1st gen Pre steps up to replace totaled family car - gets new rap name

Had a loaded 2012 Mazda 5 which excelled as a city family car, until I had an unexpected meeting with an H3 at an intersection. The H3 caught us just in front of the front wheel, and took out the engine / trans / frame members. His front end actually got up in the air, and he came down with nothing more than a slow leak in the tire. Not a scratch. The Mazda was totaled and now the 99 Pre has stepped up from Home Depot trips only to full time family car. Fortunately my kids are still small enough to fit in the back "comfortably" in their boosters. I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised at how well the truck has stepped up, despite the overly sprung rear end. We already got a respectable insurance settlement, but we're thinking about holding off for a while on the replacement since she takes the train to work, and I work from home. Of course, if we decide to be a one-vehicle family for a while, I'd of course have to spend a little $ in upgrades, for everyone's comfort, of course. The truck only has 153k miles, so it's barely broken in. Just wondering if anyone else is using their Gen 1 as the primary family car, and if y'all have made any special accommodations.

Oh yeah - the rap name. Seems the "A" came off in the car wash, so I'm thinking about leaving it as it is. At least until the wife says otherwise.

 

If my wife and dogs count as family then yes, my truck is my daily driver.

 

Glad everybody is okay.

 

Glad you're family is okay, first and foremost.

I've been using my Tacoma as my only vehicle for years now. Love it. But need to get a true commuter car, keep the miles off Ol' Red and use him for hauling, camping and winter driving into the mountains.

 

Yeah i know what you mean. Id like to keep the miles off too. We're actually thinking about a Volt as the DD - just got a price of $11K off sticker, plus the $7.5K tax break. Hard to pass that up.

 

Not exactly a family car, but I've been using mine for anything and everything the entire time I've owned it. I've even done thousands of mile road trips on multiple occasions with more than 2 people in it. It's not ideal, but a topper on the back, and some planning as to what goes where (and some extra stretch breaks) and you can pretty easily haul up to 4 people without too much issue. Really shouldn't be a problem if your kids are still in car seats. But then I don't care about putting miles on mine at this point since it already has so many.

 

Hope everyone is okay,
My Aunt has a 2013 Chevy Volt and she loves it. She is averaging 120mpg and it is great to drive.

-Charlie