a car that will be primarily mine on account of whether it's "fun to drive." But it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy a car that he's not comfortable riding in. Hopefully he will see the light tomorrow! 

[stumpy]

DH has a Hybrid Camry . . . we both love it!
It does NOT have a tiny trunk. It is still very good sized. Is it smaller than the regular Camry? Yes. But that is due to the battery. You can still fit tons of stuff in there . . . including multiple bags of luggage, and other large items. Plenty of room for kids stuff.
The Camry hybrid gets wonderful as mileage. DH had a regular Camry before this and he gets at least 10 to 15 miles per gallon more. That adds up.
Is it Pius gas mileage? No. But he wanted a bigger vehicle and Prius just isn't as comfy or roomy. Not even the Prius V.
Granted, my DH is 6'3" and a Prius just wanted going to work for him anyway, but we did look at them and I have looked at them in the past. (I am stumpy and couldn't see b/c of the slanted dashboard . . . so Prius didn't work for me at all) Plus some models have a "bar" or line in the back (back windshield) and that isn't great for sight lines while driving.

It all comes down to what you like and what feels good to you.
Toyotas are safe and the Camry is one of if not the most popular car on the road.

[Deleted]

Have fun, RBP! I am so envious, buying cars is so much fun (and I've only bought one new car, ever). Make sure you know the price you want on each model, and if you have a cashier's check for part of (or all of) the cost of the car, you are in a great negotiating position.

Keep an eye out for small extras that they will try to sneak in there - like $150 for special floormats, etc. Get those for free.

So excited for you and envious.

[rebekistan]

We love our Prius, and it was MH who pushed hard for it because he loved the screen showing where we were getting our energy and the 5 minute increments of our gas mileage. We were coming from a 1999 Corolla when we bought our 2006 Prius, so the ride was heavenly in comparison. It rides higher than our Corolla, so you don't feel really close to the ground and the seats aren't bucketed as badly as the Corolla's are. I remember getting up to 75 MPH and not realizing I was going so fast because the ride was so smooth.

I can see why someone would think the interior looks cheap because it looks like plastic; IDK what higher-end cars look like inside, but I imagine they have a burl or something that tries not to look like plastic? But he shouldn't be uncomfortable in a long ride just because it doesn't look expensive. Besides, it doesn't necessarily need to be your car for long trips -- if he's more comfortable in the other one, take that one. How many miles do you drive per year on a long trip compared to how many you drive to commute? Unless you have a short commute and go on long trips frequently, get the car that's better for your everyday life. If you don't like either car for long trips, rent one. I never understand why people buy a car that's good for their one vacation every year when it's not so great for their commute.

We get 42-45 MPGs in the Prius. I love pulling up to the pump behind an SUV that's already pumping gas and leaving before the SUV is done It only takes about 8 gallons, but that tank takes us 350 miles.

[stumpy]

Oh, overall DH gets about 38 MPG in his Toyota Camry. (He can get over 50 MPG on some trips) So, it is not as far off from a Prius as I thought.

We used Costco for purchasing the car. We didn't have to haggle at all and got a great price. (Well, we didn't "haggle" b/c we got rid of some stuff they tried to tack on but that is pretty normal) We paid $500 below invoice.

I have a MINI and love that the price is the price and don't have to go back and forth and deal with all the haggling. UGH. We did that with DH's last car and it was a huge pain. We still got a great deal but it was exhausting.

[nickyd2006]

I'm much more comfortable in my Toyota than our BMW SUV. Probably because the carseats are in the SUV. That said, the BMW drives great, but I've driven toyotas all my life so I'm used to how they handle, and I'd say go for a souped up Camry. The BMW eats Premium high grade gas up like there's no tomorrow.

[Deleted]

Exciting! Have you already looked through their inventory online so you have a sense of what they have in stock?

[Deleted]

article- articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/20/autos/la-fi-hy-crash-test-fail-camry-prius-v-20121219

[magpie]

Have fun test driving!

We take the Prius for long road trips all the time. It's great on gas (we usually get around 45-50mpg, whether on highways or surface streets) and I don't find it uncomfortable. The hatchback and seat fold down options make it very spacious for packing up a ton of stuff + the dog. H was initially worried about fitting in the Prius (he's tall), but after test driving it, he totally came around. He was also very excited by the graphs and gizmos. As for driving, our Prius has a "power mode" that you can turn on, making it drive more like a zippier, normal car. We pretty much have that on all the time as it doesn't seem to impact the fuel efficiency much. I could go on about the Prius--I love the car! It's true, rear viability is a little weird with the split window. I think they come standard with the backup camera now though.

[Willis Jackson]

My mom packed 3 grandkids into her Prius for a day trip and everyone was comfy, so you might not need to get rid of it when the time comes for kids.

Our cars are oooooooold so all new cars feel luxurious to me, lol.

[RoxMonster]

I have a 2012 Camry LE and love it! It gets good gas mileage for a non-hybrid (about 36 MPG highway), is a really smooth ride, and I like that you can sync your phone up with it (I know that's not a new thing but I have never owned a current, new car before, so I was excited). I also feel safe in it. Ten days after purchasing it (no joke), I was hit very hard from behind. The only part that was damaged was the back. The seat belt locking kept me from hitting the wheel and I know in my old car, there would have been a lot more damage/I would have been jerked around a lot more. It is a pretty sturdy vehicle. It also drives well in ice/snow (found that out in a blizzard).

ETA: We drove a Prius Hybrid on our honeymoon in Hawaii and liked that as well. It was so quiet, which was awesome and of course got great gas mileage. We did have quite a bit of luggage and I felt the actual trunk area was small; we had to put the seats down, which was fine for two of us, but we wouldn't have been able to have people ride in the back.

[stumpy]

I totally understand being cautious after reading that test. That being said, it is a new test and very few cars did well. (doesn't make it better just saying)
God forbid anyone gets into a crash but I feel comfortable and safe in the Camry. Driving is dangerous no matter what car you are in.
I drive a MINI . . . it "loses" if I had a crash with a SUV or just about any car out there. It's not the safest car but it is a car I love and feel comfortable driving. (And what I feel safe in makes it safer . . . nobody wants me driving a big vehicle!)

[justsam]

We bought a 2012 Corolla S last year and love it. The mileage is good - 27 city, 34 highway. There's plenty of room for the two of us and our dog. I've had my nieces carseat in it a few times and there was plenty of room for that, too.

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2013 10:06:54 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

I will admit we didn't go with the Toyota (and others) because the interior looked cheap but when I saw this article the other day, it made me feel better about my decision of being "interior-picky."  lol