Prius as a company car - GreenHybrid

westyman · #1 (**permalink**) 09-28-2005, 07:02 AM

Hi everyone,

First post so please be gentle.

I know most of you will tell me that a Prius is the best car to have but what I am looking for is some objective and constructive discussion.
I live in the UK and would say I'm a bit of a petrol head and love my cars. Currently I have an MG ZT diesel as a company car and also have a Mazda MX5 (Miata) and shock horror a 3.6litre Porsche 911

I'm due to change my company car and a guy at work has a May 2005 Prius T-Spirit (top model) as his company car which he will hand back in Nov 2005 when he moves to the US. I am very intrigued by the Prius and will have a chance to "trial" it for several days to see if it fits my needs. One big benefit of the Prius will be that I will pay the UK government approx 50% less tax for having a Prius compared to my current company car (approx £1000 per annum) and will obviously save on personal fuel costs. The majority, say 75% of my fuel is for business use and thus the company pays. This is also the same for tyres, service etc.

I currently drive 32,000miles per annum, mainly motorway at 75-80mph and even though I have a 911 I drive with consideration for other road users and wish to maintain my clean driving licence, so ultimate performance is not of the essence.

You may be thinking this is a windup or a spoof, I haven't come onto this forum to stir things up, I am deadly serious about considerng the Prius and would really like to hear other users thougts and views on the Prius especially those who drive high mileages like myself.

So in reality by having the Prius I will be approx £1000 per annum better off financially and was wondering if other users feel that there are just too many sacrifices and the saving isn't worth it.

John

Schwa · #2 (**permalink**) 09-28-2005, 06:52 PM

The Prius is suprisingly sacrifice-free as far as comfort and handling go, unless you are specifically looking for something with a sporty feel. It's different, so don't expect to feel perfectly comfortable when you first try it out, give it some time and see how you adjust to it. Most people find that it's a very nice car, given all the new technology that went into it and the functionality.

jjryan · #3 (**permalink**) 12-19-2005, 01:20 PM

Wal-Mart world hqer's in Northwest Arkansas where I'm from bought about 30 of these for their fleet and from what i've heard everyone loves them.

philmcneal · #4 (**permalink**) 12-26-2005, 11:54 PM

start learning how to drive at 60 miles per hour

if not then prius is not for you! since at highway speeds the steering wheel doesn't tighten up as much as a sports car so if you stick to driving slower you'll gain more $, listen to more songs and not having to worry about twitchy steering.