Comments: 1-15, 16-18
Nothing other than that the back seat cup holders are flimsy and fall off quite often.
The Prius doesn't have great pickup, but it steers great, you have lots of control over the car, but be careful it is easy to over steer on sharp corners.
The EPA said the Prius would get about 50 MPG, though this is not completely true, the numbers aren't far off. I have averaged 45.3 MPG in mixed driving, and have saved hundreds of dollars in gasoline money. I get gas probably twice a week, max!
The Prius is a little bland on the outside, but it is not a bad looking car, and it doesn't look like something out of a Sci-Fi film like the Honda Insight. I would also like to mention that it looks smaller on the outside than it feels on the inside.
The interior aspects of the car are great, comfortable seats, plenty of room for 4 adults, it's a stretch to fit 5, but it can be done. Though small on the outside, it doesn't look anything like an economy car on the inside. It has a cool touch screen to navigate audio controls along with energy consumption and MPG diagrams. People have complained about how the touch screen can be a distraction, but I have had no problem with it. The layout of the "gages" is a little different and takes getting used to, but in the end I kind of like it more than the traditional gages.
Reliability wise, it has been perfect. Toyota and Honda make exceptionally reliable cars, and the Prius is no exception. Forget Chevy's and Ford'd, if people have not noticed, in the past decade, American made cars have gone down in quality. They are just plain unreliable junk. So don't kid yourself, go for a Japanese made car (like the Prius) and you won't have to have your car in the shop indefinately.
Overall, the Prius is not a fast car or a sporty car, but then again it's not meant to be. It is meant to be a comfortable smaller car alternative to a family car, with a gas electric hybrid engine, that gets the job done while also achieving incredible fuel consumption. I love my Prius and recommend it to anybody in search of a new small/midsized car.
"Toyota and Honda make exceptionally reliable cars, and the Prius is no exception. Forget Chevy's and Ford'd, if people have not noticed, in the past decade, American made cars have gone down in quality. They are just plain unreliable junk. So don't kid yourself, go for a Japanese made car (like the Prius) and you won't have to have your car in the shop indefinately."
This review definitely sounds like a Toyota or Honda rep or salesperson. My 2000 Impala has 150k on it, and runs great. My wife's "reliable" 01 Echo has been nothing, but problems in 55k miles. Comments about American cars going down in quality is a result of old perceptions from 20+ years ago, and are pure garbage.
I hate emotional statements not backed up by facts. Read the J.D. Power quality studies, they are the bible of the industry and are quoted in virtually all the automakers adds at one time or another. American cars overall are virtually identical in quality to foreign cars. Sometimes a little better sometimes a little worse. Just look up the facts before making a silly statement like that.
I agree with the two comments above this one in regards to the reviewer's opinion of American cars. Do the research before making such an outlandish statement. Here's a shocker for you, some American cars now actually EXCEED some Japanese cars in quality & reliability. However, as the first comment states, because of old perceptions, people still think foreign cars are the best, and I'll also quote the first comment by saying that these perceptions are in fact pure garbage.
In reply to the July 4, 2004 comment above, the Impala is built in a Canadian plant (Oshawa, Ont) that JD power has rated one of the highest in N. America for Quality. A low-end vehicle like the Echo will not be built with such premium labor (probably built in Mexico), and with lower quality parts as the manufacturer makes up for thin margins through volume.
It has little to do with the company itself, or the company's country of origin. In the age of the global economy, Toyota builds cars in Canada, Chevrolet builds cars in Korea. Compare models by class and market segment however and I'd bet that similar trends in quality would be apparent.
The oft-quoted JD Power rankings generally refer to the brand as a whole, and thus mask the fact that some of one company's vehicles may be exceptionally good, while others may be exceptionally bad. This is another reason why higher end brands (such as Lexus, Infiniti, and Mercedes) that sell fewer vehicles tend to rank higher than their poor cousins (Toyota, Nissan and Chrysler) that sell proportionally more vehicles.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1110453127130&call_pageid=970599119419
"The problem rate for the traditional North American Big Three was 17 per 100 vehicles — down one from last year."
"Asian brands continued to top the reliability ranks, maintaining last year's overall problem rate of just 12 per 100 vehicles."
"The average for European brands was up by one, to 21 problems per 100 vehicles."
In other words, I have *never* heard anyone say that American brands are exceeding Asian, but they are working on closing the gap.
J.D. Power and Associates is not exactly something I would consider as a bible for quality. I've oftentimes seen products they back and say have high quality marks that, in fact, in the real world are quite opposite. They like any other company are paid, and paid well in some cases, to give their opinion. Something like that tends to lead towards bias. While I have owned American vehicles that are great, as a whole they are substandard at best when compared to their overseas counterparts. It's not an old idea just a proved fact when you look at the reviews. While American auto manufacturers struggle to compete with foreign manufacturers and union labor costs they are forced to cut corners in areas. Those areas just happen to be quality and quality of materials using in American made vehicles.
It is truly amazing how silent the media is when the vaunted Japanese and european makes have serious quality and engineering problems. But they always have big headlines for any GM, Ford or Chrysler flaws. You know something, I see the same denial in the owners of those cars, they can have the biggest piece of crap, but they still love it. It makes you wonder if it is part of a plan to further brainwash the public into believing that everything American is bad. We do love to be self-hating.
All you need to do is look at the Consumer Reports' reports on reliability and consumer satisfaction and you would be hard pressed to by GM or Ford. Don't get me wrong, I love American..hell half of my family used to work for GM. But they still have a long way to go to match the Japanese. There is a reason why GM among other american manufactures have implemented the Toyota Production Protocol. Sure you can find an Impala that has 150k on it and still runs fine, but I bet the headliner is falling out of it...lol.
So, what you're saying is that it's perfectly OK for a Toyota to have mechanical problems, and that is excusable, but if an American car has a sagging headliner (Which hasn't been a problem in American cars since the early 90s, and the only way a headliner would be coming down in a newer Impala is if somebody physically ripped it down), yet runs great, and has been mechanically sound is completely unacceptable. That's the some double standard that your precious Consumer Reports uses when they review cars. Many people have caught on to this, and don't subscribe to Consumer Reports, or buy it anymore for that reason. I might turn to Consumer Reports if I need a toaster or a blender, but even those reviews probably have a biased slant to them also.
J.D. Power and associates only take into consideration 3 months of ownership for initial quality, so long term reliability has no real relation to this study. As for the reliability of cars, there are good and bad. I personally have witnessed American cars to be the most reliable in terms of long distances and miles IF AND ONLY IF you maintain them. My neighbor has 774K miles on his Ford WITH the original engine and transmission. It is an 89 Crown Victoria. My Taurus has 192K miles and it purrs. Original engine and transmission. I have also had Hondas and Toyotas. My Accord had 312K miles before it gave out and my Tacoma had 170K on the clock when the engine gave out. So, in my experience, Ford, Chevy and Saturn (believe it or not) have been the most reliable. But don't disqualify Japanese cars, I have owned 3 Hondas and 2 Toyotas. I currently drive a Kia Sephia with 174K with the original engine and trans. I'd say that everyone has great cars, and everyone has garbage cars. Just find the good ones and your okay, no matter what the country of origin.
It ticks me off to hear people insinuate that the foreign auto brands are better made than American cars, even the notoriously biased Consumer Reports magazine showed in a graph recently that Buicks are much more reliable then Honda, yet when they chose the "Consumer Reports top cars of the year", You don't see Buicks, or ANY American cars for that matter, they only choose Hondas and Toyotas. What a surprise. I no longer trust Consumer Reports to report accurately the best cars, toasters or anything else.
I agree, my 75 AMC PacerX is still going strong with 376,894 miles to date!
The engine has yet to be rebuilt and although it will blow some oil through what is left of the rings it has compression.
Additionally, it will pass NJ inspection which is very impressive.
I have yet to notice a Japanese car on the road that is over 30 years old?
Furthermore, babes would dig this car when it was new, now they just laugh while I slowly lower myself in the seat to hide...
The visibility is the very finest and the 8 track can wail BTO until morning!
Sweaty, grimy, yanks built this superb vehicle and I honor their dedication to sheer perfection; what a brilliant talented workforce!
Perhaps, this year I will replace the radio antenna, the coat hanger has rusted.
As far as my respects go for American cars, it had always been great. I grew up loving American muscle cars such as the 65' Mustang or the 67' Stingray...hell, I even love the 2003 Camero. But when my dad purchased a Grand Cherokee it had been a twisting reality for my respects of American cars. Although my belief of American sports cars, especially the vintage remains intact, my love for the average American car has been stirred somewhat. For the past two months, I have been researching on potential cars to buy in the US, and of course, being as young as I am, I opted to get an American muscle car. But as the gas prices started to rise, I gave serious thoughts to buying a economical American car. I researched on the Malibu, Cobalt, Pamela and the Ford Taurus. These have all been met with disapproval... Because what I was looking for wasn't just great fuel economy, but also reliability. The Taurus came out with some mixed results, although the Ford Escape came out well enough. But when I checked the Lexus and Infinities, as well as Honda and Toyota, they seem to get great reviews most of the time! Hell, even Korean cars seem to pick up. But I seriously am starting to believe that americans cars are losing their quality... i mean, look at the reviews! Its even Americans who are saying not to buy american cars! its amazing how little they endorse their own country's industry...
sorry, this is just a rebuttal about american cars and not about the Prius. PS I seriously don't believe that Toyota would spend millions of dollars on developing a hybrid for the market if it was considered unreliable and expensive. If a normal car can really out do the Prius in both fuel economy and reliability, then why would toyota take such a foolish risk in spending so much, to sell a car that costs so much? I mean, think about it! It was a new concept back in those days... they were taking more than just a few risks here... it could have been the end of Toyota. But they had faith in their goals and objectives, and that's what makes the prius so great. Cheers! I love the prius!
Forget about the reviews! Look for yourself. Go test drive a Honda or Toyota with 100000 miles on it and it feels nearly like new. Then go drive any American car with 100000 miles on it and it feels like you should be driving to the junk yard to retire it! Sure it might still run alright, but the car is loose!!!
Question:
"If a normal car can really out do the Prius in both fuel economy and reliability, then why would toyota take such a foolish risk in spending so much, to sell a car that costs so much?"
Answer:
"Because suckers are born every minute. Selling hybrids are boosting image and many customers are fooling themselves that they are being environmentally friendly."
Side comment:
Any compact diesel car can outperform the Prius when it comes to mpg and CO2 emissions. Even many gas driven cars can match the Prius highway mpg even if Prius will be better around town. But a diesel will outperform the Prius in highway mpg AND around town mpg.
Being environmentally friendly means buying smaller cars and preferably diesel cars with DPF. It's that simple. You don't have to buy into the hybrid hoax to save the world ;-)
When a co worker came in one morning proudly declaring that he had been really environmentally conscious when he bought a new car selecting the RX 400h I almost fell off my chair. That's how much I laughed. Then I got really irritated how stupid people can be.
How can a 21.5 mpg (average consumption according to edmunds.com) car be "environmentally conscious" when I can do the same easilly with my Altima? If the 400h is environmentally friendly, then about every second new car on the US market is that too.
This is what is known as the hybrid hoax!