[milonde05]

I'm a college student and very intrested in buying a Prius. The hybrid aspect is very attractive to me. I was curious to hear from actually owners to see how they like owning a hybrid vehicle. Is it everything it says? Are there any draw backs? I will be driving it around town but also back and forth from school to home every few months which is about 200 miles away. Basicly, any and all information from owners would be greatly appriciated. I want as much info as possible to make this desition. Thanks in advance!
-JB
[email protected]
Please e-mail responses if possible

 

[RSnyder]

I've owned Pikachu for over 2 years now and am still very happy with him. He's been trouble free as you would expect from a Toyota. Tight turns and fast low-speed torque make it very nimble in city traffic in addition to it's comfy cruise for long trips. It's not, however, a muscle car. As long as you're ok with that, you'll be quite happy with it's performance. It's one of the best front wheel drive cars available for winter driving, and the 276 volt "starter motor" makes winter starting a breeze.

Be sure to check out John's site (http://john1701a.com) for tons of happy owner information, including a list of selling points that you'll want to consider while comparing it with alternatives.

Be aware that it comes with rather short lived tires (typical for low cost new cars), so be sure to check John's list of alternative tires in about 30,000 miles. It uses higher pressure tires, so you'll want to run them at least 35/33 psi front/back, maybe even 42/40 which seems to extend tire life.

 

[WmHPowell]

I'm on my second Prius!
Drove the first one for just over two years and over 50,000 miles with NO trouble.
My new Prius "Tew" is also running just great at 2500 miles.

 

[gene godefroid]

My Micagreen

I've had my Prius for just over two weeks, the best Toyota I've ever owned, and this makes number 11. You get what you pay for with this car, and the mpg is great.

Geno

 

[Gedot]

Just bought my second Prius. My wife loved the first one so that i was unable to get much drive time. This car is fun to drive and makes you feel good at the same time. I don't believe their is another car made that i would trade for my prius. Straight up!

 

[Gene]

Buy a Prius?

Strongly Positive!
Just four months driving the Prius AKA (super white) MarvMobile.
My other Toyota 99 Land Cruiser has been sittin parked and moved only to wash it.

I feel comfortable in and with the MarvMobile. It is a small vehicle without pedal punch but totally comfortable in city traffic and a gem out in the countryside. I havent had as much fun driving since my first car 30 years ago, a VW Bug. I was thinking this weekend out on in the countryside how I wish I had a vehicle like the MarvMobile when I was in college vs. the VW bug. When it is 15 degrees out the auto heater system works great, the heater has PUNCH! and the heater works! Not so with the 68 VW Bug (things in the past like)-- wind shield wipers work, I dont have to stop and open the motor and retime the ignition it or run a file on the points!! How much for the better vehicles have improved in the past years. I got 48mpg yesterday on a 150-mile journey, that is driving within the speed limits, backcountry and suburban roads, light traffic, goosing it at lights, having fun!!! -- not even thinking about getting mileage I filled up reset the mileage computer and I was doing 55mpg until I stopped at the mall for a few hours this morning it showed 48 mpg average for the trip yesterday.

I dont want a cell phone when Im driving the MarvMobile. If you like gadgets it has plenty, lots to keep your eyes off the road if you dont pay attention, NAV system display, the Lady talking at ya, looking for short cuts on the display, checking your (last) 5 minute past mpg average. CDs, AM to FM radio searches, getting that feel that your are gliding at 40 some miles per hour in electric, no ICE (engine) running. You get to playing with the feel of the drive by wire gas pedal, little heel movement and toe pressure to drop out the ICE and drive sublime. Then you have to check the display to see how long you can drain the juice from the battery before the next hill and regenerate!

I like taking the MarvMobile into the city, it squeezes into tight parking spaces (I wish it did have a door bumper guard strips). It has been doing 37-41 mpg on these cold start mornings with only a 7 mile drive and a lunch time restart and a 4-5 mile dive, hour later cold start and back to work, restart cold and drive home 7 miles. It kills the mileage but my V8 Land Cruiser GULPS it up at 12 to 14 mpg in the same weather (high test).

Enough babble ..

 

[LeMangelo]

Private sector mandate.

When the nickle-metal hydride battery fails the car will have very little value,price to replace battery may be more than trade-in value of the car the day before battery failed.Toyota has placed warranty expiration of battery at place where people consider car replacement which seems logical because it is time when people get tired of a car and expensive battery replacements would hurt profits.Toyoya is "steering" people into another car instead of battery replacement with the disincentive of expensive battery (perhaps intentional).They could offer old Prius buyers incentive for new car with environmental message (trade-in=recycling) but I think this "hard date" will upset many who had simular problems with old freon which is very expensive leaving option of expensive retrofit or new purchase.

 

[john1701a]

>> When the nickle-metal hydride battery fails the car will have very little value

How much is the trade-in value on ANY car that has around 200,000 miles on it?

We already have an owner that has driven that many miles. His battery-pack made it just fine. There's no real basis for your concern. The hybrid system design of Prius very carefully protects the integrity of the battery-pack. Electricity is generated on-the-fly as much as efficiently possible to avoid having to even draw from the battery-pack at all.

So as more and more owners exceed the warranty period, you here more and more stories about how the battery-pack continues to run strong. The misconception will just fade to a story that you get a good laugh from. (Or you'll kick yourself for not having purchased a hybrid sooner.)

 

[jadjman]

Re: People Sense Barely Certain Make

When the nickle-metal hydride battery fails the car will have very little value

I am absolutely fascinated by this guy "LeMangelo." Are you a non-English user using some sort of translation software? Are you allergic to articles? Do you have some sort of thesaurus fetish? Do you live in some sort of stream-of-conciousness-altered-state? Are you saving your spacebar and [ENTER] key for some reason?

Nick

 

[Henry]

For that matter, check out the "college student" spelling in the post at the top of this thread.

"Desition," indeed!

 

[RSnyder]

If we could all refrain from personal attacks and teasing, this would remain a useful, informative forum.

 

[DAVID]

Thank you Robert