toyota prius?

Amazing how many people who have never driven a Prius or owned one will give you advice on "what they heard" or try to tell you what the warranty is when the correct answer is all over the internet at various sites - that is the CORRECT answer that is out there. Tell you what, anyone that starts out, "I don't own one, but I heard..." should have their answer just thrown out for stupidity. The fact is that the battery and hybrid system is warranted for 150,000 miles in CA and 100,000 miles elsewhere. The fact is that Toyota has stated repeatedly that they have never replaced a hybrid traction (HV) battery that wore out from normal use. There are taxis out there that have put over 200,000 miles on them with no loss of power.

We are on our second Prius (had a 2002 that we traded for the Camry Hybrid, now we have a 2004) and we also have a Camry Hybrid. We just love both of them (obviously, or we wouldn't have bought any after the first one!). We traded our 2000 Avalon XLS on the 2004 (a car that we dearly loved), and we will never own anything other than a hybrid (or its industry replacement) again. There are a lot of rumors about having to replace the NiMH high voltage batteries when the warranty runs out, but I gotta tell you, that just isn't true. As far as I can tell from research, there has only been one battery replaced out of warranty (at cost to the owner) and that was drilled into by an electronics technician installing a stereo system in the Prius. So, out of the hundreds of thousands of Toyota hybrids out there, only a handful have needed replacement and that was for outside of normal usage. That is why they are consistently rated one of the most reliable cars on the planet in survey after survey. I'm not sure when some of the other answerers are going to consider it a proven technology. Good grief, they have been in use since 1999 in Japan and 2001 in the U.S. How much proof do they need?????

In our 2002 Prius (the first generation Toyota hybrid), the mileage that we got over the 78000 miles that we owned it was 47.6 mpg. With our 2004 Prius (second generation), our lifetime mileage over 52000 miles is 51.2 mpg. That's with highs of 62 and lows of 48, or so. I'm not real sure that anyone can consistently get the average mileage that the EPA rates them with, and that goes with conventional cars, too. Their method of testing is so "other worldly" that it is just not based on reality. What it does do, though, is pretty much give a level playing field to all cars. Everyone is tested in exactly the same manner, with exactly the same machinery. Luckily for the hybrid, it just happened to suit the way that they operated. Is it fair? Well, Toyota, or Honda, or the other manufacturers out there making hybrids did not create the test. Did they happily accept the findings and advertise them? Heck yeah they did. Why would they NOT? There are people out there that actually blame Toyota and Honda for not stating what they claim is "more realistic" mileage, but I don't understand their point. Auto makers are not allowed to make any mileage claims on their cars other than the EPA listed ratings. They can choose NOT to do so, but they are the only figures they are allowed to use. Why blame the manufacturer for a skewed test that they have no control over? Just doesn't make sense to me, though I get close to the EPA figures fairly regularly. I sure don't get them ALL the time, though!

Anyway, below I have listed some pros and cons that I have noticed over my ownership of Prius since 2002. I hope that this helps.

PLUSSES:

a. Great mileage.

b. Some places let you in the HOV lanes by yourself.

c. SUPER reliability.

d. Roomy inside, but small outside.

e. Great leap forward in technology.

f. Extremely clean tailpipe emissions.

g. Pretty quiet for a small car.

h. Lots of storage with the hatchback design.

i. You can turn the reverse beep off.

j. Almost no maintenance cost (other than oil and filter changes) for the first 100,000 miles.

k. Toyota hybrid drivetrain has been in use since 2001 in the U.S.; it is a proven technology.

l. You don't have to plug it in!

m. Stability control, ABS, traction control standard, as are side curtain airbags.

n. Great cruising on electric!

o. Fun to drive.

MINUSES:

a. You cannot tow anything.

b. Low to the ground (5.5 inches) - no deep snow!

c. Be aware of pedestrians - if you are on battery they cannot hear you coming up behind them.

c. Backseat headroom little tight for really tall people.

I've had my Prius for almost a month and the best I've done so far is 48.9 MPG. I was hoping for more because I do a lot of hwy driving (62 miles roundtrip) but I have to cut some slack since I am still breaking it in and learning when to accelerate and when to take my foot off the gas when going down hill, not to mention blasting the A/C with this heat. So far I've been happy with it on the highway and having the clean pass for the Long Island Expressway has been a time saver for me. I was apprehensive about the size but it's deceiving and there is plenty of head, arm and leg space. it's also a pleasure filling it up. I went from a Honda Accord costing me $48.00 a week to $22.00 a week with the Prius. That's really nice to have the extra money in my pocket.

According to the Consumer reports the Toyota Prius turned in the best gas mileage getting 44 miles per gallon...

I absolutely love my Prius. Gas mileage is great. It is a terrific handling car, too. Even if you took away all of the technology & the hybrid engine, you are still left with a great Toyota. I love the hatchback and have not had any problems fitting stuff in. (I downsized from a Odyssey) You hear so many people trash talking them but everytime gas prices go up they are asking me about my Prius.

The battery is a non-issue.

Get a red one!

I LOVE my Prius. I've driven it 50,000 miles so far (in 2 years) and have had no problems except with the tires. It gets 48 mpg here in the city...better on the open highway. It's fun to drive and gets lots of attention.

Re: the key. As you don't really have to "use" it...just have it on your person...I keep my key in my purse at all times. The engine starts using a starter button rather than turning a key.

I think it IS a good idea to make sure your spare is handy.

The answerer below is dead wrong about the battery and it's warranty. The battery is warranted...I think for 10 years or 150,000 miles. The life expectancy is 15 years.

I don't know much about the prius, but I have a Corolla S and I can tell you I get 40mpg, it's a 2005 and I have 94k miles on it and I have not had ONE problem with my car. I get the oil changed every 5k miles and I could not be happier!!! There are alternatives to the hybrids, just look around!!!

I don't know of engine trouble, but my grandmother lost her key, and the only way to get into the car is to have it towed to the toyota dealer then have them make new keys which are outrageously expensive.

The AAA or locksmiths cannot get into them.

Make sure you keep a spare on you.

Seems like a waste to me. The money you save on gas will only be wasted in the extra cost of buying the vehicle. Plus, if it ever breaks, it costs 3 times as much to get it fixed.

You know there are some better cars that are eco friendly than the prius, you just have to go to europe and compare the fuel econmy rates

what you should know about all hybrid cars is that though they advertise the economics of buying a higher priced hybrid in fuel savings...its all bull crap

what they dont tell you is that in 3 years you will need to replace the fuel cell battery at a cost of 6 to 8 grand...and it is not covered by the regular maintanence or warranty of the vehicle...so unless saving the earth (that teeny tiny bit) is that important to you, your better off just getting a car that runs on gas, but has a fuel economic engine...