Fadra Buys A Car Part 2: Why I Didn’t Buy a Prius V

Fadra Nally |

Updated: Dec 26, 2013

A Girls Guide to Cars | Fadra Buys A Car Part 2: Why I Didn't Buy a Prius V - photo 31

photo-31 When we last left Fadra Nally, she was coiled and ready to strike, having picked out a Prius v as replacement for her Ford Flex. Fadra crunched the numbers and found that between the difference in montly payments and gas savings, she could save $340 a month by making the switch. She had overcome the objections of her son, who didn’t want to give up the spacious chariot she’d been escorting him around in, and she’d even chosen the color she wanted: Blizzard Pearl.

So, what inspired a second thought?

Fadra was enticed to think about her car not as a mom–considering all points except how she feels about it–and think like a person for a moment: What about MY experience? How will the car make ME feel? And so begins the dance of head and heart:

Why I Didn’t Buy a Prius V

I made this grand statement a few weeks ago about how I was getting ready to move and buy a new house and thought it was an excellent time to buy a new car. Because I’m made of money.

Actually, my original post mentioned that if I were to purchase the Toyota Prius v, it would actually be a cost savings for me. Here’s how it was going to work.

1. Dump nice, but gas-guzzling crossover type vehicle
2. Buy new Prius v
3. Have lower monthly car payments
4. Save tons of money in gas
5. Live happily ever after

Sounds good, right? I’d do a trade-in and then buy the Prius v I wanted (Trim 5, Blizzard Pearl with a Bisque Softex interior). My husband even put a deposit down on it.

I had a chance to drive the regular Prius when I went to TWIN camp and liked it. I knew the drive was a bit different but thought I could get used to it. It’s a pretty popular car after all.

But my husband, wise man that he is, insisted I test drive it just to be sure.

So I did.

And Evan complained the whole time in the back seat which might have set the mood for the test drive. He liked my Ford Flex with the mini refrigerator and DVD player. This car clearly seemed stripped down to him. And you know what? It seemed stripped down to me too.

More importantly, the low horsepower made the get up and go feel like it got up and went. It was fine for stop and go driving but when we entered the highway, Mr. Salesman decided that he needed to put it in Power mode to give it the extra boost. I understand the need for the mode but it wasn’t something I wanted to have to rely on.

Aside from the test drive, this particular dealership didn’t give me the warm fuzzies for a lot of different reasons. So I said no thank you, got the deposit refunded, and decided maybe I should just keep my gas guzzler after all.

Then, Sean, my husband, told me to maybe try out the Toyota Camry Hybrid.
Screen-Shot-2012-05-31-at-12.37.40-AM
But I don’t want a sedan. I’ll have no cargo space! I whined. But it did look nice. So I did a little research.

I found one in Cypress Pearl, a gorgeous shade of metallic green, with an interior of Ivory Leather trimmed with microsuede.

You know where this is going, right?

I fell in love with that car. I felt like I went from driving a big schoolbus to a shiny red Ferrari. It makes driving fun again. It has a smooth suspension with sport handling. It had every luxury that I didn’t really want to give up (moonroof, power seats, leather) but couldn’t really get in a Prius. And it had ridiculously good gas mileage.

So I bought into it hook, line, and sinker. And I bought that car, after I walked out of yet another dealership and found it at a different dealership* with the price I wanted.

It’s been almost a week since I bought that car. I’ve put over 400 miles on that car and still don’t need gas. I took that car to Philadelphia and back and I still don’t need gas. I’m averaging 38 to 40 mpg and I get excited every time I go out to my car.

So here’s what I’ve learned. You don’t have to sacrifice comfort and luxury or even eco-friendly to drive a hybrid (although that’s just good to be anyway). You simply have to be economically driven and find the car that works for you.

I guess I don’t really need all that cargo space.

Disclosure: I was selected for participation in the Toyota TWIN community, but I did not receive any compensation for writing this post, or payment in exchange for participating. The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not reflect the views of the Toyota.