Do you weigh the replacement cost of the transmission when shopping for conventional cars? The Prius traction battery costs less to replace than a transmission and unlike most transmissions is warranted for 8 years or 100k miles, 100% replacement. Even longer in Kalifornia.
Some Prius batteries fail in less than 100k miles. Shouldn’t expect more than 200k but many go longer. MSRP is about $2300. Not difficult to install but some dealers have been known to soak owners $600 for the installation which shouldn’t take more than 2 hours.
Depends on where you live and what kind of driving you do. I live in MD and have an '05 Prius with approx 78K on it. I have been very pleased with it so far. My only complaint was with the original tires and the traction on icy, snowy, or very wet road surfaces. So if you live where there is a lot of snow and/or ice I wouldn’t recommend it. Also, on I-95 I have gotten up to 56 mpg going at a good clip on a few long trips. Average 46 - 48 in combined driving.
I bought my 2004 Prius because the claim was that it got better mileage in city driving than in highway driving. I have found the reverse to be true. On the highway I consistently get 52 to 54 MPG. I have had no trouble with the brakes. You should apply steady pressure. Do not pump them.
I bought a 2008…just loved it!
I wanted something that would get good gas milage.
I drive over 50 miles a day to and from work.
Early 2008 I rented a Prius for a week and took a trip in it.
I’m rather large and fit in it well, back seat passenger room is amazing, luggage space adequate, and performance is fine as well.
It is not a race car by any means, but kept up with traffic on the thruway, and we drove mountain roads as well. Drawbacks? Factory tires pretty bad on snow or ice. And you have to live with peoples comments. Performance handling is not there either.
Now I’m a car guy, have several collector cars, and a 96 Indy Ram pickup. I have “fun” cars, and I have the dependable Prius to get me back and forth to work and for everyday use. I got over 50 mpg on my first trip with one, and get over 50 regularly except during the winter, but never below 42. I figure the money I save on gas helps feed the thirsty tanks of the hobby cars and my Ram pickup.
Don’t let the propoganda scare you, and see how the re-sale value holds up in relation to other cars. For more info look for Priuschat.com
My 2008 Prius is great. I got the cheapest package I could get. It is bigger, more comfortable and more luxurious than the Corolla it replaced (kinda - I still have the Corolla). Prius owners are reported to be the most satisfied owners of any vehicle (Consumers Reports).
Gas mileage is highly variable: I get low mileage (low to mid 40’s) during cold weather (30’sF and below) and in short hops (10 miles or less) while the engine is cold. Rainy weather depresses mileage a bit. Speed control lowers mileage, especially on hills. I get fantastic mileage on highway driving if I keep to 60 or below - 55mpg+
The brakes felt funny to me at first, but I was used to it by the third stop and haven’t had any problems since.
I was hit by an SUV the first month I owned the car. Damage was severe, but no one was hurt and the car was still driveable, and the SUV had to be carried away on a rollback!
If you regularly use polarized sunglasses, take a pair along and see what they do to the dashboard displays. In the G2 Prius (04-09) the display is polarized at 45 degrees to the plane of polarization in the glasses. In the 2010 or G3 it is at 90 degrees. This results in a ‘black’ display unless you tilt your head to rotate the plane of polarization of your glasses. I consider this a serious defect, but the NTSB and Toyota just blew me off when I pointed out that Toyota does not seem to learn from experience. I rejected the car for this reason and because the only exterior finishes available are metallic finishes. They just don’t stand up to California sun.
The explanation for the display problem is as follows. The display is generated by a vacuum-fluorescent display inside the dash. It is reflected up to where you see it. Reflected light is plane polarized. That is why polarized sun glasses cut the glare from light reflecting from chrome finishes and water.