Ha! Smarts, too. I meant who in their right mind chooses a Prius for freeway cruising?

Sixto
MB-less

Priuses fit lots of luggage and get good mileage. We took so many road trips down to Washington, D.C. in the Corolla that I can't even remember them all. AC works, what the heck .

Sure, the 'Benz would be more roomy, but the Prius has many other advantages, such as the price of entry.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Leave it to R&T to do such a non sequitur comparison test as the E250 vs the Prius. A RWD vs FWD, economy car vs luxury car, ect.

A serious comparison would be a Golf TDi or Jetta Wagon TDi versus the Prius, then things aren't quite to easy.

The Prius is an ok car, well, made, dependable and reliable, but it is NEVER fun to drive. It's power is delivered in all sorts of odd surges and swells. At least the braking feel has improved with each generation, but it's still far from smooth and linear. And forget cornering...in no small part due to it's slippery tires.

And I'd just never expect to see a 30 year old Prius, with 400,000 miles on it.

__________________
1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.

Very, very few Smart cars have I seen here in the parts of the U.S. I've been travelling. I give ppl a lot of credit/smarts NOT to buy them. A huge # of Priuses in the cities too - be they small towns or large metropolises. People drive what makes sense and cents. E250s do not make either, when it comes right down to it. People that spend that kind of money on a vehicle aren't doing it for economy - you can bank on that. The Prius drivers do not have any MB on their radar scope - of that you can depend. Not one E250 have I seen in (6) states, (1) month, and counting. Priuses? Everywhere.

Exactly. Too bad they didn't do the Golf TDI -- I hadn't thought of it, but that would be a much more appropriate comparison.
That's interesting. I'm not surprised .
I would. I really would.

20 years from now, we'll see who's right .

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

The Prius doesn't even get as good of fuel economy as an M3. Skip to about 3:40 of this to see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmxUsGiGp3w

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Yeah, the BBC is a bit off their rockers too, good entertainment value though...I mean really, they can't even pronounce Prius.

Any car that is running flat out, isn't running at it's peak efficiency. I suspect a 240D in the same conditions would fair just as badly.

__________________
1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.

It would sure burn oil!

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I have heard that the Prius battery must be replaced in the 7-10 year range of age; cost of $10k.

Since I keep cars a long time, that would put me off as far as purchasing a Prius.

I noticed a VW Jetta hybrid the other day. Now that seems a bit strange considering the TDI version likely has better fuel economy. Perhaps the CO2 emitted is lower when used in city?

A diesel hybrid might have been more interesting.

__________________
Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

I am no fan of the Prius, but I believe the battery can be changed for much less than that. I have seen prices below $2000 with list about $2300 and installation in the $500 - $1000 range. This seems quite reasonable. There are many many parts on our Benzes that cost in that range.

__________________
Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

One of those fantastic urban myths. The batteries are extremely rarely replaced. Toyota has them covered for a quite a while, and I know the 2nd gen Prius (the first one we got here) there was that theory, just because technically it was an experimental car still. Toyota didn't have 10-20 years experience with them. Every now and then I see a 2nd gen Prius, but they are very rare.

__________________
1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.

Hybrids are expensive. You're dealing with basically 2 powertrains, and the additional cost is obvious. The Jetta Hybrid is a political reality, that and indeed VW did want to develop their own Hybrid technology. Citroen does have a diesel hybrid, it gets around 60 MPG. But, selling it here would be VERY costly. You have the added costs of diesel emissions after treatment AND a Hybrid powertrain. It would be around $2K more than a gas Hybrid, or a diesel non-hybrid. Take a long time to save that, and as I mentioned the driveablity of hybrids isn't "good".

For me, I'll take a nice TDi with MANUAL transmission. The technology exists already, to produce as 1.4 liter TDi that is as powerful as the 1.9 TDi VW sold just 10 years ago. Now, if they'd just do that...you'd already have car that could get close to 60 MPG.

__________________
1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.

My elderly neighbour owns a 3yr old vw golf tdi wagon (it may be called a Jetta in usa). He has had a lot of trouble with it. It has had to be towed to dealer 5 times because it will not start. And today he told me it just happened again. It appears it has some type of electronic problem. They keep it for a week or more each time it is towed in, but it seems they are unable to cure the no start problem. Based on his experience, I wouldn't touch one. BTW neighbour does have manual transmission. Not sure if we have a lemon law in Canada, but I suggested he find out.

__________________
Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Aren't anecdotes great? Chances are it's the dealer that has your neighbors car screwed up. VW dealers are indeed crap for the most part. I had a 2003 Jetta TDi wagon for 10 years, 95,000 miles. Nothing went wrong with it, I had to replace the glow plugs...that was it. Biggest mistake was selling it, thinking I wanted a 4WD vehicle. Though even that wasn't bad, bought it brand new for $18,900 drove it for 10 years and 95,000 miles and sold it for $14,500...I'd do that again any day of the week, twice on Sunday.

__________________
1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.