@matigo That is a good point. Usually our drives are pretty short, so a plug-in hybrid or an all-electric could be a good option as well. Unfortunately they are way out of the price range we can manage (even when leased), so we have not considered them. Yet. Maybe the next one, which no longer need to be a 7-seater, could be one of those.
@matigo Here in Finland the network of charging stations is not that great yet, so a self-charging hybrid like this Prius+ was pretty optimal for us. With the current gas prices I won’t mind getting a lot better mileage than with the old car1.
We are mostly driving in urban areas, and the old Zafira was chugging whopping 10 l / 100 km. That was a lot.
@matigo Yep. I had that already when coming to the first lights I had to stop at. I was preparing to shift and push the clutch down but there was no stick where it used to be. That made me panic for a moment. 😆
Also, one ”weird” thing with driving a hybrid car with automatic transmission after almost 4 years on manual is that I need to retrain my brain to let go of the coupling between the engine sound and the speed I am driving. With the previous car I knew that if the gear is so and so and the engine sounds like that, I am driving at about that speed. Now that is totally off as the car might be using the electric motor instead.
@variablepulserate Huge is an understatement. While that Zafira was a good car (for our needs), it started showing its age. Also, while it had some nice features, it was lacking a lot of things I personally like to have in a car.
Then again, this Prius+ does not seem to have a parking camera or even radar that the Zafira had, but it is a nice-to-have feature in my books. I want to ”learn” the car well enough to know where its corners are going at all times.
Got the ”new” car1 delivered today. The old car2 was taken by the guy who delivered the new one.
Took the new one for a brief spin. It was, umm, different. It will take a while to get used to it. Especially the automatic transmission is something that caused some confusion first, I was so used to shifting manually on the old car.
A 2020 Toyota Prius+, a 7-seater hybrid.
A 2011 Opel Zafira, another 7-seater with manual transmission.
@matigo Yep. There are benefits, regardless of the ”trigger”. Sleeping better (especially without snoring) would not only benefit me but also my wife. 😆
// @phoneboy
@matigo Nope. Just checking the news and being a bit worried about the fascist madman East of us making stupid ass comments. I would be either doing physical activity as a part of military refreshment rehearsals or just for getting myself in shape again. Either way I need to do a lot of running etc.
@streakmachine It is a bit pricy, but it includes everything, so there won’t be any surprises coming left and right. That is something great about this deal.
I will be missing the old car as well, but only because it was our first and I knew it well. What I won’t be missing is the high fuel consumption and the cost of maintenance. In that sense this is a great move.
@streakmachine Yeah, that wind has been, umm, not-so-nice. When it comes with a snowfall, everything, literally everything, is covered with snow.
We will be getting another 7-seater, with lower fuel consumption as our driving will happen mostly in the urban areas. I actually ”ordered” the new car just moments ago, a 2020 Toyota Prius+ will be joining our family next week. And no, we will be paying the full price, it will be under a leasing contract for at least 2 years. The monthly cost is ~530€ / month (multiply by 10 to get it in SEK), but it includes everything, maintenance, repairs, inspections.