# Any Toyota Prius Drivers Out There?



## Agent orange (Feb 11, 2006)

Just wondered what your impressions of the car are and if the MPG figure lives up to expectations.

I currently drive a BMW 320d touring and although I love the car it's getting a bit long in the tooth. I need to consider replacing it but I'm struggling to think with what. Essentially it answers all my driving requirements, frugal, practical and great fun when you want it to be. I don't see the point of spending a lot of money replacing it with a more modern version, lower mileage version of the same.

My daily commute is 135 miles, mainly on the motorway. Any other suggestions would be appreciated too btw.

Cheers,

Gary


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## unlcky alf (Nov 19, 2006)

I'm sure a Prius owner will be along to help you soon Gary...... as soon as they've made it up the hill h34r:


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## Agent orange (Feb 11, 2006)

unlcky alf said:


> I'm sure a Prius owner will be along to help you soon Gary...... as soon as they've made it up the hill h34r:


     That's partly why I'm looking for real world opinions Simon.

Cheers,

Gary


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## unlcky alf (Nov 19, 2006)

Given the cost of fuel these days I can empathise with the prius buyers.

This made me laugh though.

My car has just sailed through its emmission test and remains utterly reliable, despite being 12 years old. So, barring mechanical disaster, I've decided to hang on to it for at least another 3 years, I may even see if I can't push it to its 20th birthday. Of course this is easy for me as I have only averaged 4000miles pa for the last 3 years :lol:

I don't have to worry about obscene stealth tax VED rates either, there is no annual car tax here :tongue2:

Is the





 hybrid available in the UK? it looks a bit less "budget" than the Prius and has a decent sized engine too.

Good luck on your hunt Gary, I love car shopping :yes:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

I kind of get the feeling that if they were that good you would see more of them on the road but although you see the odd one now and then they are still a reasonably rare sight here. Future maitainence would concern me as well. The other minor problem is that they are not the best looking car I have seen recently

MPG I guess will depend on how you drive it, The Stig managed to get 17mpg from one as opposed to JC's 19mpg from an M3 :lol:

B.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

might be worth reading b4 you consider the prius to be a green option

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/Recorder/editorial/e....asp?NewsID=188


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## langtoftlad (Mar 31, 2007)

Did you see the Top Gear test?

They drove a Prius around their track, followed by a BMW (I forget which one) keeping pace - then measured the fuel consumption... the BMW was more economical!

I realise that this was just one test and being Top Gear was no doubt designed to prove a point... nevertheless...

Oh and how green is it when you actually consider the environmental costs of manufacture as well - raw materials transported across the world & the finished product transported back again...


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

langtoftlad said:


> Oh and how green is it when you actually consider the environmental costs of manufacture as well - raw materials transported across the world & the finished product transported back again...


A favourite arguement of these Yank Tank drivers, now where's the key's to my pickup truck :lol: :lol:


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## MartinMW (Jun 1, 2006)

Hi Gary

My wife has owned 2 Pruis's now and loves the car and must admit it is very nice to drive, which i do frequently at weekends.

The plus points are:

Only 'True Hybrid' being able to run solely on the electric Motor

Very Good economy (especially as a town car)

Stupidly cheap VED (Â£15 pa)

Very good interior space

Very Nicely equiped

Cast Iron Toyota Warrany and reliability

Automatic option only (could be either plus or minus point)

CVT gearbox (takes some getting used to but IMO very good)

Ticks a lot of the 'Green' boxes if you care about that kind of thing

Minus Points

Not the Cheapest car in its segment

Motorway mileage not as good as a carefully driven diesel ( I drive an Audi 1.9TDi 110 miles a day and get 58-62mpg from it, the best i get from the Prius on the M/way is 55-57)

Boot space only average due to the space the Batteries take up (they are not on show but do make the boot relatively shallow)

It all depend whether or not you personally like the car and it fits the bill as a daily 'user'.

They are great IMO but is it great for you 

Hope this helps and if you need any questions answering i would be glad to.

Cheers

Martin


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Did anyone see Panorama last night? Forget mpg, the G-Wiz only has a range of 48 miles.

Is the Prius Congestion Charge exempt?


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## Who. Me? (Jan 12, 2007)

If you want a normal car with very low emissions, have a look at any of the current generation of ultra-efficient diesels e.g. the VW 'BlueMotion' derivatives

Wiki - Bluemotion

...'The BlueMotion Polo and Ibiza Ecomotive use a special 1.4 L Diesel engine which achieves 3.9 L/100 km (72.4 imperial MPG, 60.3 US MPG) while producing just 99 grams of CO2 per kilometre. Both figures beat the hybrid Toyota Prius.

The BlueMotion Golf uses a more powerful, though less economic, 1.9 L Diesel engine, achieving a more modest 62.8 imperial MPG.'...

The Seats look better than the VW equivalents though. The Ibiza especially, is marketed for 'fun', but the Leon Ecomotive (the equivalent of the BlueMotion Golf) still only produces 119 grams CO2/km.

And you don't have to lug all the battery weight around, and they look decent, and people won't think you're jumping on the 'green' train to impress your neighbours.


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## Agent orange (Feb 11, 2006)

Thanks for the replies.

The reason I was asking about the Prius was to find out what it was like on the motorway and whether it could keep up with the regular cut and thrust and still return decent MPG. With diesel being roughly 60p a gallon more expensive these days (still don't understand why that is), I thought there might be a petrol solution.

I've no problem with the fuel economy of my car as I get at worst 45 mpg. The best mpg I ever got was an Audi A4 estate, 60mpg if I drove like a saint. Strangely enough I bought an Audi A2 afterwards and it couldn't better the A4 :blink:. Very disappointing and in general it just wasn't up to the miles I do, the dealership was a total disaster area too but that's another story.

My 3 series is 8 years old now and has 166,000 miles on the clock, if it wasn't for this I would keep it and might just yet.

Cheers,

Gary


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## thunderbolt (May 19, 2007)

Robert said:


> Did anyone see Panorama last night? Forget mpg, the G-Wiz only has a range of 48 miles.
> 
> Is the Prius Congestion Charge exempt?


I believe all hybrid cars are congestion charge exempt, even the big Lexus 4x4 Hybrid.


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## Agent orange (Feb 11, 2006)

Forgot to say that I treat all government figures with a very large pinch of salt. With the exception of the A4 I've never matched a mpg figure in my life.

Cheers,

Gary


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## Steve R (Sep 29, 2007)

Gary, I can't speak from experience but I really doubt that a Prius will be anything like as pleasant and at home on the motorway for the miles you do compared with your BMW - they're chalk and cheese, and IMHO they're really not cut out for daily M-way slogs.

I have a 2.0 GT TDi Golf and on the motorway it will do 60 mpg without trying (I'm not convinced by the Bluemotion versions - they use the ancient 1.9 engine, a 5 speed box vs 6...), but to be honest I don't think you could do better than a new 320d - the latest cars are even more economical and I think will easily offset the greater cost of diesel vs petrol.

Alternatively rather than buying a new 320d, buy a three year old 330d and use the seven grand you save to fund a whole lot of diesel and slightly more VED (still only 160-odd g/km CO2 mind you) while having twice the fun and still easily doing the right side of 50 mpg. I know where I'd rather spend several hours of my life every day... 

S.


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

pg tips said:


> might be worth reading b4 you consider the prius to be a green option
> 
> http://clubs.ccsu.edu/Recorder/editorial/e....asp?NewsID=188


Might also be worth reading a few rebuttals...

http://www.betterworldclub.com/articles/hu...e-efficient.htm

http://wallofcheese.blogspot.com/2007/04/p...nmental_03.html

http://www.thecarconnection.com/article/10...loding-the-myth


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

Had a "drive day" at work a few weeks back, many differenct vehicles to play around with....all over the same road course.....one was the Prius....I have always liked the way it drives.....but only if driven normally as I always find it turns a little "frantic" when pushed, and it is primarily a town/suburb car.....it will give the same figures on a Mway as any 1500cc petrol vehicle give or take, the hybrid only works well in stop start and commuter traffic B roads, don't forget this car was designed and engineered originally for Japan driving, a completely different style from Europe!

I would say for Mway work you already have the perfect choice.....sorry to be boring :lol:


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

SharkBike said:


> pg tips said:
> 
> 
> > might be worth reading b4 you consider the prius to be a green option
> ...


I never trust any report that starts "Let's put this debate to rest" 

I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. But battery technology is still way off where it needs to be to make any hybrid a viable long term affordable option. And the high amount of nickel used in the batteries really is an environmental headache.

tbh there is no right answer yet but the prius is just clouding the issue. Lean burn technology from the Internal combustion engine is about as far as it can go, hydro fuel cells are years off being practicle, solar power needs the same reliance on batteries as a hybrid.

get a job close to home and walk or pedal.

but as for your original question, I've met a few prius owners and none of them have recommended it as a m way cruiser


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## SharkBike (Apr 15, 2005)

pg tips said:


> I never trust any report that starts "Let's put this debate to rest"


I never trust any report that recommends a Chevy Aveo.


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## Stuart Davies (Jan 13, 2008)

Gary - you know what I do for a living and I still wouldn't touch one of these with a barge pole. The fact that Toyota make the blandest range of cars on the road aside, the interiors are dour and the engine is the thrashiest, noisiest heap I've ever had the miss fortune to drive.

Can you tell that I'm not too keen? :lol:


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## Nin (Jul 16, 2004)

Gary

I have a Prius - a company car. I like it. It returns about 50 mpg, and most of my driving is at just below ban speed (85-90) on the motorway. Driven carefully I can get high 50s to low 60s MPG, but I can't be bothered to drive it carefully. Yes it can more than handle the cut and thrust of the M25, M4, M40

It is one of the easiest cars to drive I have ever come across. It goes pretty well, with the 1.5 petrol and the electric engine is equivalent to another 1l petrol engine when it kicks in. With no gear changes you can get a pretty good getaway/takeoff from any speed. Space wise it's about ford Focus size.

Interestingly I've noticed that many people can be quite agressively negative about it - like they think I think I'm somehow superior? Bizarre. I guess you have to have one for a while to understand what I mean.

Take a test drive - but make it a long one so you get used to it first.

BMWs can be more economical driven carefully - the way I drive, I doubt it.

Simon


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## Agent orange (Feb 11, 2006)

Stuart Davies said:


> Gary - you know what I do for a living and I still wouldn't touch one of these with a barge pole. The fact that Toyota make the blandest range of cars on the road aside, the interiors are dour and the engine is the thrashiest, noisiest heap I've ever had the miss fortune to drive.
> 
> Can you tell that I'm not too keen? :lol:


Coming from someone with you job Stuart that's quite a kicking for the Prius. Does that mean you'll sanction my purchase of a Hummer then? And no, I'm not talking about the watches  .

Seriously though it looks like another BMW 320d is going to be best option. I thought things may have moved on a bit it since I bought my current one, it's a bit disappointing, not to say depressing really.

Cheers,

Gary


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Agent orange said:


> Stuart Davies said:
> 
> 
> > Gary - you know what I do for a living and I still wouldn't touch one of these with a barge pole. The fact that Toyota make the blandest range of cars on the road aside, the interiors are dour and the engine is the thrashiest, noisiest heap I've ever had the miss fortune to drive.
> ...


 :lol:










A guy close by to me is into military stuff and had an original full size HumVee it was huge and on a good day did about 6 or 7 miles to the gallon. Made my truck look small and my 18 to gallon positively economical.


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