Outcast_Searcher wrote:shortonsense wrote:The temperature and distance dependent mileage is tricky,an owner who wants it for efficiency even in the city needs to make sure their driving conditions can take advantage of the hybrid systems, otherwise a Corolla, Yaris, Civic might still be a better choice.
Thank you Short - that's a great point, which I hadn't fully considered. The vast majority of my trips ARE puddle-jumps of a mile or two, and a 35% degradation is really significant. Apparently I will need to do some research on that concept.
Now the only issue is safety -- a Yaris vs. an SUV hitting it in the side, for example (texting, cell phone usage, drunks, etc), gives me serious pause...
Yeah, its one of those little things the sales people don't mention much. Park your new Prius outside in 20F temps for the evening, fire it up the next morning and its 1-3 miles before it even THINKS about being efficient. If your commute is a decent 10 miles, not as big a deal, it warms up and does better. But puddle jumping...nope...and as badly as I want a Volt, I have to ask the same question. If the battery sucks at cold temps, can I really go 40 miles on a charge if its been sitting outside during the night, or does the battery temp knock 50% of that range out, particularly if you even THINK about running the heater.
And you are right, tin cans are great until you get nailed by a Suburban, this exact issue has led me to buying something bigger, with crappier fuel mileage, but enough mass to take a decent shot from that Suburban.