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'Fess Up, Who Hunts out of a Prius?

I have a prius. I love my Japanese sipper! Average 43mpg, and only takes 8 or so gallons to filler her up. (She's an old gal born around 2006, so newer ones probably do better on gas.)

As far as for hunting, if you have really good roads then she will roll with you. Plenty of room for gear and a buck.

I have to emphasize really good roads. I once got this thing stuck in a mud puddle and had to be pulled out - not exaggerating. Wet roads you have to be careful with and snow forget about it.

I take mine to a WMA I hunt, but it's paved roads all the way to the parking lot. If you have a bike, should be able to pair the two and access more areas.

Overall, as much as I love my prius, especially now days, I would not recommend them for hunting because they are way to easy to get stuck, which severely limits your areas.
 
I have a prius. I love my Japanese sipper! Average 43mpg, and only takes 8 or so gallons to filler her up. (She's an old gal born around 2006, so newer ones probably do better on gas.)

As far as for hunting, if you have really good roads then she will roll with you. Plenty of room for gear and a buck.

I have to emphasize really good roads. I once got this thing stuck in a mud puddle and had to be pulled out - not exaggerating. Wet roads you have to be careful with and snow forget about it.

I take mine to a WMA I hunt, but it's paved roads all the way to the parking lot. If you have a bike, should be able to pair the two and access more areas.

Overall, as much as I love my prius, especially now days, I would not recommend them for hunting because they are way to easy to get stuck, which severely limits your areas.
Good to know. I have some places where I like the peace of mind the AWD and ground clearance of the forester. But I have some places where you can drive on a paved road and park on a paved or gravel parking space.

2 questions. Would AWD have helped with your puddle trouble, and do people put roof racks on the things? A little carbon fiber canoe is on the bucket list...
 
So, general concensus is that them what have em like em. Noted.

At some point I want to drive the hybrid crosstrek and the AWD prius model. Still probably a couple of years out on a purchase. I don't think I'd want to rely on just electric, but if you have 2 cars I think hybrids are starting to make more and more sense. The wife and I drive, but we drive like seniors and aren't really car people. I just want to get from a to b in one piece for the least amount of money and stress possible.

I've done the beater thing to death. 29 years old and have owned 4 paid-in-cash cars and driven them to 250k or better miles. Literally driven 2 to the point they had to be scrapped. The ole suburban is getting worked until it dies in the field (been driving it for 15 years now), but after that I'm vowing to put the first 200k on every vehicle i own and not the last, payments and be damned if necessary. The subaru we bought has been the easiest and least stressful 50k I've ever driven. Again, not a car guy. I've worked on plenty and did it because I had to. Hate it with a passion. I frigging love making my car payment.

And, driving 15mph vehicles is for losers. 32 is great....50 sounds even better.

Any issues with hybrid battery efficiency in cold weather or any other little quirks folks have found?

Yes, Hybrid batteries kinda hate winter. When I'm running the heater a lot my mpg drops to about 37. On a good day I get 42.

My best mileage (the bragged near-50mpg) is in early summer or late fall, windows up, AC on very lightly (in my car, it'll operate the AC on an electric level, but if you ask for COLD it needs the engine, which knocks the mpg by 3-5). In high-heat summer, I'm getting more like 42-44mpg around town, slightly worse on the highway.

I also do beaters.
- 1998 Honda CR-V eventually had 458,000 miles on it. Never had a big problem.
- 2003 Honda Civic had 300k when I scrapped it - radiator cracked, head warped, that's when I decided to buy my Hybrid.
- 2007 Honda Odyssey has close to 300k on it, no problems.
- 1998 Toyota 4Runner has 302k on it, but has developed an undiagnosable propensity to stall out. No codes, cleaned the MAF, throttle body, IAC valve, replaced the fuel filter... still likes to vex me. I'm making junior drive it to build character.
- 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid (recently "gifted" to my daughter from my parents). The Hybrid battery is throwing "deteriorated" codes, and replacing that battery will cost 1750-2500. It's another character-building experience, for a college kid.

My advice, if you friggin love making a car payment and not working on them: lease a AWD hybrid for 2-3 years. By then battery deterioration will naturally become someone else's problem and you get a fresh new lease/battery. Keep a beater/hauler around for the bigger jobs and spare yourself going over on lease miles that way.

My brother has a Tesla and I think he's a bit nuts (I just don't trust their long-term reliability and at the price they get, it's not a car I would own for just a few years... I tend to buy till it dies and live a few years without car payments as it slowly circles the bowl toward death)
 
Hybrid batteries, $ 3 to $5k replacement costs.

I’ve priced a replacement hybrid battery for my Prius for future reference. There’s a company called Green Bean that will replace it with a remanufactured battery for around $1600. You can also troubleshoot it yourself and replace individual cells. The battery itself doesn’t look too hard to swap out if you can source a battery. A stealership will probably charge $4-5K.
 
I’ve priced a replacement hybrid battery for my Prius for future reference. There’s a company called Green Bean that will replace it with a remanufactured battery for around $1600. You can also troubleshoot it yourself and replace individual cells. The battery itself doesn’t look too hard to swap out if you can source a battery. A stealership will probably charge $4-5K.
Yeah places that repack batteries can do it for a deal, NAPA kinda places so yeah absolutely gonna run you around 1800.

Still no free lunch for these MPGs
 
My advice, if you friggin love making a car payment and not working on them: lease a AWD hybrid for 2-3 years. By then battery deterioration will naturally become someone else's problem and you get a fresh new lease/battery. Keep a beater/hauler around for the bigger jobs and spare yourself going over on lease miles that way.
Have you (or anybody on here, for that matter) actually leased a car? Every time I've looked into it it seems mad expensive, especially considering that you're on the hook for anything beyond "normal wear and tear" and have to pay extra for mileage. Like I said I do drive a lot and while I'm pretty considerate of my vehicles I also hunt, fish, camp, and haul a dog in one. I consider it "use" not "abuse," but I think a dealer may disagree.

To me buying low-mileage, newish-used for a good price and interest rate, taking care of it, and selling it as soon as it starts to show its a$$ seems to be the winning strategy. I'll add that the wife and I are pretty patient buyers and sat on our home and first "new" car purchase for multiple years waiting on the right deal.

But, that said, I've never leased. I would consider it for a second car if I was not 100% sure what I wanted. It may make sense for something like trying out a plug-in hybrid.
 
Have you (or anybody on here, for that matter) actually leased a car? Every time I've looked into it it seems mad expensive, especially considering that you're on the hook for anything beyond "normal wear and tear" and have to pay extra for mileage. Like I said I do drive a lot and while I'm pretty considerate of my vehicles I also hunt, fish, camp, and haul a dog in one. I consider it "use" not "abuse," but I think a dealer may disagree.

To me buying low-mileage, newish-used for a good price and interest rate, taking care of it, and selling it as soon as it starts to show its a$$ seems to be the winning strategy. I'll add that the wife and I are pretty patient buyers and sat on our home and first "new" car purchase for multiple years waiting on the right deal.

But, that said, I've never leased. I would consider it for a second car if I was not 100% sure what I wanted. It may make sense for something like trying out a plug-in hybrid.
we leased one one time just thinking wow a new car every 36 months for my wife and our kids is a great idea. No, no it’s not. Your bound by mile and conditions. We literally had a car that in 3 years we were allowed 36000 miles. When we took it back it had 21000 on it and was worthless they didn’t give us a mileage break or anything. I wouldn’t do it.
 
Have you (or anybody on here, for that matter) actually leased a car? Every time I've looked into it it seems mad expensive, especially considering that you're on the hook for anything beyond "normal wear and tear" and have to pay extra for mileage. Like I said I do drive a lot and while I'm pretty considerate of my vehicles I also hunt, fish, camp, and haul a dog in one. I consider it "use" not "abuse," but I think a dealer may disagree.

To me buying low-mileage, newish-used for a good price and interest rate, taking care of it, and selling it as soon as it starts to show its a$$ seems to be the winning strategy. I'll add that the wife and I are pretty patient buyers and sat on our home and first "new" car purchase for multiple years waiting on the right deal.

But, that said, I've never leased. I would consider it for a second car if I was not 100% sure what I wanted. It may make sense for something like trying out a plug-in hybrid.

I leased a '95 Dodge Neon once. It put me off anything Dodge. One aspect I liked was that everything was under warranty during the term of the lease (not by lease arrangement, just coincidence of lease term & new car warranty). Two things I hated: I overheard the salesguy call it "renting a car for too much" when he thought I was out of earshot. It always made me feel sick, it's why I buy-till-die now. I was over on miles I could put on, 2 months before the end of my lease. If I let it sit in the driveway unused for 2 months I'd be ok. So I did. Hated having to pay on a car I wasn't using.

Generally, I have a Dave Ramsey view on leasing - but in the right conditions (like my wife, driving 7 miles to work daily, wanting a nicer car and not wanting to finance a car for 6 years) it's worth considering.
 
I have just about decided that the optimum strategy for a hunting vehicle is to have two 4X4 pickups in decent shape. Buy them for cash for about $3500 to $4500 each and have a good local mechanic you know and trust. No monthly car payments, repairs from time to time, and less than $10,000 in them both. Put the equivalent of a car payment in the bank for a year to cover any repairs. If one breaks down, it can be in the shop while you hunt out of the other. When you get ready to sell them you can get most of your money back out and you are also not worried about getting them dirty or bloody.

Case in point. In about 2016 I gave $3500 for a 2004 Chevy S10 4X4 with 120K miles, drove it for 5 years and put about $2000 in it over that time mostly in wheels and things like water pump, etc. It died on me at about 190K and the mechanic said it would cost about $800 minimum to fix it. I called the guy I bought it from and told him all about its issues and gave him my mechanics number. He bought it off me for $3200 sight unseen knowing he would have to bring a flatbed trailer to carry it off. I spent about $2300 for 5 years of life out of that truck. That's not bad. The tag was about $50.00. Every year I allocate money solely for gas for hunting. It's the cost of doing business.
 
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I have just about decided that the optimum strategy for a hunting vehicle is to have two 4X4 pickups in decent shape. Buy them for cash for about $3500 to $4500 and have a good local mechanic you know and trust. No monthly car payments, repairs from time to time, and less than $10,000 in them both. Put the equivalent of a car payment in the bank for a year to cover any repairs. If one breaks down, it can be is the shop while you hunt out of the other. When you get ready to sell them you can get most of your money back out and you are also not worried about getting them dirty or bloody.

Case in point. I gave $3500 for a 2004 Chevy S10 4X4 with 120K miles, drove it for 5 years and put about $2000 in it over that time mostly in wheels and things like water pump, etc. It died on me at about 190K and the mechanic said it would cost about $800 minimum to fix it. I called the guy I bought it from and told him all about its issues and gave him my mechanics number. He bought it off me for $3200 sight unseen knowing he would have to bring a flatbed trailer to carry it off. I spent about $2300 for 5 years of life out of that truck. That's not bad. The tag was about $50.00. Every year I allocate money solely for gas for hunting. It's the cost of doing business.
My Colorado sits 95% of the time. I keep a warranty on it. It will definitely be a ride til it dies truck lol
 
2 questions. Would AWD have helped with your puddle trouble, and do people put roof racks on the things? A little carbon fiber canoe is on the bucket list...
No AWD would not have helped because the prius has a anti skid mechanism that shuts power to the motor. You can put a roof rack on, but not sure how big a canoe you planning.
 
So the recap...

We've got 8 regulars on here willing to admit to driving and liking hybrids. 1 who drove and didn't like mainly due to a head gasket failure (non electric drivetrain related failure). Twice as many or more driving compact 4-bangers.

Cons:

  1. reduced mileage during very cold (battery efficiency) or very hot (AC drain) weather. But you still get compact 4-banger mileage instead of V8 truck mileage regardless.
  2. not reliable off paved and well-maintained gravel roads. Again, not necessarily an electric issue.
  3. battery replacement cost. 2k to 5k depending on DIY vs dealer work. In line with head gasket, transmission, and other major issues. Seems to start cropping up at the 200k+ mile mark, which is par for the course in my experience regarding something expensive happening.
Pros:

  1. Double to triple the fuel efficiency of a traditional hunting truck. Likely to become more of an advantage as gas goes up in the future.
  2. General lower purchase price. From the little bit of shopping I've done a "hunting truck" with 4x4 is going to cost 50-100% more than a compact hybrid.
  3. Stealth. Nobody considers a Prius owner as competition.
  4. Environmental benefits.
I think my life with one would look something like this.

Drive the "wife's car" hybrid to pick up groceries, BS around town, and do general daily driving. Enjoy 40-50mpg savings during off season.

Hunting rolls around. For trips to muddy WMA roads, drive the subie. For trips to parking lots, drive the hybrid. For trips to Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Missouri, whatever...drive the hybrid to the campground and throw my pack in my buddy's truck. Buy his lunch since I feel bad that he drove 500 miles at 15mpg just so we could power through that one mud hole.

Accept that I lose man points and will have to endure appropriate ribbing for driving a hybrid, shooting a deer with a crossgun, and eating a McDonald's salad for lunch.
 
My son in law has a Tesla s class ,computer in it failed two times so for. Nearest Tesla place to fix it is 3 hours one way . Only a Tesla dealership can do the work .Never would I own one . Hybrid may be better, time will tell.
 
So the recap...

We've got 8 regulars on here willing to admit to driving and liking hybrids. 1 who drove and didn't like mainly due to a head gasket failure (non electric drivetrain related failure). Twice as many or more driving compact 4-bangers.

Cons:

  1. reduced mileage during very cold (battery efficiency) or very hot (AC drain) weather. But you still get compact 4-banger mileage instead of V8 truck mileage regardless.
  2. not reliable off paved and well-maintained gravel roads. Again, not necessarily an electric issue.
  3. battery replacement cost. 2k to 5k depending on DIY vs dealer work. In line with head gasket, transmission, and other major issues. Seems to start cropping up at the 200k+ mile mark, which is par for the course in my experience regarding something expensive happening.
Pros:

  1. Double to triple the fuel efficiency of a traditional hunting truck. Likely to become more of an advantage as gas goes up in the future.
  2. General lower purchase price. From the little bit of shopping I've done a "hunting truck" with 4x4 is going to cost 50-100% more than a compact hybrid.
  3. Stealth. Nobody considers a Prius owner as competition.
  4. Environmental benefits.
I think my life with one would look something like this.

Drive the "wife's car" hybrid to pick up groceries, BS around town, and do general daily driving. Enjoy 40-50mpg savings during off season.

Hunting rolls around. For trips to muddy WMA roads, drive the subie. For trips to parking lots, drive the hybrid. For trips to Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Missouri, whatever...drive the hybrid to the campground and throw my pack in my buddy's truck. Buy his lunch since I feel bad that he drove 500 miles at 15mpg just so we could power through that one mud hole.

Accept that I lose man points and will have to endure appropriate ribbing for driving a hybrid, shooting a deer with a crossgun, and eating a McDonald's salad for lunch.
I disagree with #1 con.
Reduced mileage in the winter is the engine automatically runs when you first start it to warm inside of the car based on heater setpoint. Yes in summer my mileage is slightly reduced because of the ac. I also see reduced mileage when it rains. This is because of the increased road resistance from the water. I was not kidding about in 20,000 miles I average over 60mpg. Now most of my driving is on country roads, 45 to 55 mph. This is the sweet spot for a Prius.
 
Just my opinion but I am not prepared to accept $4.00+ a gallon for gas and I hope that most American's aren't willing to accept this either. If we all let our elected officials know that we hold them responsible and will be voting with our wallets when election time rolls around, we won't have to put up with this as the norm. Nothing, and I mean nothing hits the average working American harder day in and day out than high gas prices. Everything you buy is directly affected by this one thing. Affordable gas is a national security issue and should be treated as such. I'll get off my soapbox now, lol.
 
I have a Toyota Sequoia. She ain’t a 4x4 but the third row seating is removed to make plenty of room for hauling so she identifies as a hybrid. I only wish she actually had 4x4
 
I disagree with #1 con.
Reduced mileage in the winter is the engine automatically runs when you first start it to warm inside of the car based on heater setpoint. Yes inSo summer my mileage is slightly reduced because of the ac. I also see reduced mileage when it rains. This is because of the increased road resistance from the water. I was not kidding about in 20,000 miles I average over 60mpg. Now most of my driving is on country roads, 45 to 55 mph. This is the sweet spot for a Prius.
So, all the little displays on the HUD on my Subaru have made me a MPG nut. I very much drive to max it out. Over 60k miles, I'm averaging 30.1mpg. I generally run 32 if I'm not towing, but I do tow the jonboat a good bit

I've noticed a drop in the mornings vs afternoons during our coldest day. And differences driving N vs S with a strong northern cold front. And differences on wet and dry roads. I get it.
 
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