I have never liked Kia. They started highly unreliable and unsafe to drive, and although they improved, it would never be on my short list. The Hyundai Sonata is a decent car, but if looking at about $17,000, the Hyundai is the Accent, and that is also questionable.
USNews compiles a lot of data.
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/car...
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/car...
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/car...
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/car...
The data probably says Honda Fit is a potential.
$17,000 Gets a 2011 to 2013 Prius with under 30,000 miles
Honda Fit LX Automatic 2015 is about the same price
Looking at the mpg,
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?a...
and understanding an electric charge will be $0.05 per mile when running on electricity only
You run the equivalent of 70 to 80 miles per gallon on electricity, and they report about 50mpg on gas supplemented by electricty, so it is hard to be exact, but combined electric and gas at about 55mpg would be quite fair by total cost. A honda Fit does about 36mpg
If you get a Prius, you will need to check about its Recall status:
http://www.toyota.com/owners/web/pages/r...
The Fit is a bit better in standard features.
From what I can tell, the Honda will do much better on gasoline. You probably should check out a Honda Fit, and then look for used Prius.
Note that at 12,000 miles per year, considering the cost of electricity and gasoline, the difference in operating cost is only about $400-600 a year or so. It will depend how much driving you do.
You might want to check insurance costs.
I think if you are considering cheap hyundai's and Kia's, the used Prius is better.
A Honda Fit is worth looking at, even at a higher operating cost per year.
My whiskers approve the Prius if the vehicle history and mechanical maintenance history is exceptional.
You may enjoy having the warranty from the Kia or Hyundai. It sounds like you've already made up your mind, our answers are merely a second opinion for approval toward your purchase.
Good luck!
I would rather have a new Kia or something but not a hybrid bc I've heard that hybrid/electric cars are really sluggish and unresponsive to drive.
I think toyota prius is a good choice.
How old is the Prius? The Prius is a good choice except if it is about 5 years old. The problem is the big battery pak that is used to run it in the electric mode. They get old. After about 2 years, they do not full charge up so your mileage goes down. 35 mpg is still not bad. Around 5 years old, the battery pak needs to be replaced and last I knew, it cost over $2500 just for the Battery Pak.
Prius, the batteries don't run down that fast. If they are maintained, they'll go a long, long time
it seems that toyota prius is a reliable car, and it will "save money"? i am not sure if i will actually spend more money to repair it in the future.
which is a better choice, buy a used prius or a new car from kia/hyundai or similar price brand?
thanks.
