Does anyone have a Prius V or Ford C-Max?

[robinb]

Our Mazda5 is a POS and it's now 7 years old and I can't wait to get rid of it. We usually keep our cars for at least 10 years (my Saab 9-3 is 11 years old) and it's killing me that I need to buy a new car already. We want a car with some space, but we also want one that gets good gas mileage and that is reliable. I'm looking at a hatchback at the minimum but probably something bigger like a wagon or small SUV. I do mostly city driving (to and from swim practice, 15 miles round trip every day) and I also drive 300+ miles roundtrip to Chicago multiple times a year.

I am looking at the Prius V Three and the Ford C-Max right now. Does anyone have these cars? Do you like them? I think I might like the C-Max, but I am afraid of it not having any reliability reports since it's a brand new model. I made that mistake with the Mazda5 even though it had been sold in Japan and Europe prior to coming here to the US. I read that the C-Max is based on the Focus and I see that Consumer Reports hates the 2012 Focus' reliability .

If you don't have one of those cars, is there another car you can recommend? My Saab gets 26 MPG and I would really like to improve on that a lot.

Thanks!

 

[crisi]

I have an older Prius and I love it. But.

You have to enjoy driving a Prius - if you drive it like a regular car, you'll get regular car gas mileage.

The sight lines in the older Prius suck (I hear they've gotten better).

When you start it in the cold, it consumes gas for the gas engine to warm up - it consumes gas at start up any time of year, when its colder its worse. So when I'm making a lot of short trips, my mileage is what you'd get with any smallish car. And freeway driving is good gas mileage, but not great. The best gas mileage comes from over ten minute long inner city trips. I talked my brother in law out of a hybrid because they live in a town of 6000 people in North Dakota - they are either on the freeway or they have short trips. Any gas efficient car will work for them, they won't see benefits from a hybrid.

 

[clutter]

I just traded in an 09 Prius. I drove 20,000 a year in a combination of freeway (with/without traffic) a little city and a lot of running around the suburbs. Car got 44mph consistently every winter and 51mph in the summer (there is a difference in summer/winter fuel). (Got about the same in my two prior Priui.) You do need to learn how to drive a hybrid. Speed and short stops will not get you good mileage. I tend to drive fast on the highways, and slower (no more than 5mph over speed limit) off of them. I tend to cruise to a stop when possible.

I test drove the Prius V. I really wanted to get one. But I didn't like the interior at all and ended up with a Camry Hybrid. The V and the Camry both get less gas mileage than the Prius.

 

[Ali]

I own a 2012 Prius V5. I went in to the dealership to buy a highlander and ended up with the V. I've owned it almost a year now and have just hit 10000 miles. I do most driving in town, 5 miles to work and back, and trips to Disney on the weekend for 130 round trip. I get 45 MPG consistently. I fill up with gas less than twice a month. My friends with Honda Odyssey tell me I have the same amount of storage space they have, except they have 1 more row of seats. I was looking at the Dodge Journey V6 and the Mazda 5 before I bought. I would buy it again. But, there are issues with blind spots when trying to merge and sometimes I forget it is on and I turn it on again, which actually turns it off. also, once the car is turned on the key does not need to be in the car to drive it. I don't know what happens when the battery dies, haven't gotten that far with owning it. I've had no replacements, or service issues, or anything. The back speakers are horrible and need to be better from the factory.

I had a Suzuki Grand Vitara luxury edition before that and it got good mileage for a small SUV but had less storage space.

I've heard the the Ford C Max is better for towing things, but I have no plans to do that.

 

[Sinderelly]

After doing alot of research before purchasing my new car. IMHO I wouldn't own a Prius. We test drove a Prius C and I couldn't believe the car had NO power. It was enough to make the car dangerous when pulling into traffic. DH and I said "this car won't even get out of it's own way.

After test driving several, I purchased a 2013 Checy Sonic hatchback. I can't believe how much room for such a small car and the power is THERE when you need it. My gas mileage averages 31 MPG and my driving is 98% city.

I would definitely stay away from Chrysler or Ford. Do alot of research before you buy. Good luck with your future vehicle purchase.

 

[scourtneyb]

I normally drive a Prius, but for a recent trip I borrowed a Prius V and absolutely LOVED it! We drove from Pa to Orlando and only spent about $56 on gas! I was super impressed and have decided my next vehicle will definitely be the Prius V. If you are worried about battery life - I wouldn't even worry. My mom has almost 200,000 miles on her prius and her friend has over 250,000 miles. Neither one of them has had any issues with battery at all.

 

[jedijill]

Motortrend did a comparison of the two:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests...013_ford_c_max_hybrid_comparison/viewall.html

Jill in CO

 

[robinb]

Thanks everyone!

My main concern about the Prius V Three is the cabin noise. I'm not sure if I will spend all that much time driving highway speeds so that may not be an issue.

My main concern about the Ford C-Max is reliability of a new car built on a platform that gets poor marks from Consumer Reports.

I will look at the Chevy Sonic but I think it may be too small.

 

[clutter]

The Prius C is a downgraded Prius. The V has the same Prius engine. (Look at horsepower. The C is 73@4800max RPM, the V is 98@5200max RPM) It's also mini-sized, compared to the Prius. It's not really the same car that the OP is looking at.

 

[lilasmom]

I have a 2012 Prius V and I love it! I only get 38mpg, I'm an aggressive driver ! I'm strictly highway and have a 35 mile commute. My DH is 6'6 and he fits in my back seat. I'd buy it again, good luck.

 

[manning]

Ford has several models that are using the I -4 ecoboost and v-6 ecoboost. May want to look at those. Good on fuel and power.

 

[mrsstats]

We are on our 4th Prius. Last one we just got was the plug in. Great gas mileage on the Prius V. I get around 40 - DH was getting 45 on the highway. the plug in is even better.

Storage space is great. We love it.

 

[Evi]

Chevy Volt. I love my Volt and friends who have prius love my car.