Toyota Prius

Author
Discussion

deaglecat

Original Poster:

162 posts

238 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
.. any body owned or driven one ?

FranKinFezza

1,073 posts

184 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
The real question is would anyone on THIS forum admit it biggrin

thinfourth2

32,414 posts

209 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
Quite a few have them as company cars.

I test drove one out of curiosity

deaglecat

Original Poster:

162 posts

238 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
Yeah... I know ....not a petrol heads car.

deaglecat

Original Poster:

162 posts

238 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
thinfourth2 said:
Quite a few have them as company cars.

I test drove one out of curiosity
Impressions ?

thinfourth2

32,414 posts

209 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
deaglecat said:
thinfourth2 said:
Quite a few have them as company cars.

I test drove one out of curiosity
Impressions ?
None really apart from a "handbrake" where the clutch should be and an engine that stops when you slow down.

I wasn't seriously considering buying one i was just hugely interested in new tech which the prius had in droves.

Mafioso

2,369 posts

219 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
deaglecat said:
thinfourth2 said:
Quite a few have them as company cars.

I test drove one out of curiosity
Impressions ?
Maybe he thought it was pathetic...

Ten Ninety

244 posts

181 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
What are they like at normal motorway speeds? Quiet? Comfortable?

BLGuy77

32 posts

165 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
Rubbish cars.

harryowl

1,114 posts

186 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
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anybody stuck a v8 in one yet?

Zad

12,748 posts

241 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
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From reviews I read way back, I don't think they are exactly optimal for motorway conditions. There are plenty of eco optimised cars (VW BlueMotion etc) that give far better motorway MPG without the problem of a battery swap every few years.

deaglecat

Original Poster:

162 posts

238 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
Battery swap every few years is a myth...

"The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear."

thinfourth2

32,414 posts

209 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
BLGuy77 said:
Rubbish cars.
You've driven one?

Save Ferris

2,700 posts

218 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
Ive got one as my company demo at the moment, you will always get people on here telling you how bad they are.... but they are a nice smooth drive, good spec and give reasonable mpg for an auto of its size. Personally I think the Auris HSD is a better car though.

clabcon

325 posts

210 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
deaglecat said:
Battery swap every few years is a myth...

"The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear."
If the battery is suppost to last the lifetime of a car, why might replacements be needed?

agent006

12,058 posts

269 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
deaglecat said:
thinfourth2 said:
Quite a few have them as company cars.

I test drove one out of curiosity
Impressions ?
Spent a weekend with one last year. Very impressive technology, economy is best round town, SatNav is the best I've used. The problem is that it's still a Toyota, hence apallingly cheaply made. Lots of road noise even round town, motorway is unbearably noisy. For the 3% saving in company car tax it's really not worth the bother over an A3 or 118d. The boot is small too (wide and long but very shallow).

randomman

2,215 posts

194 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
clabcon said:
deaglecat said:
Battery swap every few years is a myth...

"The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear."
If the battery is suppost to last the lifetime of a car, why might replacements be needed?
Defects needing a warrenty fix? Crash damage deemed repairable? Someone accidentally putting a pick axe through it when changing a light bulb? Same reason you can buy gearsticks/glove box lids and all the little things that you'd think could only be broken deliberately.

Save Ferris

2,700 posts

218 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
clabcon said:
deaglecat said:
Battery swap every few years is a myth...

"The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear."
If the battery is suppost to last the lifetime of a car, why might replacements be needed?
You could say the same about any part of a car though. Engines/gearboxes for example are designed to last the life of a car. It doesn't mean they will.

J500ANT

3,101 posts

244 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
I have 2 different old shape Prius as hire cars. I'd love one, sadly out of my budget, the tech amazes me. I know everyone talks about a diesel being more economical, but if you need an auto (as I do) they're better than a diesel auto. The only downside, everyone elses attitude to you when you're driving one.

As for the Auris HSD, I had a normal Auris, it was rubbish. It's a cheap car made with expensive labour (in the UK). It rattled, crunched it's gears and generally annoyed me every time I went out in it. Terrible interior quality too, everything scratched if you even looked at it.

SonicHedgeHog

2,558 posts

187 months

Saturday 15th January 2011
quotequote all
Whether you think this is a good car depends what you're looking for. It is good if:

a. you travel into London because you avoid the congestion charge.
b. if it is a company car because it is low tax
c. if you fancy something a bit different
d. if you're worried about residuals as they seem to hold their value well

Unfortunately it isn't as cheap to run as a comparable diesel, particularly if you hammer it around the M25 like I see so many owners do. But good on you for considering something outside the usual Pistonheads box. We need more goats like you.