What makes you love your Prius?

Great Question.

This post I created has some great analytics. Check out the link.

Why did you purchase a Prius? | PriusChat

Economic was the most popular answer followed by Reliability.

 

Many people have different reasons. I read one guy his GF soon to be wife is expecting there first child. He felt his 2 seat sports car was not a good family car. He thought the Prius would be a great family car, reliable, economic, easy to get a baby out of the rear seat, hatchback can store baby bags, toys, etc.

A traveling salesman just turned 200,000 miles on his 2006 Prius Hatchback. For him straight economics, great mileage, low cost to upkeep, low fuel costs, Trying to make a frugel statement to his clients.

 

This week I drove our Civic for 3 of the days which gave me an opportunity to refamiliarize myself with the ICEV experience.

Lack of vibration: driving at low speed or stopped you don't feel the engine with your foot on the pedal.
Regen: I hypermile so I prefer not to use my brakes for efficiency reasons. What I like abot regen is that it means I'm not using my physical brakes which means that as long as I can keep within the regen limit I don't have to be concerned about wear or overheating. There's B mode once the battery's full
Efficiency: goes without saying.
Smart key: I'm thoroughly adapted to not having to insert key. Of course that doesn't need a hybrid.
Hatchback: I like the practicality and I live in a low crime area so it's better than a sedan.

There are negatives, but I care more about the positives.

 

What's your daily commute in miles?

 

The EV Plug In Prius drivers seem to be tickled pink with happiness

 

First 2 years maintennace is free, Toyota pays it.

My last car was a BMW 325I. Horrible on maintennace cost. Brakes $300 per wheel, $150 oil changes, $1,000 major tune up, $1,200 for Pirelli run flats 4 new tires every 50,000 miles.

The Prius compared to the BMW is a cake walk. Toyota is reasonable.

 

Maintenance of the prii is less then other cars, the brakes don't actually make contact 90% of the time, and wear into the 150,000 mile range regularly, the tires are doing less work (less weight) and certainly don't wear out faster, methinks yer trolling

 

The brakes last a long time, but require a computer software to bleed when it is needed.

If you badly jump start a Prius, it can cost multiple thousands of dollars. If you replace the 12 volt battery every 4 years, it is never a problem.

If you change the Automatic Transmission Fluid every 60,000 miles the transmission has few failures. Ideally 30,000 miles the first time.

If you have dogs (or hairy humans) clean the HV Battery fan when it clogs, so the battery does not overheat. The battery hates heat, so run the A/C when you feel hot.

99% of routine maintenance can be done by any mechanic, you may go 120,000 miles between needing to go to the dealership.


Why do I love my Prius? It is as reliable as a Toyota, it is as frugal as a Toyota, it is as cheap as a Toyota, it pollutes less than any other gas powered car, it is huge inside and small outside, if you ignore hypermileing it meets the EPA mileage, if you hypermile it rewards you with more.

 

I ride 40-50k miles a year and also shied away from the car for years, thinking the maintenance costs would be insane. Finally last summer I really started looking more into it and the dealer convinced me it was no different than any other Toyota in reliability. He also explained that the battery is good for at least 6 years and is not thousands to replace the entire pack, instead it has replaceable cells that are much cheaper.

Not to bore you with my life but, I traded an 08 Corolla with 180k on it, only maintenance was routine fluid changes, tires, a brake job, belt, tensioner... All routine stuff. Before that I had an 02 Corolla, same deal with over 100k before a stoned guy decided to plow me off the road. I have an 06 Sienna, 60k, one new set of tires and a brake job, runs great. Had a Camry too that went 75k on same maintenance. Twelve years of Toyotas with no tow trucks. So when I looked to replace one, I had no doubt it'd be another Toyota and the Prius is definitely amazing. If I had only began buying them years ago, I would've saved a fortune.

If you are at all tossing around the idea of getting one, I say go for it

 

don't love it but really, really like it for the economy and minimal maintenance.

 

* in CA type states, hybrid battery warranty is 10yr/150k miles. NiMH battery has proven to be very reliable.

5 years ago I was all hot to buy my first new car (bought many used before). Figured a small hatchback was a good format for tranpo'ing drumset in cases (haven't played in a few, but) and tossing bicycle in the hatch. Motorcycle buddy recommended Prius online. I was like, what? Ok, I'll check it out.

Didn't expect it but the first test drive and whiff of hybrid synergy drive revealed I was a fan. Loved any amount of EVing. Was chuckling during test drive, haha, this car gets better mpgs than that motorcycle. So I saved and saved for a fat downpay, over 1/2 cost of car. Took a chance on the older Prius in its last model year (new one had not been revealed except to those under NDA somewhere). 6 months after buying, I liked the HSD, but hated was much more uncomfortable and awkward than I thought going into it. Sold it after 2 1/2 yrs.

3 years later bought this 3rd gen Prius, knowing it had some quirks (limited steering wheel adj. range, low and hard door armrest, reports of rattles).

I like the car and it has served me well. Weird, but I've measured the door armrest about 2" lower than that in Camry, likely 1 1/2" lower than many cars like Corolla, Civic, etc.. Had to stick 1 1/2" block of dense foam on door armrest, but I don't care about looks. If it's more comfortable, I use it.

In my avatar, was out on a Saturday canyon carving motorcycle ride (2006), sportbikes, so I like performance. Owned several hot bikes, R1, GSXR, CBR, FZ1 so on.

Is Prius 'performance' oriented? Ah, no, unless the definition is of very high MPGs. It gets 50 with ease. It's mild mannered and quiet on smooth pavement, little loud on rough stuff. Easy to use (all cars need smart key, push button start).

Not of huge fan of the interior design. I've seen much more appealing interiors, but it gets the job done.

3rd gen seats are quite good, right up there with Civic. Any complaints of headrest jutting into back of head might be from people used to putting seatback too upright. maybe user error.

Not going to plug for Camry hybrid too much, but no mistake, it's a much more powerful car that chews up freeway with greater ease than Prius and I've seen gage pegged at 43.x MPGs. Mine is at 54.x this tank which is about 51 actual. I don't hypermile, takes a lot of concentration IMO. So, normal driving, get 50.

Bottom line, it's pretty good with some minor faux pas that will likely be fixed in 2 1/2 years in the all new 4th gen Prius. Like yes, love no.

 

I'm actually not too keen on the look of the car to be completely honest (I realize this is not why people buy it), but I absolutely love the fuel economy and completely non-existent maintenance costs. Mine is far from sporty performance wise and the interior is average at best.

 

After 2 years and 26000 miles, I have an extra $3000 in my pocket from the gas savings versus my previous car (a 20 mpg camry solara). Do I love the car, no, do I love cash yes! By the way I only average 44mpg in my Prius. This is based on $4 a gal gas and that is the average price I paid here in Southern California.

 

I need to keep busy while driving/feel involved in the driving, thats why I like manuals (3 of my last 4 cars were manual).
But my fiance does not know how to drive a manual and after one attempt to teach her, was unwilling to learn.

So first thing I am liking about the prius is being involved by trying to get as much MPG as possible.

I don't hate the exterior look, but its not the greatest (17in wheels vs 15 makes a huge improvement in looks IMO)

I Love the interior of the vehicle, just so different than any vehicle I have been in before and think it looks pretty futuristic.

Love the touchscreen/Nav/entune, never had anything close to this in any of my past vehicles, was thinking of getting a Four with sunroof package for more goodies...but my Fiance probably would have killed me...I'll just save up more for the next one so I can get a fully loaded one.

 

Relief, a car for transportation is never an investment. (Never use B to slow down, use it to keep from overheating your brakes on mountainous descents) A Prius is as reliable as any other Toyota. Expect to do the scheduled maintenance and change tires every 55,000 miles. About 5 years you will need a new 12 volt battery, just like every other car on the road. About 10 years you may need a HV Battery. (There are an excess of used HV Batteries, so it does not have to be new)

 

I was spending $225 every 2 weeks to fill a Corolla with a 200 mile per day commute. Now I spend around $140, saving $85 every 2 weeks that I can put aside for maintenance, mods, kids, etc. The dealer was actually right in my case, the amount of miles I up on a car meant I would start saving the day I bought the Prius. I'll always finance a car for 5 years just because I need new reliable cars. I figure at 5 years, the car will require more repair but I haven't had issues yet on any Toyota as long as I did the routine stuff. Now, the Prius is $50 more in payments but I don't count that as I was looking at other cars in same price range, outgrew Corolla anyway.
I've always done the routine maintenance and kept the cars clean. In 12 years, I haven't had any Toyota require a tow truck and I love to pile on the miles. Keep up with fluid changes and the maintenance schedule and you'll be fine.