Test Drove Prius and Venza

I test drove a 2010 Toyota Prius and the Toyota Venza. One would think that these two automobiles would be for a different market segment. But I have to say, it's the two vehicles that I am both interested in. Finally taking a test drive revealed some interesting results.

Toyota Prius:

Pros:

• For somebody of my stature weight and height the 2010 model is light years more comfortable than the 2009 model I drove a year ago. The seating position in the old model definitely felt cramped and if not cramped then it definitely felt awkward. It was just not a great driving position. I was surprised that the 2010 model seems to have more legroom and a more laid-back position with enough headroom even with the sunroof. It really is a pleasant car to drive.
• I was surprised that while the ride was firm it was not much more firm than the much heavier and bigger Venza. I was testing it on relatively bad roads that were under construction. If there seems to be a difference in ride quality, it's definitely not large.
• I was also surprised that road noise was relatively low and very similar in both cars. The Toyota previous definitely had more wind noise but less noise from the engine at full throttle. Both cars were reasonably quiet
• the steering definitely has a little bit more resistance than the old model, it was smaller and fatter than in the Venza. Both cars did not have as good steering feel as in 1994 Honda Civic.
• It comes with a Smart Key system which is convenient
• it's much easier and cheaper to get 17 inch or 15 inch winter tires as they are available readily
• going 115 km an hour on cruise control onto a slight head wind I was getting between 6 L per hundred kilometers
• the continuously variable transmission gives smoother ride

Cons:

• Lower ground clearance for handling tough winter conditions
• rear seat room is definitely less
• looking at the track record for hybrid batteries, I'm going to need to buy one for $4000 Cdn.10 years down the road. I plan to keep the car for 15. That's a lot of money that's going to be offset from saving fuel. In fact the car might not be worth as much as a new battery. As for getting a hybrid battery from the auto wrecker, the cheap battery from the auto wrecker is most likely going to be at the end of its life as well. So that is not an option
• the car was totally gutless, but I don't need a car to race just to drive

Toyota Venza: 4cl AWD

Pros:

• the vehicle has a much higher ground clearance and comes with all-wheel drive for better bad weather driving
• definitely had better acceleration, especially at lower speeds.
• Large cargo area that would fit both of my German shepherds without me having to fold down rear seats
• a lot more room in the rear seats
• going up a slight head wind at 115 km an hour I was getting 9 L per hundred kilometers, not that much more even though the car is huge on the outside
• it's bigger and taller, so I am guessing it is safer
• dual zone climate control

Cons:

• standard 19 inch wheels have difficulty in finding decent studded tires for the winter, from what I can tell there is none available
• A lot of the extra width of the car is used up by the large center console. Leaving surprisingly not as much room as one would think up front for driver. Not much more then Prius
• the six speed automatic transmission was not as smooth and seems to have been hunting for gears, thankfully there is a manual shifter that can be used in the transmission
• The steering feel is definitely lighter with the steering wheel being bigger and the rim of the steering wheel being skinnier. This generally translated into not so great steering feel. But it was definitely adequate, did not feel like a boat from the 70s. Still Prius felt slightly better.

Hard to decide.


I'm going to be doing mostly highway driving, including driving in winter conditions at four o'clock in the morning no matter what the weather is going to be like. For my work I absolutely need to show up. So it's a tough call, as I generally felt the Prius might be a better fit. So far I have made it to work in my civic, but there were days when I was the first one on the road after a snowstorm in the bottom was starting to plow the road. Leaving me with the sensation of how much traction my wheels have. I also have not found a good barrier for my dogs to carry them in the Prius. I want to give them enough room to move around, yet not too much room as to minimize damage to them in case of an accident. Still I don't have a family, so the Venza seems excessive. I only take my dogs occasionally in the car.

 

First of all, my prices are in Canadian dollars. I'm going to have to e-mail one of the dealerships to find out how much it is for a battery. How much to labor and the parts here in Canada. I believe you're quoting optimistic US prices.

The biggest difference between a new engine and a new battery is that an engine will last usually 500,000 km or 15 years. I am talking about a modern engine with regular maintenance done on it, definitely not going above and beyond on maintenance. But not slacking on the maintenance as well. If you have to change an engine, these days it's usually a defect. It's not the natural life of the engine, and most people will never ever change an engine anymore. The battery is different, most Toyota Prius from the first generation have experienced battery failure. And while there is a great argument saying that the new batteries are much better, only time will tell. A good analogy is Hyundai vehicle supposed rival the quality of Toyota and Honda, back in the late 90s and early 2000. Time has shown that they have indeed improved in quality, but not nearly as much as the hype was around in the late 1990s. They still might make a great vehicle and one-day that is better than all, but they have not done it 10 years ago.

I have made this argument originally, why would I buy a salvaged battery that probably will last not much longer since it's going to be roughly the same age since it has to come out of the same generation Prius. It's like me, in May 1994 Civic looking for an engine from the 1994 Civic. If my engine is to wear out, the other one is probably going to be in a similar shape. The difference with the battery is 8 to 10 years is only half to two thirds of its life. As for buying a cheap battery now, if I do not use it it will discharge completely and ruin itself. So what is the point? I am not about to play mechanic, and swap out the batteries every few months. From what I've heard, they are heavy.

 

First of all, you're quoting a price of the battery after a collision. This is not a new battery, this is a used battery. Second, while eventually battery prices might come down even further for new vehicles as production ramps up and cost of manufacturing go down, they're not going to make the batteries for the current generation in large quantities in the future. So new hybrid owners will benefit, not the current ones. Do you think Toyota makes a lot of batteries for the first generation. I very highly doubt that. And if you look at the prices, they are still very expensive. It's the nature of the beast. I guess what I'm trying to say, the batteries were supposed to be designed for the life of the car. It seems data from the first generation and even 2004 models is showing some flawed science and optimistic outlook. Reality seems to be, the batteries last 8 to 10 years. Cutting in on the fuel savings with an expensive battery to replace and a premium for the hybrid to start with. Even with my 30,000 km a year driving, I'm probably breaking even. When you consider the fact that I drive mostly on the highway, where the hybrid is not much better from a gasoline car.

 

When I made the comparison for acceleration I simply stated a fact. I did not say that it was a big advantage or something that would be a determining factor. Acceleration is a nice to have, but honestly I would never use it anyway. So I don't think much of acceleration being an advantage. Both cars had enough acceleration for my needs. I drive safe not fast.

There is two points that I definitely are interesting. I love the argument that you're making. It's exactly where my dilemma is. I have driven a front wheel drive civic to work for about the last three years to my current job. I have never ever got stuck, I somehow always managed to make it to work. There is very few days, maybe three days a year when this happens. I still ended up making the work. I'm definitely going to be driving using studded winter tires like I currently do. It's just that I do not like driving in bad weather in my current car. But I would be paying for that in terms of fuel for the other 360 days a year. So I'm not sure, whether it's worth the security on those few days and sacrificed so much for all the other days. There is a lot of people at my work, that drive frontwheel cars just like I do. I also own half of my brothers and mine I guess 2002 GMC Sierra 4x4 that if I had advance warning I could use during those bad weather days as my brother does not commute daily to work. For occasions like that, this could be an inconvenient but doable solution. We don't drive the truck daily, but it comes in handy when hauling, going camping, and super bad weather. The problem is, severe weather like this does not come with too much warning.

I also don't live in a particularly snowy part of the world, it does get very cold here. It's generally a dry continental climate. We get snowstorms, but we don't get them often.