Toyota Prius Owner Testimonials
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I bought one of the first batches of Prius sold in the USA, and have owned my Prius since August of 2000. I really like driving my Prius and I am quite satisfied with it. My wife likes it too and we both always choose to drive it over our minivan. We both like the short turning radius and how easy it is to park. I also have to commend Toyota for standing behind their product. Our tires wore out after 23,000 miles and I replaced them with Michelin X-ones. The dealer had told me that the wear on the outside edge was due to imporperly balanced tires and had realligned them, at my cost, on the two pervious standard mainteance service calls. After I replaced the tires Toyota said that they would replace the tires of anyone who had premature tire wear. I called Toyota Customer Service, and they had me Fax the receipts for my tires to them. They paid for the new tires and one of the reallignments, no questions asked.
We are looking at replacing our minivan with a hybrid SUV and we are looking at both the Toyota Highlander and the Ford Escape. I like the Escape better because it is more similar to the Prius, but I worry about Ford's ability to produce a good hybrid, and whether they will stand behind the product as well as Toyota has. The Highlander is OK, but they have tried to make it more mainstream by removing the in-dash energy display ond audio controls. It is also quite a bit more than the Escape.
I purchased my Prius in May of 2002.
I am very satisfied with the car. The car's ride is very smooth, much better than my previous two cars, which is saying a lot, since both were very smooth. It is the best I have found when backing up, which I attribut to the fact that reverse is in electric only.
The car is very quiet whether running in electric only mode or gas and electric. The only time I ever notice the engine is when I am gunning the engine to pass cars or go up steap hills. Even then it is far quieter than other cars.
The 2002 model year is rated 52 MPG city and 45 highway. In my cases I found the car gets about 42-42 city and 45-47 highway. That in the Columbus, Ohio area. Not quite the same as posted, but still incredibly good.
The longest trip I took the car on was to Connecticut. On the way back for about 200 miles down the mountains I was curious about the mileage and it got about 82 MPG, which was incredible since the trip up was just under 40, which made for about 60 MPG both ways. The car did very well in the mountains, and actually passed many other cars such as large Cadillac's, Ford's and Mercedes up the mountains.
The car did take a little to get used to, the steering has no play at all and I found myself overcompensating for about a month before I got used to it. It has some problems in high winds in that the rear does get blown around sometimes. I haven't found any problems driving it in rain or snow, in fact it brakes extremely well in snow. Ice on the otherhand is just as bad as non-hybrids.
I definitely will purchase a new model in a five or so years.
I just bought my 2005 Toyota Pruis in March of '05. I traded it from a Toyota Sienna Van and must admit I love the Pruis. I have a family of 5 with 2 adult children and one younger child. Amazingly we all comfortably fit into the Pruis and don't even notice the load when going down the road (plus have a decent storage - trunk space). I live out in the country and have put over 2,000 miles on it this month alone. I've saved considerable gas mileage and average about 50 MPG. I do watch the the in-dash energy display and have actually found myself taking my "lead foot" off the gas to conserve. The steering wheel controls put everything at your fingertips, as well. If you haven't driven a Pruis you need to give it a try. I am totally amazed at it's "Get-up and Go". I haven't had it long enough to see how the dealer service is but have owned Toyota's for many years and have always been impressed with the service I've gotten.
I bought my prius in July, 2004. I do Home Health Care and already have 20,000 miles on my car. I love the way the prius handles on the county roads that I travel daily. The inside is so spacious and very adequate trunk space is great for all my equipment. I am getting between 50 and 53 miles to the gallon. I would buy another Toyota Prius in an instant. I feel like I come out ahead as I am paid mileage for my travel. My mileage check makes my car payment and pays for the service and gasoline to my car.
The week before Earth day my 2005 Prius BC package arrived at the dealer. As of this week I have put the first 1000 miles on our new Prius. My friends know how ridiculously thorough I am in researching out new cars and electonic products in general. That is most likely the consequence of spending too many years in graduate school. My research on the Prius has been ongoing since 1999. So, the 2nd year of the 2nd generation Prius with the $2,000 tax incentive was all within the constraints of my research and decision to make the purchase. The technology, fuel efficiency, power, larger space, and crash test(s) of the 2004 and 2005 where the top five factors - in priority. I have to say that I am not dissappointed with any of these features or our new Prius. In fact, this car may shortly become one of our family all time favorites if it performs similar to the other Toyota products we have bought. I hope our domestic model manufacturers get it together soon and put some good product out to compete, or better yet - outcompete in the hybrid market. We average 50 around town and 48 on the hwy but I believe there is more to learn about how to improve another 2 miles to the gallon. Some practice on acceleration and deceleration will make the difference. Nothing to dis-like. This is an excellent product and the Prius is a lot of fun to drive. It feels good to pull up to the pump every other week and put in $11 but it is also satisfying to reduce CO2 emissions to 3.5 tons/year - if I do drive 15,000 miles a year. Battery technology will improve and they will be cost-effective to replace 10 years down the line. Who knows the batteries may last 150,000 miles. Don't let the nay-sayers put you down on the Prius or the Civic Hybrid, they are both excellent products and more than enough for the typical commuter of four or less adults. Exercise our great democracy and go for it.
I've had my 2005 Prius for a week now, and it's more than I had ever hoped for. I've travelled 360 miles so far and still have 4 bars on the gas gauge. It's almost a no-brainer to get 45-47 MPG right from the dealership. The next couple of mpg's are a bit trickier, but with practice I've managed to get the average up to 49.7 +/- 0.2 or so. I'm sure I will improve a bit more, but you have to figure that I'll asymptotically approach a limit.
The space-age controls for climate and audio are taking some getting used to, but they're really well thought out and will become second nature soon.
About the nay-sayers that try to disuade people from buying hybrids...I've heard them say that the engine is constantly being started and stopped, and that this is not good for the engine's starting system. For ordinary cars this is true--they have a starter motor that wears with each cycle. The Prius and other hybrids use the momentum of the car and the motor/generator to start the engine when needed, and is a completely different animal, so their argument is moot just like most of the other arguments they use to promote their agenda.
Anyhoo, back to the car...it's definitely the most exciting, interesting vehicle I've ever driven (well, that 911 Carerra was pretty exciting).
Great car!!! I've been driving my 2005 Prius for 2 months now and there is no regret. Although the Prius' promotion says 60 city MPG and 51 highway MPG, I do find myself getting better highway MPG's. I average about 45-48 MPG on each fill-up (10gal tank), it all depends on your driving style. The in-dash energy/consumption display definitly helps the amount of gas you use. The Prius is NO sports car but, I have no problem with accelerating when I need to. Great on parking and it takes corners very good. A very quiet and tight ride!!
Its a great family car, plenty of passenger room in the back. Also, the seats fold up front so you can load up the back. I was amazed when I first noticed how much stuff we put in the back.
Navigation System, need I say more!! What a great tool to have in a car. Also helps with less arguments with you and the co-pilot(wife).
6-CD changer and 9 speaker JBL system. Another great option to get. Awesome sound sysem so you can jam out on those long family trips.
The steering wheel controls are awesome. No more leaning over to change CD, change the volume, change AC controls or change displays on the monitor. Very handy but takes a little time to get used to.
Monitor display with touch screen is great also!! You can monitor how much gas you are using or switch to the Nav system, if it only played DVD's!!. Oh yea, did I metioned voice commands!!
There are so many options to get and I was a little hesitant to get the Prius but once I found out about all the options...where do I sign?? If only this thing came in a SUV or pick-up.
Fun to drive and exciting...everytime I drive it I learn something new.
I ordered my Prius in May of 2004 and received it in January 2005. I have never owned a Toyota before and I have been driving mini-vans for at least 15 years. I have not regretted switching from a mini-van to my Pruis. The features in it are outstanding to say the least. I purchased my Pruis with the GPS system in it. This feature is what I really enjoy the best, next to the super gas mileage. Now I don't get lost anymore and I don't have to rely on a road map or my husband!!! I am currently purchasing a cell phone with Bluetooth technology to use with the Prius. I can't wait to try it out. I like that I can give the car verbal commands and it responds. Sometimes though, it does get the commands mixed up. I am currently getting 48 mpg in the city. I have put 7,000 miles in it and I expect to keep this car well over the 100,000 miles mark. I love this car!!!
7/28/05,
Ah auto reviews, don't your just love em. "Takes some getting used too" and high priced options gloriously reviewed always sound like they are comeing from a dealers' employee, don't they. Well they are! I am not a dealer, so here's the truth if you can handle it. I bought this car for use on California freeways at fwy. speed ie. 70+ mph. The little efficient gas engine really screams at that speed, as I am used to a big v-8 in my pu truck, the loud noise is very disturbing. Now, around town when I am taking off at the typical Calf. traffic light, one must punch it or get run over. The noisy gas eng. kicks in first and just as the speed settles to 35-40 and the elect. motor kicks in I am at the next red light and the process starts over. Not a lot of fun for the effort to save some gas and money. This is not the car to buy in Calif. unless you are one of those drivers that we call a "road hog" going very slow to save gas, because if you drive like you should for our roads than you won't save much gas and may go deaf from that small engine noise if you try....
I've been driving my Toyota Prius 05 for 7 months now and I love it. My average mileage is around 45-48 mpg . There's plenty of room inside specially at the back,of course if you have a long leg it's not a comfortable car for you. The other things that I love about my car besides having good mileage and invironmentally friendly is, I don't use my key to turn it on, just push the button and they same as parking.... The navigation system!! it's really great, it help me a lot especially that I'm new in the city of houston, then my cellphone with a bluetooth technology... boy!!!!! it just connect right away to my GPS once I turn on the car and can start talking to the speaker. I don't even use my remote control to open the door.....my car just automatically unlocked once i'm closer to the car. The technology of this car is really amasing. In the future if I need to buy another car I don't think I will get another conventional one. I'm already use to with my hightech car I would deffinitely get another hybrid or better than my car....The only problem with my car is everytime I bring it to a car wash, I have to show them on how to start & park my car .....lol......
We just puchase a used 2002 Certified Toyota Prius and love it. Very quiet and good performance. I have owned a Geo Metro and I believe this performs and rides better. Would like to see move after market products for this car. We average about 54 mpg back and forth to work from Harpers Ferry WV to Rockville Md. and 49.6 MPG on the highway. A great decision but Congress should give some type of tax credit for use hybids as well to encourage others to try this car. I am not disappointed in any way. This care is better that expected.
Our family has had three Prii (if that is the plural of Prius). That's right. Three. We got our first one, a light blue 2001 model, in the fall of 2000, right when I got my learners permit. With children leaving for college, and a minivan no longer necessary, our second one arrived in September 2004, a red hatchback model (my father was dismayed when the first model was not offered in red). Gas was pusing up towards $2 per gallon I calculated that we would save $1000 in gas alone each year we drove the Prius over the minivan — which sealed the deal. We got it off a waitlist in Maine that was three months instead of close to a year. The third one, a 2001 white model, bought on Craigslist, came after a very sad event involving my sister, an ipod and a Kia which rendered the blue car, with 80,000+ miles, unusable.
In any case, we have driven Prii for a combined 5 1/2 car years and way over 100,000 miles and have nothing but good things to say about them. My mother likes them because it is environmentally friendly and a guy magnet — at least for geeky-computer types. But she's married to one of those already. My father likes them because he can take hours to explain the inner workings of the continually variable transmission, and for the sense of community amongst the Prius owners. And both of my parents were featured on the front page of the Boston Globe living section last year. The cars (red and blue) made it on to the front cover. I like them because I can drive 300 miles in a day to hike and the total cost of gas it $12 — and because I can pull in to a gas station, fill the tank and leave while the SUV next to me guzzles fuel the whole time. And the roundtrip to Anna's uses about a quarter's worth of gas.
The car drives great. Nothing has gone wrong. When a poorly-replaced oilpan screw led to a loss of a gallon of oil on 128, I was able to drive, entirely under battery power, to a service station half a mile away without ruining the engine. We regularly get in the mid 40s to lower 50s on the 2001 model and upper 40s to mid 50s on the 2004 model, with a 10-20% reduction in the winter (or when someone drives 75 mph down the Pike). Nothing has needed replacement — Toyota was accommodating when a recall took place, and we could not be more happy with our vehicles. The Prius is the most technologically advanced of the hybrid models, and unlike some of the newer SUV hybrids or the Accord does not use the Hybrid mainly to gain power. I've driven 106 mph in it, and that is faster than I will ever need to go. The design of the radio on the first car is a bit nagging, and the touch screen is somewhat of a nuisance to use since you can not feel the buttons. All in all, they are truly great cars.
By the way, the ride at 106 was smooth.
Bought a 2006 with pkg 3, wanted 5 but had to take what I could get. Hard to find. I bought it because of the gas milege
I like the way it handles and runs with no problems after 6500 miles. drove to fla. and got 48.4 per gal. I think the car needs more options, power seats, more interior lighting,compass on mirror,side lights for turning,hatch release from inside and Security system should be standard.
Would buy another one in furture but will be more picky on color and options. Hopefully more will be available.
I bought a Prius for my wife in 2006. it is a fabulous vehicle. My wife averages 48-52 mpg around town and to and from work. I took it on a trip to visit my brother and averaged 51.3 for 3350 miles. It was a very comfortable ride. Mostly freeway cruising at 70-80 mph. I will definitely purchase another hybrid when Toyota comes out with the hybrid version of the RAV4 or the FJ
