Toyota Prius vs Scion XD
Help. I googled my headline and was linked to an old 2005/2006 post on this site. Hoping for an update - especially since the Scion XD is so much more appealing (IMHO) now. I know nothing about cars. My overall goal is to save the most money - period! (Sorry..I don't care as much about the earth - my wallet comes first!) That means upfront costs..gas...insurance...long term repairs. I plan to keep the car a very long time - this is torture. I live in South Florida so no hills and I need to slow down on the highway anyway. Any hints/suggestions/opinions would be appreciated!
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If your ultimate goal is to save money, get the Scion xD. They are way down in sales right now so you should be able to buy at invoice. Hopefully the brand will be around as long as you want to own the car. Scion is doing very poorly in sales right now.
But the cost of a Scion is around $8K less than a Prius. $8K will buy a lot of gas! I hated the Scion xD when I drove it. It has a very high beltline and tiny window in the rear and inside it's as dark as a tomb on a dark night. My wife couldn't figure out where any of the gears were in the Manual and the shifter was like rubbery coal. Of course it's quite cold up here but no other car we drove had those problems. I found the xD had more power than the Fit and was more stable on the highway with enough oomph! to move along as pass ok.
We bought a Civic Si and love it but it's a breeze to drive and my wife just loves the car and it's so slick to shift.
The xD needs a better manual shifter.
our next car will be a super economy model after the summer. I'm holding out with one car now because the new Prius due out in 1-2 years supposedly will get 70mpg!
For now, based on what you write, the xD will save you more money over the Prius, unless you drive 50K miles a year!
Google for Scion dealer problems. They are so down in sales that pure pricing doesn't work and they can't sell what they have in stock.
Toyota might even drop Scion although no one knows.
Pure price works if your sales aren't down 50%.
We also looked at the Prius, and just couldn't make the numbers work. In other words, as efficient as it is, the extra purchase price was not balanced out by the gas mileage, even at $5 per gallon. Read the forums to see what many Prius owners ACTUALLY acheive, and you'll see that 45 mpg is pretty good, but not as big a difference as you might think.
Good luck.
Congrats on the new car! So much for pure Price.
We also looked at the Prius, and just couldn't make the numbers work. In other words, as efficient as it is, the extra purchase price was not balanced out by the gas mileage, even at $5 per gallon. Read the forums to see what many Prius owners ACTUALLY achieve, and you'll see that 45 mpg is pretty good, but not as big a difference as you might think.
The Prius is a good car that can easily be better with an adjustable seat. It's still not going to get awesome fuel economy unless you are very careful how you drive.
I was doing 70mph is a 55 mph area and a Prius blew by me doing at least 80mph! :surprise:
Somehow I don't think he was getting 45 mpg on the highway.
I crunched the numbers myself using EPA figures and the Corolla and the xD which really is a Yaris 5 door with a different body shows that you'd have to drive a long time to make up the difference in fuel.
So if price and fuel are a factor the xD/Corolla type cars win. but for pure outright fuel economy I'd give the prius the edge. I don't know about driving a Prius in the mountains. I think that might hurt the economy just like winter does as the car runs all the time to keep the car warm.
Of course a big advantage of the Prius over the xD (literally) is interior space. Resale is pretty darn good too.
Yes I agree, when I test drove one I was impressed that it felt substantial and that it actually had some power for the highway and was better power-wise than the Fit. But the steering was not all that direct and the shifter was so rubbery and vague that my wife actually had so much trouble driving it that we gave it a pass as I had to drive it back the 3 miles to the dealership.
Now it they'd put that engine in the Fit with the Fit's shifter that would be a dream economy car!
Of course a big advantage of the Prius over the xD (literally) is interior space. Resale is pretty darn good too.
Yes the Prius has a good amount of room but the Prius does that that long sloping nose and the windshield sits very far away from the steering wheel.
But overall I like both cars but neither model meets my current needs. I'll wait and see how the new Fit is but the Prius is on my list I'd just rather buy the next generation Prius than the current one.
Average MPG 39.6!
VERY conservative driving, but probably most prius drivers with their eyes glued to the MPG display drive that way too :-)
VERY conservative driving, but probably most prius drivers with their eyes glued to the MPG display drive that way too
You won't get great fuel economy driving like a wildman anyway.
The Scion xD is a good car and one of the cars we are considering for a second car.
I love teh power it has versus teh more practical Fit.
We dive mostly highways once out of the city and the Fit has trouble merging unless you really gun it.
We also liked the xD b/c there are so few around.
I'l tell you, with the MPG difference between this and the G. Cherokee, this car will pay for itself in no time ;-) plus its better riding than the Jeep.
We couldn't be more pleased.
The automatic in the Fit was underwhelming to say the least but then again it was driven back to back with the manual which was ok but not as good on power as i'd like. We have a lot of maniac drivers up here. :sick:
The xD felt more solid and planted. I really like the Fit's layout and almost everything about the Fit except the lack of power and the lack of a seat height adjustment for my wife.
For me the manual is the way to go, at least for me.
The xD or Fit or whatever we get will be a second car for us. Our primary car is a 2008 Civic Si. I need very supportive seats and the Si is great for that.
I find myself liking the Subaru STI but hate the fuel economy of it. Make a nice family car but my wife can't push the clutch all the way to the floor even with the seat all the way forward.
Sentra!
Interior is top notch, feels like mini Lexus and the deal was excellent. Fully loaded 2008 Sentral SL (with leather, sunroof etc...) was $17k + tax! This was below invoice plice - rebate - coupon.
Gas mileage is rated almost identical to xD, but Sentra is bigger and slighly more powerful car... Anyway, I suggest to test drive one before you make a decision.
Also, my wife appreciates the look of it more then xD that I wanted on the first place
I wish the Prius wasn't so expensive..... I want it more than the XD. I like it's looks better, the mileage, the size etc. Everything but the price!!! :confuse: :confuse: :confuse:
Any thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated!!!
Good luck!
I took my XD on a 320 mile trip which included 3 mountain passes (Snoqualmie, Blewitt, and Stephens, Wa.) I got 36.2 mpg. I had my eyes glued to the MPG indicator and it really affected my driving habits. I probably would have gotten much lower mpg if the indicator were not there.
In the city I’m getting about 25 mpg when I’m driving like an [non-permissible content removed] and about 28 when I’m driving like a polite Seattleite.
So far I am liking the Scion. It is quick enough. One thing though, on the highway, the steering seems just a bit squirrelly. Like if you budge the wheel on accident while you are messing with the Zune (iPod), you might swerve a bit more than you expect.
Next month my brother and I will be driving our new cars from Seattle to Yellowstone and back. We will compare notes and I’ll post the results on this blog.