# Toyota Camry Hybrid or Prius V - Best car for full time uber driver?



## painfreepc

*Toyota Camry Hybrid or Prius V - Best car for full time uber driver?*


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## UberXNinja

The Camry Hybrid seems like a much better car overall, but personally I don't like how the Prius V looks. 

Perhaps take a test drive on both and figure out which one suits you better. Consider comfort and handling. Also, which car would hold better long-term in your area, taking into account weather and driving conditions. 

The difference in MPG doesn't seem very significant (Prius 44/40 - Camry 43/39), even for Uber driving when you take into account long-term maintenance and everything else the Camry offers.


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## u_no_me

I'd go Camry. Vehicle price is close enough, Camry will cost a little more over long haul mostly in mpg. BUT you'll be more comfortable in it (unless you like that small cockpit feeling of Prius) AND your backseat passengers will be more comfortable. Sit n back seats of both with someone sitting on the other side - you'll see. 5 adults (4 pass) in a Prius is tight.

BUT if you tend to move stuff around, especially various size and shape, Prius is versatile hatch.


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## ElectroFuzz

UberXNinja said:


> The difference in MPG doesn't seem very significant (Prius 44/40 - Camry 43/39), even for Uber driving when you take into account long-term maintenance and everything else the Camry offers.


I have read somewhere that the maintenance schedule for the Prius
is significantly more expensive.

Regardless, I would choose the Camry.


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## grams777

To me the Camry seems a better choice due to the interior space, features, visibility, and possible ratings implications. The price difference doesn't seem to be that much.

One of these 40 mpg cars could also make quite a difference in what you make. With the latest rounds of rate cuts, a reasonable profit may depend more on you getting over about 25 MPG. The cost difference between 25 and 40 mpg is about 5 cents per mile. Include driving 1 dead mile per each paid mile, and it's equal to about an extra 10 cents per paid mile net. Plus since it's an expense reduction, gross up Uber's commission that you don't pay. That means it's like the gross fare is about 12 cents per mile higher, about a 10% increase.

If you drive 50,000 total miles per year (paid plus unpaid), that's about $2,500 in fuel savings per year. Over 4 years, it's $10k. This is roughly $200 a month - the advertised 24 month lease rate for a Camry Hybrid plus taxes etc, but limited miles. The question then is do you spend $2,500 per year more to get and maintain this high mpg car. Or possibly you get deactivated, in an accident, or move on to something else before you realize the savings.


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## Goober

Why not just a Prius plain up? That's what I drive and my ratings are fine...I normally have the right passenger seat very far up to create more leg room, only moving it back if someone wants to sit upfront. I get right around 50 mpg's.


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## Jeeves

If you want new then yeah just get a prius II, or even a C. This is UberX, really your best bet is buying a car two years newer than the minimum year. Or perhaps a 3-5 year old Prius. Let us know what you decide!


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## Dave

I have a 2014 Camry Hybrid. I average 42 mpg plus it has more power than the Prius V. And it doesn't look like a Prius.


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## Orlando_Driver

I had a 2007 Camry Hybrid, I drove the shit out of that car. I just had to get oil changes and tires ! If you use Mobil 1 0W- 30 oil you can squeeze out a few more MPG 's. ( the Toyota brand oil is Mobil 1 ).


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## philasuburb

Jeeves said:


> If you want new then yeah just get a prius II, or even a C. This is UberX, really your best bet is buying a car two years newer than the minimum year. Or perhaps a 3-5 year old Prius. Let us know what you decide!


I'm Uber X. When I started, my Volvo had about 100,000 miles on it. Drives like new but basically it reached it salvage value when I started driving for Uber.

For anyone wanting to drive Uber X that does not yet own a car, I would recommend a high end car with about 80,000 miles on it. There's no reason not to expect buying a BMW, Volvo, or higher end car with a ton of miles to last more than a couple of years that can be traded in for about half you paid for it.

Depreciation is an expense for Uber X, but when you start at the salvage value, the depreciation expense is -0-.


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## Fauxknight

The V has a lot more cargo room than the Camry, it's a full on wagon in there, size wise the regular Prius is a better comparison. The regular Prius also is cheaper and will get even better gas mileage.

Two other misconceptions on this thread:

1. The PriusV does not have quite the same cramped cockpit feeling of the regular Prius, no silly flying buttress center console on the V. Note that the C also does not have the flying buttress, when I tested a C vs a regular the C felt a lot less cramped even though it is a much smaller car, which is how I ended up picking the C over the regular.

2. Prius maintenance is not expensive. Quite the opposite Prius maintenance is cheaper than most other cars. Oil changes are a little pricey for full synthetic, but you get 10k miles on each change. Most other maintenance intervals are longer as well 90k for the ATF, 100k+ for the brake pads. You might only get 30-35k on the OEM tires, but you can put longer lasting ones on at that point (My OEM tires should last to at least 40k, but they're worn enough I'll have to replace them before we get a decent snowfall this year). Just make sure your dealer is sticking to the book maintenance, my roomy had a dealer sell him overpriced prepaid maintenance on his Prius with 5k oil changes. Oh, and no the batteries on hybrids don't need changed out for a freakishly long time, most gen 1 Prii are still on their original batteries, the doom and gloom from the naysayers never came to pass. (Though Honda has been having some hybrid battery issues, they've been replacing quite a few under warranty.)

That being said, if you want to have the lowest long term costs go regular Prius. The PriusC is even better cost wise, but I'm finding it a bit small for the passengers/luggage I've been moving since starting Uber. If you want a normal looking car that is fairly cheap to operate go Camry, and if you want some serious luggage space go PriusV.


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## jimsbox

Sonata hybrid after 12 model are very nice cars for uber and mine (2013) averages over 40 mpg. Get compliments probably 80% of the time and have had riders try to talk me into taking them when they were waiting for another uber. Also, if buy new has life time battery warranty.


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## VSSteve

I would look into the C-Max... I tried every hybrid car on the market under 35K. They all had one thing in common, very poor rear leg room or head room. I am 6'4" and my litmus test was adjusting the driver seat for myself and then sitting in the back seat. The only car where I had plenty of distance between my knees and the driver seat back and plenty of distance between my head and the headliner was the Ford C-Max Hybrid. So far in 420 miles uber/lyfting in the hilly terrain of Pittsburgh I am averaging 44 mpg.


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## UberLuxbod

100k for brake pads?

In a Prius.

Really?

Used for work in an Urban Enviroment I very much doubt it.

Though the Prius is a cheap car to maintain for sure.

There are some 2006 Prius knocking about London that have been used for work from new.

The Co that had them new put between 120k and 150k on them in 3 years.

So i doubt if many have less than 300k on them now.


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## Fauxknight

UberLuxbod said:


> 100k for brake pads?
> 
> In a Prius.
> 
> Really?
> 
> Used for work in an Urban Enviroment I very much doubt it.


By the book at least. Agreed they may not last that long under Uber conditions, but under normal conditions most of the breaking is done by the engine and it only switches to the friction brakes under heavy breaking or at very low speeds, generally right before you bring the vehicle to a halt.

Checked the Prius forums postings on this matter. Most owners seem to be well past 100k before they need new pads.


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## UberLuxbod

I suspect they are doing mostly highway miles and also doing a fair bit of hypermiling aswell.

A more realistic lifespan would be 20/30k for pads and change the discs every second pair of discs.

Also note that pads don't last as long as they did when they contained asbestos i got 80k out of front pads in a diesel Vauxhall Omega TD (auto) when using it for work.

I get 25k out of the front pads on my current car which is a bit lighter than an Omega due to aluminium construction.

Not sure exactly how much engine braking there is with a Prius as they have a CVT box.

I did drive one for a few weeks back in 08 and can't say it felt much different to a normal auto.

Which don't have much in the way of engine braking.


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## Fauxknight

My pads are at about 70% left after 35k miles of delivery and Uber driving. That's 80-90% city driving with an aweful lot of traffic lights and stop signs. So I'm moving properly towards a 100k-ish pad change even under harsh conditions.

The planetary gear system is barely related to an automatic transmission, it doesn't really have gear settings, but rather the output is based on the input from the MG1, MG2, and the ICE. Even my Rogue which was classified as a CVT was a completely different animal, it still shifted the belt to create the drive ratio, and it had paddle shifters to manipulate these ratios...you won't find paddle shifters on a Prius:

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

In regards to braking, most hybrids use regenerative braking which routes your forward momentum through the electric motor(s) forcing them to spin and generate power which is then stored in the HV/traction battery. If you understood that PSD article, then you can correlate how this works with a Prius. In a Prius if one doesn't brake too hard, all (yes all) breaking performed above the 8-11ish mph range is routed through the planetary gear system as regenerative braking. This makes about 75-90% of all braking performed engine breaking which is where the 100k and 200k+ pad changes come from.


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## UberLuxbod

Nobody I have spoken to is reporting 100k pad life.

And how do you know the pads have 70% life remaining?

Have you removed and compared to a new pad?

What is the minimum you would consider acceptable?

On my car the brake pad warning light comes on with plenty of pad left probably 3 or 4mm minimum.

Without a pad wear warning light I have known many happy to run pads down to less than 2mm.

But in a vehicle that carries passengers I think you should keep brakes and tyres in good condition.

My tyres are replaced when still well within legal limits, 1.6mm over central 2/3 of the tyre from memory.

I don't let them get below 2mm


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## Fauxknight

UberLuxbod said:


> And how do you know the pads have 70% life remaining?


They're just over 7mm left, OEM spec is 11mm. Depending on how far I burn them down before swapping they are around half or less missing. Probably won't get 100k, but I'm already well past your 25k figure with plenty of pad left.



> But in a vehicle that carries passengers I think you should keep brakes and tyres in good condition.
> 
> My tyres are replaced when still well within legal limits, 1.6mm over central 2/3 of the tyre from memory.
> 
> I don't let them get below 2mm


2mm is dangerously low for a rainy day and completely useless in snow. My dealer pulls my roadside assistance if I go in with less than 4/32" ( about 3.2mm). Consequently I had precisely 4/32" this last trip and will be getting new tires well before any real snow hits.


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## Jay2dresq

UberLuxbod said:


> 100k for brake pads?
> 
> In a Prius.
> 
> Really?
> 
> Used for work in an Urban Enviroment I very much doubt it.
> 
> Though the Prius is a cheap car to maintain for sure.
> 
> There are some 2006 Prius knocking about London that have been used for work from new.
> 
> The Co that had them new put between 120k and 150k on them in 3 years.
> 
> So i doubt if many have less than 300k on them now.


My Escape Hybrid has nearly 90,000 miles on it, and when I had it inspected last month, the brake pads still looked almost new.


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## UberLuxbod

Fauxknight said:


> They're just over 7mm left, OEM spec is 11mm. Depending on how far I burn them down before swapping they are around half or less missing. Probably won't get 100k, but I'm already well past your 25k figure with plenty of pad left.
> 
> 2mm is dangerously low for a rainy day and completely useless in snow. My dealer pulls my roadside assistance if I go in with less than 4/32" ( about 3.2mm). Consequently I had precisely 4/32" this last trip and will be getting new tires well before any real snow hits.


Snow?

Have driven in snow many times with tyres with less than 3mm.

Never been an issue but then we don't get much snow in the UK.

And as far as wet weather performance goes if you are driving with so little forward vision that you would need to brake sharply your tread depth is the least of your problems.

2mm is also the min tread depth used by the Ambulance Service in London.

And your dealer pulls your RA.

Due to tread depth.?

Glad I live in a free country then.

The laws regarding tread depth are set down in law.

If it was up to Dealers then we would be changing tyres every 5k or so.

What is the legal minimum tread depth?

Or does that vary by State?

The road surfaces used in the UK and US are likely not the same.

I am more than happy with my position on tyres and brakes.

Probably the advantage of being an advanced driver who was accident free in his career in the Emerg Services.

But what do I know......


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## UberLuxbod

Jay2dresq said:


> My Escape Hybrid has nearly 90,000 miles on it, and when I had it inspected last month, the brake pads still looked almost new.


What they look like is not the whole story.

My rear pads looked new, till the pad warning light came on.

Admittedly it does seem to be set to go off early.

But then the car is nearly 2ton has the thick end of 280bhp and well over 400ft lbs of torque so I can perhaps understand that as there is a lot of heat to disipate.

One other comment about previous comments.

I don't agree that a pad worn from 11mm to 7mm has 70% life left though.

I personally viee that as being 50% worn.

As I would be looking to replace them at 3mm.


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## Uber-Doober

Fauxknight said:


> By the book at least. Agreed they may not last that long under Uber conditions, but under normal conditions most of the breaking is done by the engine and it only switches to the friction brakes under heavy breaking or at very low speeds, generally right before you bring the vehicle to a halt.
> 
> Checked the Prius forums postings on this matter. Most owners seem to be well past 100k before they need new pads.


^^^
Yeh, that's what I hear from the people that own them, and one guy for about 130k in NYC. Most of the braking is done by the regenerative braking system but slightly at the expense of the front tires. I also hear that the high-pressure run-flat tires really give a lot better mileage on the prius (Michelin I think but not sure) but are a lot noisier going over tar strips and expansion joints between the cement pads on concrete streets.


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## uberboy48

VSSteve said:


> I would look into the C-Max... I tried every hybrid car on the market under 35K. They all had one thing in common, very poor rear leg room or head room. I am 6'4" and my litmus test was adjusting the driver seat for myself and then sitting in the back seat. The only car where I had plenty of distance between my knees and the driver seat back and plenty of distance between my head and the headliner was the Ford C-Max Hybrid. So far in 420 miles uber/lyfting in the hilly terrain of Pittsburgh I am averaging 44 mpg.


Would the Ford c max gas/electric version like the Chevy volt be better then the hybrid for uber x?


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## UberXTampa

UberLuxbod said:


> 100k for brake pads?
> 
> In a Prius.
> 
> Really?
> 
> Used for work in an Urban Enviroment I very much doubt it.
> 
> Though the Prius is a cheap car to maintain for sure.
> 
> There are some 2006 Prius knocking about London that have been used for work from new.
> 
> The Co that had them new put between 120k and 150k on them in 3 years.
> 
> So i doubt if many have less than 300k on them now.


178k miles and still same original brake pads. On Tuesday I was at Toyota service and they still checked Ok. Prius has been the cheapest to maintain car I ever owned. I owned Camry, Avalon, rx300, win star and cavalier.


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## zandor

Sounds like someone's been good about using regenerative braking. Brake early and gently in a hybrid and the electric motor/generator will do most of the work, so better mpg and much longer brake pad life.

Between the Camry and Prius V I like riding in a Camry a little better, but only a little. I haven't driven a Prius V. It's close though, and the biggest perk of the Camry for pax is that it's wider so three in the back seat is more comfortable. The "killer feature" of the Prius V is that the back seats recline. Leg room isn't great, but it's good enough for most men and the reclining seats let it more or less keep up with a midsize car. The best reason I can come up with to go with a Camry over a Prius V is the Camry is bigger and heavier so you're probably a little less likely to get hurt or killed in a crash if you're driving the Camry. The Camry also seems a little nicer.


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## UberXTampa

zandor said:


> Sounds like someone's been good about using regenerative braking. Brake early and gently in a hybrid and the electric motor/generator will do most of the work, so better mpg and much longer brake pad life.
> 
> Between the Camry and Prius V I like riding in a Camry a little better, but only a little. I haven't driven a Prius V. It's close though, and the biggest perk of the Camry for pax is that it's wider so three in the back seat is more comfortable. The "killer feature" of the Prius V is that the back seats recline. Leg room isn't great, but it's good enough for most men and the reclining seats let it more or less keep up with a midsize car. The best reason I can come up with to go with a Camry over a Prius V is the Camry is bigger and heavier so you're probably a little less likely to get hurt or killed in a crash if you're driving the Camry. The Camry also seems a little nicer.


The Camry sound insulation is better and engine noise is less. suspensions are better as well. I think this deserves multiple MPG sacrifice ove a Prius.


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## azndriver87

Hyundai Sonata,
with 10 years/100,000 miles warranty, you may be saving more money down the road.


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## Fauxknight

azndriver87 said:


> Hyundai Sonata,
> with 10 years/100,000 miles warranty, you may be saving more money down the road.


Hyundai tends to get overlooked, but they've always made inexpensive reliable fuel efficient vehicles. Prices have gone up a bit on them as they've become more mainstream, but they've also come a long way in making more desirable vehicles.

I'm secretly hoping they actually put their Santa Cruz concept into production.


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## azndriver87

in my area, you can get a sonata the same price you get a camry.


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## Mr_Frenchie

I also notice that the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has a lifetime warranty on their hybrid battery. crazy.


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## Fauxknight

Mr_Frenchie said:


> I also notice that the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has a lifetime warranty on their hybrid battery. crazy.


Nice to have, but then again most hybrid batteries are lasting a very long time. The biggest issues with the batteries are factory defects which usually pop up fast enough to be covered under lesser warranties *cough Honda cough*.


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## azndriver87

Keep in mind, hyundai hybrid lifetime warranty only applies to "original owner", 2nd owner and more will only get 10years/100,000 miles.

power train warranty is only good is if you have proof you are doing your recommended schedule maintenance on time; they wont fix your transmission @ 90,000 miles if youve never done fluid flush (recommended at 60,000 miles)


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## Majkel

And honda civic vs toyota camry (both hybrid)? There is big difference in mpg ?


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## Fauxknight

Majkel said:


> And honda civic vs toyota camry (both hybrid)? There is big difference in mpg ?


Civic is cheaper and has higher EPA ratings. My problem is that Honda hybrids had some serious battery issues for a few years there, particularly in the Accord hybrid. At one point the newer model Accords had about a 30% failure rate on the hyrbid batteries within the first couple of years. I don't know if they've fixed the issues yet, but it's turned me off of Honda hyrbids. Granted all the bad batteries were all replaced under warranty, but I would still hate to have the issue come up. Toyota just has a higher reliability record both on the battery and the rest of the vehicle.


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## UberXTampa

Toyota made the hybrid what it is. 
They are the best hybrid technology while everyone else is a copycat. 
Honda EPA mileage claims were subject to a litigation. they were lower than reported and Honda lost in court. 
If you consider a Hybrid, any Toyota/Lexus is better.


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## Uber-Doober

Fauxknight said:


> Civic is cheaper and has higher EPA ratings. My problem is that Honda hybrids had some serious battery issues for a few years there, particularly in the Accord hybrid. At one point the newer model Accords had about a 30% failure rate on the hyrbid batteries within the first couple of years. I don't know if they've fixed the issues yet, but it's turned me off of Honda hyrbids. Granted all the bad batteries were all replaced under warranty, but I would still hate to have the issue come up. Toyota just has a higher reliability record both on the battery and the rest of the vehicle.


^^^
Yeah, also do a search on Honda Hybrid variable transmissions. 
Friend of mine didn't buy one based on a search that he accidentally found. 
Really finicky transmissions in the Honda versions.... shuddering, juddering, burning out of the friction surfaces, etc.


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## uberboy48

Goober said:


> Why not just a Prius plain up? That's what I drive and my ratings are fine...I normally have the right passenger seat very far up to create more leg room, only moving it back if someone wants to sit upfront. I get right around 50 mpg's.


How many miles you got? And how is maintenance expenses?


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## Fauxknight

uberboy48 said:


> How many miles you got? And how is maintenance expenses?


Maintenance is super cheap on a Prius, lower than any other car you've ever owned, and their near indestructible as far as other components breaking. I'm at 90k miles now, when I first posted on this thread I was under 40k miles. I haven't had to do anything particularly odd or repair any random broken components yet unless you count headlights, which are cheap and take all of 30 seconds to swap out. Tire rotations every 5k, oil changes every 10k, and a more thorough inspection every 30k. Had my 90k done a couple of weeks ago, they didn't find any issues.

To the naysayers, my brake pads have over 90k miles on them and still measure in the green by the dealers standards.


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## uberboy48

Fauxknight said:


> Maintenance is super cheap on a Prius, lower than any other car you've ever owned, and their near indestructible as far as other components breaking. I'm at 90k miles now, when I first posted on this thread I was under 40k miles. I haven't had to do anything particularly odd or repair any random broken components yet unless you count headlights, which are cheap and take all of 30 seconds to swap out. Tire rotations every 5k, oil changes every 10k, and a more thorough inspection every 30k. Had my 90k done a couple of weeks ago, they didn't find any issues.
> 
> To the naysayers, my brake pads have over 90k miles on them and still measure in the green by the dealers standards.


Yeah I agree so far, I bought mine at 34000 miles now it's at 68k and today is the first time I spent a lot of money on maintenance, bout 300, but before that it's like you said oil change and tires, you full time driver? My miles are getting close to 100k so been worried on issues creeping up and battery life, I hear so many different things on how many miles a Prius lasts before serious issues happen, what are you planning on doing when your mileage gets to six figures?


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## Fauxknight

Yes, I drive full time. Prii should be fine to 300k or so, but like any other car there is a steep drop in resale after 100k. That drop is bad if you unload the car right then, but if you keep it an extra year or two it becomes relatively insignificant. At the moment I plan on keeping mine 2-3 more years, but events already in motion might unfold that could make it worth me swapping it out for a newer Prius.


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## uberboy48

Fauxknight said:


> Yes, I drive full time. Prii should be fine to 300k or so, but like any other car there is a steep drop in resale after 100k. That drop is bad if you unload the car right then, but if you keep it an extra year or two it becomes relatively insignificant. At the moment I plan on keeping mine 2-3 more years, but events already in motion might unfold that could make it worth me swapping it out for a newer Prius.


If it last to 300K miles I would profit more if I keep it because if I swap it for another car I would owe money to the bank, but if I pay off this Prius at around 120 K miles for example imagine all the profit I get to keep if I drive it up to 300K miles


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## truedarthvader

Between the Camry and Prius V I like riding in a Camry a little better, but only a little. I haven't driven a Prius V. It's close though, and the biggest perk of the Camry for pax is that it's wider so three in the back seat is more comfortable. The "killer feature" of the Prius V is that the back seats recline. Leg room isn't great, but it's good enough for most men and the reclining seats let it more or less keep up with a midsize car. The best reason I can come up with to go with a Camry over a Prius V is the Camry is bigger and heavier so you're probably a little less likely to get hurt or killed in a crash if you're driving the Camry. The Camry also seems a little nicer.


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## Lion88

I think, Camry! With the combined might of gas and electric, the 2016 Hybrid Camry is capable to achieve even more Horsepower – around 200. That allows it to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds. Furthermore, the fuel-efficiency is also great...the-cars net/2016-toyota-camry-hybrid-review


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## Undermensch

Lion88 said:


> I think, Camry! With the combined might of gas and electric, the 2016 Hybrid Camry is capable to achieve even more Horsepower - around 200. That allows it to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.6 seconds. Furthermore, the fuel-efficiency is also great...the-cars net/2016-toyota-camry-hybrid-review


One neat thing about the 2016 Camry Hybrid is it gets about the same MPG as the 2016 Prius V (which didn't get updated with the new 2016 Prius power train), but the Camry has a 17 gallon tank compared to a 11.9 gallon tank in the Prius V.

As a result, the Camry can go almost 200 miles further between fill ups than the Prius V (700+ vs 500+).


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## Toyota Guy

I sell both vehicles new and used. The Camry is more conventional, has a better ride, and will hold it's value better. Both vehicles should be good to 200-300K miles without major costs.


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## thai-chi-master

I do not know about the Camri really want to hear something good about it, but I can tell you about Prius. After 1.5 year inside the Prius I started having pain in my back due to lower arm rest, not very comfortable for long drive/shift as UberX driver. Currently I run Merc which is great but cant make livings. So will downgrade to X from EXEC.


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## VictorD

Was it really necessary to reply to a thread that has been inactive for nearly 3 years?


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## thai-chi-master

VictorD said:


> Was it really necessary to reply to a thread that has been inactive for nearly 3 years?
> 
> The simple fact that someone would actually take the time and effort to find a thread this old...
> 
> The idiocy is unreal.


 The time is main fam don't like it go hate somewhere else?!


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