Cross shopping with the Prius

[chipster]

I'm looking at both the Prius, and the Fiesta. I actually didn't really consider the Fiesta until recently. The dealer experience has been a bit different though with all the Ford dealerships eager to sell at MSRP with no discounts, compared to Toyota which is offering incentives and two years maintenance.

Anyway, my impression is that they are comparable in specs with the main exception of the Prius obviously getting better city gas mileage. I would guess as much as 50% better in real world conditions. However the Fiesta is about $4k less and has more "entertainment" features while the Prius has more "economy driving" features. What I mean by that, is I could see being entertained by hypermiling in the Prius using the EV/Eco modes, different braking, etc. that would be specific to the Prius.

Any thoughts? I've searched the site here, but failed to find a direct comparison.

Thanks!

[MGREEN11]

I don't think it fair to compare a hybrid with the Fiesta and I don't think will find any comparison. You will have to decide which you prefer more: gas mileage or drivability. I do a lot of highway driving, so in my opinion, the Fiesta far outwieghs the Prius with similar MPG, handling, and better available options. If I was doing more city driving, more consideration would have been given to a hybrid. I've never shopped Toyota but I will tell you that I have been extremely impressed with the quality of the Fiesta. It's a very solid and tight car.

[Chan]

If you enjoy driving, get the Fiesta, if you want a commuter and be a hipster, get the Prius.

[Audrey]

When I started thinking about buying a new car I initially looked at hybrids. The environmental impact of the manufacturing, disposal, and replacement (8-10 year life) of the batteries really steered me away. Also, if you have the heat on then the engine has to be on which cuts that precious MPG figure down to below non-hybrids. It rains 9 months out of the year here so you need at the defrost on at least to keep visibility on the windshield. Without a clear environmental benefit (long term), no real MPG benefit most of the time for me, and the possibility of higher repair/maintenance costs down the road I looked for alternatives. I found the Fiesta and the Honda Civic to have the best MPG. The Civic had a lot of room and comfort. But the Fiesta was fun, better handling, and will be more unique on the road. I am happy with my choice. I'd love a Tesla (fully electric), but I probably will never buy a hybrid.

[Jazzdog]

It really depends on your driving pattern. If you spend majority in city or stop-n-go LA freeway then a hybrid MIGHT make sense, but you still won't break even for 8-10 years. If you are driving a hybrid at highway speeds most of the time you probably won't break even.

[tjl]

Relative to the Fiesta, the Prius:

* is bigger (more room inside, but also harder to fit in small parking spaces, though still smaller than many other cars)
* uses about 20% less fuel for my (mostly highway) driving (this is from my driving a co-worker's Prius on a trip similar to my own driving)
* is more expensive (probably about $6,000 more based on how I would theoretically buy a Prius)
* has a softer ride and less sporty handling (less desirable for me, but many buyers in the US prefer that)

Purely in price versus fuel savings, the Prius would likely save me about $200 per year, not exactly a great tradeoff for a $6,000 higher price. Since I do not really need to extra space, and prefer the sportier handling and the firm but not harsh ride of the Fiesta, the Prius is less desirable for me. Some other people may come to different conclusions and choices, of course.

As far as environmental impact of manufacturing a car, I did read something that could be simplified into approximating the gallons of gasoline energy equivalent of that used in making a car. Basically, divide the weight in pounds by 3.3 for a non-hybrid car and 2.9 for a hybrid car to get gallons of gasoline equivalent to the amount of energy used.

So if one uses this approximation, making a 3,000 pound Prius uses energy equivalent to about 1,034 gallons of gasoline, while making a 2,600 pound Fiesta uses energy equivalent to about 788 gallons of gasoline. In contrast, making a 6,000 pound large non-hybrid SUV uses energy equivalent to 1,818 gallons of gasoline.

[bmellin]

Originally Posted by Chan

If you enjoy driving, get the Fiesta, if you want a commuter and be a hipster, get the Prius.

I second this.... the handling is amazing and you will not get that with a prius... I would be interesting to see what impact the fiesta will have on the prius, my mpg have not fallen below 35 and that includes city driving, I cant say nothing bad about this car it is the ultimate driving experience especially with sync

[chipster]

Thanks a ton for the replies, this was the kind of feedback I was looking for!

This will be a tough decision, most of the driving will be in town (stop and go) so I would expect the fuel economy to be significantly better with the Prius. However we are in Minnesota, so not sure how much of an impact the cold temps will have on the hybrid system compared to the Fiesta mpg's.

We do have concerns about the total environmental impact of the Prius, as well as the long term reliability. I just read an article today about the problems people are having with the Honda Civic Hybrid (link to article here).

What about the interior, fit and finish? Do you guys think the Fiesta has pretty good quality interior?

Thanks!

[Zinky]

Originally Posted by chipster

What about the interior, fit and finish? Do you guys think the Fiesta has pretty good quality interior?

Compared to a '11 Toyota Sienna, a lot of the interior plastics are better on the Fiesta, especially the soft covering on the dash and the glove box. The glove box felt thin & brittle on the Toyota. It was a rental Toyota with only 1,100 miles but already the usb/jack was punched in. I was not impressed. Maybe a car sourced from Japan might be better detailed & built than a USA sourced minivan. Pretty much everything your hand rests on is decent quality in the Fiesta. Fabrics are sturdy. Only 1,500 miles on mine, but no rattles, better than the Sienna at the same point.

[Drivenapollo]

A few years ago I did a quick calculation while at work on how much you would have to drive to make up the difference in price between a scion xa (13k) and a prius (about 21k) It would take over 300k miles to make it up in gas.

I think the Fiesta has a great interior. The soft dash is great, and makes a lot of my friends that bought "better" cars upset there car has had plastic. Car is also very quiet at 70mph compaired to many other cars in this price from my experiences. (not having to have my phones volume up all the way to hear it)