Hi everyone,

I'm currently considering trading in my gas-guzzling, slowly breaking down Pathfinder (I inherited it from my parents, so it was the cheapest option at the time) for something with good fuel economy, since I have a two hour commute every day. I've been primarily looking at the Prius, as I love its efficiency, and I'm actually comfortable in it (I'm 6'1", so most compact cars make me claustrophobic). However I'm also a little concerned about my household losing its only SUV - in other words, no four-wheel drive (our winters generate frequent snowy and icy conditions), no large cargo space (I play bass in a band, and my 90 pound combo won't just fit into any car) - I don't even know how we would go on our frequent mountain biking trips with a Prius (rear rack maybe?). So with that in mind I've also checked out the Ford Escape. Which is OK, but of course it's not quite as good in the fuel economy aspect, and it is a bit pricier.

Has anyone else had to make a similar decision? Thank you for any input.

Hi,

Have you looked at the Camry hybrid? It has a lot of room and very comfortable. The price is not that far off either.

The other option is to put a receiver hitch on the Prius and use a light-weight trailer. If you're just doing local trips with the gear, it would be a sweet solution. Although Toyota doesn't give it a tow rating, others (including myself) do. It really is a question about 'risking' the warranty.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

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I own an '06 Prius. I'm on a road trip now. With the back seats down, I've got luggage for two, camping equipment (a one man, and two man tent, sleeping bags, matresses - cooking equipment, cooler) and I might add a full size touring bike (700 wheels) (wheels and saddle off in a soft case).

I think of getting something larger, but I know me - a larger car means carrying more stuff.

I know what a full size double bass looks like, but I can't visualize it in the Prius. However, You can do what I did - take the largest item you think you need to carry and take that to the Toyota dealer and see if you can chuck it into the hatchback.

You can carry your mtn bike(s) inside also. Try the same approach. Take them down to the dealer to see if they'll fit (stacked?).

Anything outside the Prius is going to blow gas mileage. Toyota's manual warns against carrying bikes in a hitch mount, a possible warranty issue.

Yes, the Prius has a lot of interior storage space, believe it or not, once you fold down the seats. It almost convinced me to get it, as I am in the military and have to move a bit. I really didn't like the look and sterotypes of the Prius and the Civic is still very comparable, so that's what I got. The Prius would've been the smarter choice, but I figured it wasn't like I was choosing between a F-150 and a Prius, not much difference.

I looked at the Honda first. However, the salesman didn't seem enthusiastic, and as it turned out, you couldn't fold down the back seats on the Honda. No place to carry my bike.

I chose my car first, then chose my bike, as I am not an avid cyclist, but just like riding every once in a while. I got a nice folding bike that fits easily in my trunk. Just did 50 miles on it yesterday. Boy was my butt sore!

Folding bikes work. I need something I can ride day-after-day. I already owned the bike (carried first on a roof rack on a 95 Saturn, than inside).

I ran into a butt problem on what should have been an easy 50 mile ride in SE South Dakota a couple of days ago.

You have a great couple of rides on the Eastern Shore, in particular the Seagull Century.

Actually, before yesterday the longest bike ride for me had been about 10 miles when I was in 3rd grade? Something like that. Since then I was converted into being a runner...Did my first (and maybe last) marathon in the fall. My folding bike is one of the commuting kind (what I've been using it for), not really meant for 50 miles, I don't think...I would never race on it. BTW, my ride yesterday was on the Washington and Old dominion trail, a very nice trail. It was only 8 miles away, as I've been hanging out in Virginia this month.

Here's a link to my bike, please don't laugh!
http://dahon.com/us/marinerd7.htm

They do make some nice folding bikes for more high end use however, like this one:
http://dahon.com/us/cadenza.htm

I might consider the cadenza if I still like biking once I get out of college and have a little more money. I really like the functionality of folding bikes, and the fact I don't have to use a rack and hurt gas mileage.

For those with lots of money, instead of folding in 30 seconds like the others this one "packs" in 15 minutes:
http://dahon.com/us/tournado.htm

Sorry for going off topic a little?

I've ridden that trail from Vienna to end. A lot of fun.

I'm familiar with Dahon. Good for commuting and knocking around.

However, I think bigger wheels mean a smoother ride.

I own both cars ('05 Ford Escae Hybrid with AWD and the '06 Prius).

The FEH definitely has more cargo space. With seats folded down in both cars the back of the FEH is a definitely longer. I have a board (just a cheap peice of 1x6 pine lumber) that has a fork mount bolted on it (basically one of these: http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=4413 ). My bike will stand up in the back of my FEH.

In the Prius, not only can the bike not stand up but the cargo area is shorter so both front *and* back tires must be removed and the bike must lay down (taking up a lot more space).

The Prius does have a lot of cargo space with the seats folded down, but the back hatch slopes down so there's less space for tall items in the rear and I find a few items that just don't fit in the Prius.

If you need the cargo space often enough then probably the Escape Hybrid is the better option because if you run out of space inside the FEH you still have the option of using a hitch on the back or a roof rack. If you run out of cargo space on the Prius you're sort of out of luck with no 'plan B' for storage. BUT... the Prius blows away the Escape on fuel economy (my FEH seems to average about 32 MPG on a summertime tank (of course this is with AWD, the FWD version gets about 4 mpg better) while my Prius is averaging 52-55 mpg on a summertiime tank.

The Prius has a lot of other cool features (depending on how you equip it) like the bluetooth phone integration, a better nav computer, the keyless entry and starting system, etc.

I'm 6'4" and I do wish the Prius had a few more inches of front seat legroom, the Escape has more legroom.

As for the bikes... I ultimately put a receiver hitch installed and bought a bike rack that mounts to the hitch. This lets me carry my mountain bikes behind the car and still have a lot of interior space for other gear. Ford says the FEH can technically pull 1000 lbs but I dont think I would every pull a trailor with it. Ford recommends bike racks at the rear of the car and not up on the roof due to the enormous fuel economy loss caused by how poor the aerodynamics are when there's a bike rack on the roof (a 15% loss in fuel economy when driving at highway speeds just for having a rack with no bikes on it, and then a 25% loss in economy if you have bikes up there.... ouch!)

The price comparison depends on how you configure it. My Prius and my Ford Escape Hybrid were actually almost the same price (both were just shy of $30k).