Recommended vehicle? (Roanoke, Franklin, Boones Mill: 2009, buying, live in)

[eebrbee]

Hey guys! I was just wondering if the vehicle type really matters here in Roanoke. I have a small Ford Contour now and I know that every time I visit Roanoke it makes a loud noise to go over some of the hills and mountains haha. I was looking in to getting a Jeep Liberty or maybe a Honda Civic, with gas prices going up the Honda would be a good choice. Any suggestions?

[j1n]

You don't need anything special for the terrain here. If your Contour gets good gas mileage, that's all you'll ever need here. No real need for anything 4wd unless you know you will need it (live off the beaten path...graded driveway or something). Front wheel drive is all you'll need for a Roanoke winter.

[Erin1264]

I agree. It totally depends on your driveway! (or your road if you're on a really windy one or something).

I've been here for 2 winters now and my Cavalier has been fine. DH has an Outback (4WD) and we really like that. My next car will probably be 4WD "just in case" the last 2 mild winters have been a fluke!

[seanpecor]

I have a Prius and if you have to commute > 20 miles to work the extra money you pay for the Prius is worth it. We get 48mpg and that's mostly state highway driving. If we lived in the city it would be more like 52mpg or so. I have a 2,000' gravel drive and have no issues with our Prius.

Do the math. If you drove 15 miles to work daily, that's 30 miles, call it 33 miles for your extra errands every day. Say with some weekend trips you average 205 miles a week. Add an annual road trip or two and say you average 12,000 miles a year. At 50mpg you'd buy 240 gallons in gas for the year. At $3.50 a gallon, you'd spend $840 for the year, or $70 a month in gas. Compare that to the Honda CRV which would get around 20mpg in similar driving. With the CRV you'd spend $175 a month in gas.

We live in the country and in almost 3 years we've driven our Prius 58,000 miles. We've probably used about 1,180 gallons in gas. If we owned a car that "only" got 30mpg in mixed driving, we would have had to buy another 800 gallons to get us that far! With today's fuel prices that's about a $2,400 savings.

Apparently the 2009 Prius is going to be MUCH more fuel efficient!

I'm pretty sure that within 3 years we'll see gas hit $5 a gallon. The war isn't the major reason why oil is so high right now. It's China and other developing countries who are buying MUCH more oil to fuel their economic booms. With China's economy growing at 10% a year, imagine their oil use in 5 years?

Sean

[Waterfront]

Sean,

I am not alone! After owning Hondas since 1981, we purchased a 2008 Prius back in October 2007, and I'm happy to hear it will not be the only one on the road in Franklin County!

At that time, I recall that all the 'math' examples were based upon gasoline being $ 3.00 a gallon! Did I hear correctly that AAA says it will be $ 4.00 this summer? I believe a statewide survey of gasoline prices showed that Roanoke has the lowest prices in the state.

We currently get 49.3 mpg driving on state roads here in Northern Neck (we are a 2 stoplight county!), and got as high as 51.5 mpg in warmer weather.

I was a bit concerned how 'compatible' it would be with your roads there (Bethlehem, Dillons Mill, Callaway), so I'm glad to hear you're pleased with yours. How does it do in the snow?

Waterfront

[seanpecor]

Hey Waterfront,

I found the stock tires to be fair on the snow and nice, but when it was time to have them replaced, I opted for some good Michelin all seasons and I've been very, very happy with those. I think the Prius is pretty well balanced in the slippery stuff. For such a small car, it does weigh about 3,000 pounds right? I think that heft really helps in the snow. That and the relatively long wheelbase for such a compact car helps also.

Of course, this past winter, you could count the number of snowy days on one hand, and that hand could have been missing about 3 fingers

There are quite a few Prius owners in Franklin County, and I've noticed alot more lately. I think in just my semi-regular trips to town and such I noticed about ten of them out and about. It's a start

I know with $4/gallon diesel, I avoid driving my 12.8mpg Ford F-350 as much as humanly possible. Even if I have to take a grain trip, as long as its less than 300 pounds of grain, I'll take the Prius! Otherwise it's $3 just to drive the F-350 to the Boones Mill Southern States and back.

Sean

[tootired]

Prius? Nice mileage, but you'll have to drive one 'til the wheels fall off to save enough on gas to equal the initial price. And have you priced the battery replacement they eventually require? Ouch! A status toy. I have an original Scion xB, (made by Toyota also). I get 30 in the city, and 36 highway. (The 2008s changed; larger, more horses, and thirstier). I plan to drive my xB 'til the wheels fall off, just because I really like it. There are lots of other vehicles that get similar or better mileage, for a third the Prius' sticker price.

[seanpecor]

There is virtually nothing that gets 50mpg in the city with room for 5 adults, and storage. The "status" issue is overused. You can get a new Prius for $24K MSRP in Roanoke. What the hell can you buy new for $8K? The battery has an 8 year warranty. I didn't buy my Prius to demonstrate how pro-environment I am. I bought it because it was time for a new car, and I did the math.

Sean

[Waterfront]

Mad Scientist Sean,

So seriously, how many horses can you carry in the Prius? Yes, I can understand why the 350 would spend a lot of time on the porch these day. But couldn't you just hook up the 350 to the Southern States and drag it down Bethlehem Rd closer to you?

Thanks for the feedback on the tires/snow. We never got any snow accumulation in Northern Neck this winter, so no chance to test the Prius in the snow.

Pricewise we paid $23K for a 2008 PKG 2 model back in October. As I recall, top prices were in the mid $27K for the leather package, bluetooth, etc.. With the 8-year warranty on the battery, I'll take my chances.

See ya around...

[seanpecor]

LOL.

I went the $27K route back in 2005, back when I don't believe leather was an option. Leather would have held up better!

Sean