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Toyota Prius

Kepler

Kepler

Cornell Big Red
Thinking of getting one, so naturally a tiny, non-representational sample of opinions is desired.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

A good friend of mine who teaches at a local university bought one 2-3 years ago. Traded in her Camry for it. She is looking to get rid of it. She doesn't like the way it handles, and it seems to have a persistent electrical problem that Toyota can't solve. If you're looking for better overall mileage, there are probably better options available.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

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Re: Toyota Prius

I thought about it myself until I read in Consumer Reports that in cold weather climates, the hybrid system doesn't work nearly as well, so you will do almost as well with a Civic that costs thousands less. (My 2002 Civic goes about 350 miles on 12 gallons on anecdotal average, with a lot of that sitting in traffic)

If you are interested in part for the eco-impact, keep in mind the total environmental cost of a hybrid - are you retiring a car that works just fine, buying something that had to be manufactured? What are you going to do with the hypercaustic battery when it dies after 100k miles? There's more to the argument than carbon emissions.

Also look into the braking problems they were having. As I'm sure you know the brakes recharge the batteries, so that's relatively new technology there.

You can monthly subscribe to ConsumerReports.org for $6 - it's worth it, get CutePDF and save off all the info you'll need.

To Brenthoven's point, if you do get one, don't you dare get one of those "drives great, less filling" bumper stickers.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

I've had mine since 2006, I like it, I'm happy with it, no problems so far, and would recommend.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

Kepler said:
Thinking of getting one, so naturally a tiny, non-representational sample of opinions is desired.
Click to expand...

Its too complicated, buy a TDI Jetta if you want a vehicle that gets good gas mileage
 
Re: Toyota Prius

walrus said:
Its too complicated, buy a TDI Jetta if you want a vehicle that gets good gas mileage
Click to expand...

Depends. If you're mostly doing highway driving, the difference between the Jetta's 42 and the Prius's 48 is certainly not worth it. However, in the city, the difference between 30 and 50 is still quite significant and may warrant a closer look if you plan to keep the car long enough. I think the environment is screwed either way, so I would barely factor that into the equation...
 
Re: Toyota Prius

Honestly, the economics don't warrant the extra cost unless the environmental factor is worth paying the extra couple thousand dollars. As above, a civic, corolla, insight, or something similar would be a better choice.

That, and now that the first major production years of hybrids are getting up there in age, we're truly going to see what problems (if any) are going to come up with these batteries. A lot of people mention the ten-year mark as an important one.

Additionally, the batteries are going to create quite a few problems when it comes to putting the car out to pasture. The heavy metals used in the batteries alone are enough to be at least somewhat concerning.

Just my $0.02. I don't have anything against hybrids, I just don't think they make sense right now.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

LynahFan said:
Depends. If you're mostly doing highway driving, the difference between the Jetta's 42 and the Prius's 48 is certainly not worth it. However, in the city, the difference between 30 and 50 is still quite significant and may warrant a closer look if you plan to keep the car long enough. I think the environment is screwed either way, so I would barely factor that into the equation...
Click to expand...
IF not a Jetta than get a Corolla.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

LynahFan said:
Depends. If you're mostly doing highway driving, the difference between the Jetta's 42 and the Prius's 48 is certainly not worth it. However, in the city, the difference between 30 and 50 is still quite significant and may warrant a closer look if you plan to keep the car long enough. I think the environment is screwed either way, so I would barely factor that into the equation...
Click to expand...
TDI's get >50mpg...VW was advertising this at one point, and I have friends that have them and have confirmed that they get better than 50mpg
 
Re: Toyota Prius

There's a reason the European carmakers have largely stayed away from hybrids. Diesel technology has improved remarkably over the past few decades to burn cleaner and deliver more power, while also providing solid MPG. Audi regularly races diesels at LeMans and other races, and often wins with them. Moreover, I would suggest the current diesel technology is much more refined than hybrid technology at this point.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

ScottM said:
There's a reason the European carmakers have largely stayed away from hybrids. Diesel technology has improved remarkably over the past few decades to burn cleaner and deliver more power, while also providing solid MPG. Audi regularly races diesels at LeMans and other races, and often wins with them. Moreover, I would suggest the current diesel technology is much more refined than hybrid technology at this point.
Click to expand...
Agreed. But I would, since I work for one of the biggest diesel engine companys in the world. :p
The next step is diesel hybrids, which could provide some really impressive fuel mileage.
 
Re: Toyota Prius

I drove a Prius for 18 days while my truck was in the shop for some repairs...

For a compact car, it was roomy up front... Lots of open space and a good amount of storage... It took a bit to get used to the modern styling on the dashboard however... Still didn't like it... I like my gauges in front... The keyless ignition also took some getting used to, but in the end was rather convenient... Overall I would give the interior styling and comfort a "B"...

Engine-wise, I didn't really buy into the hybrid concept... According to the electronics in the dash, I was only getting about 40-44MPG average... This was about 75% highway, 25% City driving... The car did lag a bit on hard acceleration, like you would get at an on-ramp... Didn't experiment with the different engine modes at all... Not sure if those will help milage... Also, with my driving style, the batteries never seemed to regain full charge... They would be 75-80% full all the time... Not sure what this means in the long run... It just left the impression that I was slowly draining the batteries...

Overall, it was a nice little car, but not my cup of tea... I think that there are better options out there design-wise... I'm also not sold on the milage thing as I only seemed to gain a small amount...
 
Re: Toyota Prius

Whats the price difference between a Corolla and a Prius?, how much gas can you buy with the difference
 
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