2004 Toyota Prius 1.5L hybrid from North America

Summary:

I liked the first one so much I bought another with less miles, so now we have two!

Faults:

Have had to replace one front wheel bearing.

Had to service the hybrid battery; the cost was $300, which was very reasonable!

General Comments:

My wife drives a lot of miles for her job over a year. She needed something dependable & cheap to operate. Therefore, I bought a used Prius from a big store lot; this store ONLY keeps nicer units, and seldom ever one with over 100k miles.

The Prius had 160k when we purchased it, and now has approx 200k. I estimated the fuel savings above her old car at approx $150 per month minimum.

Even with the high miles, this lil car still runs great! I like it so much I bought another used one for myself with 98k miles.

My wife is hell on wheels in a car... this little has really done good for her. I'd recommend a Prius to anyone! I plan on her driving it for at least another year, then getting a newer one with low miles!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th April, 2016

2004 Toyota Prius Package 6 1.4 from North America

Summary:

The Car performs to spec if given a chance

Faults:

Had to have the Computer re-flashed for a stalling problem. Other than that one incident nothing has gone wrong with the vehicle.

General Comments:

I get 50 miles per US Gallon from the Spring to the Fall and 46- 48 miles per US Gallon in the winter.

The OEM tires are not the best and ready at 30k miles to be replaced.

I need winter dedicated tires to navigate through snow covered roads.

You have to learn to drive the car to get the benefits of the good gas mileage i.e. slow starts and acceleration from a stop and coasting when anticipating a stop.

You need to make sure that the oil is not overfilled after each service.

You need to have the tire pressure at the max cold sidewall pressure listed for the tire not the factory recommendation.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd July, 2007

24th Jul 2007, 06:28

'and coasting when anticipating a stop.'

Coasting isn't the best way to save fuel, because the engine still has to tick over to stop it from stalling. If you use your gears to slow down & stay off the accelerate you actually use no fuel at all.

Won't make a noticeable effect on fuel consumption, but is interesting to know.

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2004 Toyota Prius T3 Hybrid from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Amazing value for such an advanced car

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car - maybe criticise the dash for scuffing easily.

General Comments:

The car is great - very economical although you have to drive it the right way. This is clear by the reviews in the UK where they got ex-racing drivers to try it and they got 40mpg. I drive it carefully and I have achieved 70+mpg on the motorway over 100 mile journeys on a few occasions and often get over 60mpg.

Very nice to drive - comfortable and quiet.

Boot space is great - can fit a weeks shopping in with ease.

The view out the rear view can be obscured, but the side mirrors more than make up for that as they are great.

Buy one!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th March, 2005

13th Jun 2005, 07:13

I really can't understand the appeal of hybrids. You can buy a number of small diesel cars right now which will achieve 60 mpg in day to day use, without the cost, complexity and unknown future reliability of the hybrid drivetrain and more importantly its complex electronics. No heavy battery packs with their heavy metals and noxious chemicals, and being diesel powered, ready "out of the box" to use renewable vegetable oil based fuels, or biodiesel if the infrastructure and tax policy would accommodate them.

There's also the matter of the Lupo TDI 3L. Over 20g/km less CO2 than the Prius (even when burning standard fossil diesel), against 104 g/km for the Prius), a genuine 70-80 mpg in daily use, near identical performance and about £4k cheaper when they finally decide to import it. And an infinitely simpler design which will be more reliable and cheaper to maintain. Even comparatively big, high performance diesel cars like the new Focus and Golf will do 0-60 in 9 seconds, 50 mpg and still only have maybe 40g/km more.

If it weren't for modern diesels, the hybrid would be a good choice.

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