Going to buy a Gen 2. What should I know?

Damn I don't know why everyone is giving the prius a hard time. We have a member here that sells brand new upgraded battery packs for Prii, and for years he's use a prius as a ski car I believe he lives in Colorado too. At this point anything is going to be an upgrade to you. A corolla isn't going to get great mpg up and down thoes hills. I'm car sitting my aunts 2011 corolla and I took it out yesterday and looked at the avg mpg and it was only 26.1... And she lives in Florida!

 

Maybe you should actually test drive a prius. Have you ever driven a hybrid before?

 

I'm a big Prius fan and advocate, so don't really see it a giving the Prius a hard time. Just trying to give the OP some genuine feedback as someone who has driven a few miles in a Prius.

And as I remember it, it was because of the hard life as a ski car that lead to the development of his product.

In all honesty, if the OP was happy to accept changing the HV battery more often than average (say every 5-7 years), I'd say have at it. And 2k1Toaster's replacement modules just might be the ticket to make that an option.

 

Granted, the battery will get more cycling in the mountains, and that will shorten its lifespan somewhat. But the system won't let it over charge or under charge, so it's not like you're going constantly from full to empty on the charge. I think I'd still prefer that to the other options. But that's just my two percent of a dollar's worth.

 

Agreed.

I think I'm coming around to that view as well.

 

I repaired a battery for someone that lives in the local mountains, where he goes empty up the mountain and comes down the mountain on a completely full charge. This was a daily routine and it's tough on the battery. After a few years of this, the battery could not be saved, it was damaged from all the cycles. The car was bought used and was put in this type of service for a few years before the battery died around the 10 year mark.

 

I assumed it would have an effect, but didn't expect that much. Hmmm.

 

If you are looking for 60mpg, Gen 2 Prius is not going to deliver. It will deliver a great value for a used car, but you will not get 60mpg going up and down Rocky Mountains in the winter. It's just not going to happen.

I bought a 2007 Gen 2 a year ago with 175K miles and it's one of the best cars I have ever owned so far (knock on wood). At its age and mileage it runs, drives and feels like new. No kidding. I absolutely love this car and would recommend it to most people.

BUT! Your expectations are too high. You want a used car for $10K that will last forever, will get 60mpg while being driven up and down 10,000 foot elevations. This is simply not possible today, or at least I am not aware of a vehicle that is capable of it. My experience with my 2007 car is this. I have put almost 20K miles on it so far (getting close 195K mile mark) and my average economy since I bought it is about 45mpg. This includes higher economy in the summer and lower economy in the winter. My wife and I drive the car more or less normally without trying to eek out economy. We use AC only on very hot days and we go on highway trips fairly regularly. Highway economy at 75mph is in low 40's. This is fairly flat and rolling hills of northeast. No huge elevations. 50mpg is almost unachievable for us as described. But high 40's are commonplace. 60mpg is not in the cards for this car unless it is carefully hypermiled with a stiff tailwind. It's just the way it is. Cold weather has detrimental effect on fuel economy and cabin heat is not very good in really cold weather. I installed seat warmers and that makes it easier to deal with, but in really cold weather it's not easy to warm up the cabin to comfortable levels and the fuel economy generally takes a dive towards high 30's-low 40's. In the very hot weather with AC on the fuel economy also takes a dive to low 40's - mid 40's. The spring and fall when the weather is mild and no AC or heat is necessary is the most economical and then high 40's - low 50's are possible. Again, normal driving, no hypermiling or any of that business. Reliability of the car is excellent so far. I bought the car from the original owner and he gave me all the records. Not much has really been done other than normal stuff. Struts were replaced, water pump, etc. Brake pads were replaced at 150K miles for the first time! Basic maintenance on this car is very low. No timing belt (chain), one belt on the water pump, air filter, oil and filter, spark plugs were never replaced and I replaced them when I gout the car at 175K and they were not in bad shape at all. Could have kept using them. I did change the transaxle fluid. That's about it. It is really inexpensive to maintain. It seems very robust. No rattles or hums or anything like that (at almost 200K miles). There are reports of these things going 500K in taxi service on original battery. Speaking of battery. Mine seems fine because the previous owner drove the car a lot and every day. This is a good thing for batteries in these cars. But if I ever need a battery I will get a new one (Toyota or from 2KToaster) and keep going. I paid $3,400 for the car and it's in great shape, so if I need to buy a new battery to keep it going for another 10 years, I am good with that. So your approach of finding a car and planning on replacing the battery is a good one. In fact, you can try and find a car with a known bad battery for a big discount and replace the battery before putting car into service. That should run you way under $10K. And you will have a good car for a while.

BUT! you will not get anywhere near 60mpg going up and down Rockies in the winter. Get that out of your head and you will not be disappointed.

Best of luck! I hope you find what you are looking for (hint: you'll need to compromise).

 

I have owned and driven cars since 1980. I have had many, many cars, including two brand new ones and many almost new. This 2007 Prius I bought last year with 175K miles is so far proving to be the most satisfying car I have ever owned. It may not have been when I was younger and enjoyed high performance cars, but today what I call satisfying is inexpensive, reliable, low maintenance, high fuel economy vehicle that is very comfortable and pleasant to drive. And let me qualify this by saying that Gen 2 Prius is not a super-slouch on the road. It actually has a surprising amount of go. I think compared to to your 80's VW Diesel it will be much faster. It also handles way better than any of the cars from last century do. It has great road holding ability and as was mentioned can be stiffened to make it even better. It is very aerodynamic and quiet to drive. In many situations there is no engine noise (not on highway). When you are waiting at a red light there is no engine running most of the time. It's bliss, I tell you. It is a great car overall and all data is pointing to the fact that most of the individuals are robust and go for many miles without many issues. Having said that, there are a few things that tend to happen to them. Inverter water pump goes and can leave you stranded. But cheap and easy to replace. So called "combination meter", where your speed and other info is displayed goes (after many miles, usually). But is relatively cheap ($75 for part) and easy to DYI replace. Transaxle almost never goes as it has a relatively easy life. Electric motors I have not heard of going. ICE can burn a bit of oil after a few hundred K-miles. Mine uses about 1 quart per 3K miles now. So what? Catalytic converter can go and so can O2 sensors. The cat may be a bit more expensive, but I have not heard of epidemic failures. The biggest and scariest item so far besides the battery is the brake actuator. It is a complicated unit that juggles friction brakes and regen brakes. That is a very expensive repair and it does happen. I am not sure if it's a DYI job with a re-manufactured part. I am sure it needs software to set the system back up after replacement. The battery is expensive, but not difficult to replace and/or service. I bought a grid charger/discharger system from Prolong (a member here) and maintain the battery I have now with it in hopes to keep it going for a few more years.

The only issue I see in your case with Prius is your expectation of economy and hilly terrain you drive. Other than that I would say spend some time finding a good individual Gen 2 and rock on. It took me almost two months to find mine. I have looked at many gen 2s before I came upon mine. Single owner car, driven daily, cared for, but not over-maintained, in great cosmetic and mechanical condition, right price.

 

This about says it all.

I also share the same sentiments. I’ve owned my GenII for almost 5 years, and have put 105,000 miles on it (car now has 198,000 miles). I have owned about 30 cars in the last 26 years, from almost every carmaker. German, American , and Japanese. Bought the Prius for $8200 and it is EASILY the greatest car I have ever owned. Comfortable on long trips, and even fits my family of 4 and luggage on 10 day trips. Easy car to drive in big cities and to park in tight spots. It’s supposedly one of the least stolen cars in America so that’s nice too. This thing really checks off all the boxes at my stage in life.

 

It is rare that a car hits a home run on so many points, isn't it? Gen 2 Prius is a special car. I think Toyota spent a lot of time and resource creating this car at a time when it was not easy to change people's perception on alternate technology to the old ICE. It seems Toyota really put a lot of thought into many things on this model and has done a lot of things right. I am seeing the latest generation of these cars kind of devolve a bit from the original idea. That is understandable as times have changed and so has the marketplace. I still think that Gen 2(and probably Gen 3) are cars that served Toyota as a fulcrum for changing consumers' hearts and minds about efficiency of a family car.

 

+1

Yeah I think the Gen 2 really is the best car I've own. Not in terms of luxury or comfort, but just overall transportation use. Very simple to use, nothing too fancy. The things I like most are

1. Smart Key
2. Easy to use MFD interface, nothing fancy
3. Great MPG
4. Lots of cargo space
5. Super reliable and easy to fix when needed

What I don't like about this car is how thieves target the catalytic converter and HV batteries. I have a hard time parking this car on the streets thinking one day someone will steal those on my car.

 

I could take the buttons and knobs over the MFD, but I agree as those things go, this one is nice and simple to use. Nothing fancy and fairly self-explanatory. The cargo space is what really blew me away. I thought it was an econobox type of deal, but once I bought it I was blown away by its cargo capacity. And I am not easy to impress having owned a Volvo wagon for over a decade.

 

Is the cargo space of Gen 2 bigger than Gen 3?

 

I am not sure about Gen 3 large cargo spaces, it's probably comparable to Gen 2, but the little storage facilities all over the cabin of Gen 2 like two glove boxes, a huge center console box, a small area under the radio, another small box under the front cup holders (and 4 very functional cup holders!), generous door pockets, floor space between front seats (my wife keeps her purse there while driving - very handy). Many of those were done away with in Gen 3 and Gen 4 lacks 5th seat (Prime only folly?)! I just came back from a 350 mile day trip with my 16 year old son and two of his friends and my wife. 5 People in the car with backpacks, water bottles, snacks, etc. Very comfortable and storage space left over for who knows what. It's an amazingly well designed family car!

 

As @VFerdman said, the little storage spaces are fantastic in the Gen 2. As for the volume of the hatch area, the Gen 2 and 3 are so close to the same, I don't think you'd notice a difference.

 

i like how the 2nd Gen open space in front of the console allows me to create a red neck cup holder for my water bottles with just a bungee cord. For long trips I can have coffee in the regular cup holders for the wife and I. His and hers Water bottles as pictured. And the kids get to use the rear cup holders.

This thing really is the greatest road trip car ever.

 

Before owning my gen 2 Prius I always thought of them as sub-compact or compact cars. I owned Volvos (an S70 and a 940 wagon) during my family with kids time (I still have a 16 year old son, but no little kids with car seats, etc.) Well, I must say that the Prius has more leg room than Volvo S70 both in front and in the back. Volvo looks bigger, but Prius is bigger on the inside somehow. And of course fuel economy is twice that of the Volvo.

Gen 2 (and probably gen 3) is one of the very best cars for family and commuting duties. I love it and recommend it heartily. The only problem is the traction batteries are starting to get to the end of life on many of these cars. So a new pack needs to be built into budgetting for one. Other than that they seem to be well built, thoughtfully designed and kind of fun to drive since they handle fairly well.