I use a 2005 Prius as my daily driver and it has been quite a good one.

It has experienced almost no failures in 70k miles and only needed the normal regular maintenance.

I put probably about 200 miles a week on it normally but sometimes more. It's been a great car and well worth the price (about $23k out the door). Plus we have the carpool lane stickers from that program they were running back in 2005 so that has been helpful as well. Unfortunately that program expires on July 1st of this year - after that I will be a mere mortal in traffic - that's going to suck majorly. It's got enough room for our family of 4 (kids are still small), passengers have good room in the back and front. Plenty of luggage space and it averages around 47mpg consistently. Because of the potential for battery failure and the cost of replacement I'm not sure we'll keep it past 80 or 100k - I have to check to recall what the actual warranty is on the bugger.

Overall, it's been a great car and I would recommend them to anyone. The newer ones look even better.

I don't have one but am surrounded by them. They will carry 3 adults + luggage - a Civic won't do so nearly as well.

The battery and constituents of it will be recycled.

The Prius is a really well engineered car - but it's a transitional vehicle. If Toyota still uses that name in 15 years, the car will look a lot different.

My bike still crushes all hybrids in purchase price, speed, ease of parking, fuel economy and fun. I can take the carpool lanes everywhere.

Prii ;)

we rented a Prius a year ago visiting Phoenix from the bay area, the amount of gas we'd save over taking my Tundra saved us enough to pay for a 3 night stay at a Motel 6. As we broke in the engine (picked it up with not too many miles on it) it started getting better gas mileage. It was getting gas mileage in the mid forties even after doing a constant 80mph on I-10 heading west out of Phoenix. While it certainly doesn't have the "balls" I was used to on my s/c'd Tundra, it certainly was no slouch.

We rented a genII Prius for a week during a vacation. While on a closed course we cruised at 90 MPH for 90 miles and still returned 37.5 MPG. The little Prius just hummed along and still has some go pedal left in 'er.

With a Cd of 0.25 and small frontal area it is actually a pretty smooth high speed car although I would be worried about lift :)

Speedy:)

The batteries are quite recyclable with programs to do so already in place by the car manufacturers who sell them. Both provide financial incentives for returning the batteries (as I understand it) and both claim to recycle every part of the battery.

Plus, my car was only slightly more than a comparable Corolla but provides just short of the room of a Camry.

I rode in a prius cab in NYC, I felt the leg room was crappy.

I've also seen a few converted to Taxis.

Those guys do their homework before using any car as a Taxi. So they must be viable.
Most of our Taxis are full sized sedans running on LPG to save fuel costs. It's about half the price of gasoline.

Long term who knows? I've always been concerned about the battery life and replacement costs.
Toyota claims a 9 years battery life. Probably more like 6 years in the real world.
How much does it cost to swap them out? :rolleyes:

Most of them would probably be at end of life after 9 years anyways...

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In a word... Marketing. ;)

6 years in the real world? That is definitely not typical.

My father's 2001 gen 1 Prius is on it's original battery and getting 45 mpg. Mileage has suffered as the battery has aged. He can rebuild it for not a ton of money, when the time comes.

I'll be blunt; I have really appreciated my Prius and my beat up old Volvo (2000 V70). As I was driving the volvo up Mulholland this morning taking my 6 year old to a camp activity up there I was keenly aware that I was NOT in any of the Porsches I have owned. As I drove back down Mulholland and was passed by a few motorcycles doing their thing I came to the conclusion that the one I missed the most was probably the '74 914 I had. It got great mileage, I didn't have to worry about smog and I had a decent mechanic who could do all the hard stuff for me.

6 Years was a guess.

So what does a replacement battery pack cost?

how about a 914 with a Chevy Volt "hybrid" system?

- just wait...

I'd rather be eaten by a goat and krapped over a cliff than buy a Prius...

We know if it isn't a Mustang, it crap.

The highway miles shouldn't be where the Prius shines. The low drag and small body help on the highway, but I doubt the hybrid tech is worth anything. The weight of the hybrid tech may actually hurt at highway speeds.

The city is where it looks so attractive. I'd get one if I needed a car. Unfortunately, I need a pickup.

On the highway at 65 mph, a gen 2 Prius will do close to 50 mpg real-world. The regenerative braking helps a little, since the engine switches off and the battery charges when the car is coasting and then the battery propels the car at light throttle. Thus the engine is "off" about 1/10th of the time. On all but the most flat, most empty highway, there will be periods of coasting. Up the average speed to 70-75 mph, and the mpg will drop to 45 mpg.

This is based on our 2 drives per year from PDX to SF Bay, loaded up w/ 4 people and luggage. Stick a roof pod and a pair of kayaks on the roof, and mpg drops substantially!

The hybrid part of the car doesn't weigh that much. The battery weighs about 100 lb. The electric motor and regen brakes weigh something. As an offset, the engine is smaller than it would otherwise be. My guesstimate - the hybrid aspect costs maybe net 200 lb in weight.

But, you're right, the hybrid tech works best in town.

Remember, the Prius (and, I think, other hybrids) is quite sensitive to driving style. My wife routinely gets 5 mpg less than I do. She accelerates to every red light, cusses out other cars, etc. She doesn't know what "zen" is, behind the wheel. You'd think she was in a Mustang.

I actually replaced my Xterra (not technically a pickup) with a Prius. At the time the wife was driving the Xterra mostly and I was driving the Porsche though. So the Prius was for my commute to downtown and her general driving.

The point is; I have hobbies that require a large cargo area. The Xterra almost fit that bill. The Prius fits it just right, I have large model airplanes I need to get into the cargo area. With the seats down I can fit quite a bit. Only my beat up old Volvo wagon is better but in 3-4 years of ownership of the Volvo I've spent more on repairs than in nearly 6 years of ownership of the Prius.

I got a question. if milage is your reason for buying, why not an early 90s CVIC wagon.

If you mean the smaller 2-door it's because they are smaller. (duh)

I don't recall a 4 door Civic wagon but it certainly could exist.

Gas mileage wasn't the only reason to get the Prius for me. It was also to get those HOV lane stickers and improve my commute. Those expire on July 1st though...so after that I will be a mere mortal and I am not looking forward to it. My commute has changed over the years. Generally speaking I work from home but the days I do travel it's either 50 miles north or 50 miles south of home. Luckily I can usually time it outside of heavy traffic but there is no way to avoid all of that in LA.

Algor's pot smoking kid, loaded like he was, got a ticket for 100mph driving a Prius here in Orange County a few years ago. If Algor and his kid like them, they must be good.

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