2006 Toyota Prius Sol from Norway - Comments

Nothing. I borrowed this car for 2 weeks from my work with the intention to purchase.

I borrowed this car from the company that I work for, since they have a large fleet of Toyota cars. I'm used to the Avensis 2.0 Turbo Diesel wagon and I have considered a smaller car, either a Corolla or the Prius. There's a long waiting list for the Prius at the dealers, so I was lucky to borrow this near new car from my company.

But I will not purchase the Prius since it was a major disappointment. It's the same price as the Avensis and:

1. It's totally cramped, it's even smaller than the Corolla

2. It's pricey and it lacks essential equipment

3. It's quite thirsty, even compared to my Avensis TD. A Corolla Turbo Diesel will be much better

4. This engine totally lacks any punch if you are used to turbo diesels

5. Driving dynamics are just a joke. It runs like an old van and is about as comfortable as one.

I REALLY can't understand why anyone purchase these Prius cars. It must be the worst purchase available in the market. It's just such a bad car. Is not the whole point to save petrol? Why don't people just buy turbo diesels? Then you have a wide selection of cars with various equipment.

The Prius "Sol"? what, does it have solar panels in the roof?

Sounds like the writer had already decided he didn't like the Prius before he ever even drove it.

I would have to say the review above has very little fact and a lot of opinion; as the previous comment states, it seems obvious this person didn't like the car before it ever had a chance to prove itself. I would say this review should be considered for deletion just because of it's obvious bias and inaccuracy...

Why's that?? The Prius *is* a piece of cramped, expensive, overrated piece of junk.

Read reviews from serious auto magazines; they'll tell you the same. This car is mainly sold for good mpg figures hence being environmental friendly. The *fact* of the matter is that the Prius mpg really isn't very good in actual driving conditions. I don't know how they've calculated the stated mpg, but it's exaggerated as documented several places in the auto press where Prius is easily beaten by the VW Jetta Blue Motion as an example.

Wow, I guess that's why the Prius is in such demand that dealers don't have to discount them in order to sell them.

In regards to fuel economy and the Prius, I think it's safe to say that this car was intended primarily for the North American market. Reason being that many states do not currently permit diesel cars. The Prius gets excellent fuel economy for US standards.

My wife's dad has a 2002 Prius and so far the car has been trouble-free. I wouldn't say that it is the most attractive or fun to drive car, but it does get roughly 50MPG, which while not close to the 60MPG Toyota claims, is still pretty decent. He also lives in Upstate NY, where it gets below zero in the winter. I'm amazed that the batteries have held up that long.

The Prius is at least 2-3000 Euro more expensive than comparable cars. It's got that famous Toyota reliability. Besides that it's got few selling points. Still sales are good. Coming from a large SUV this car must seem to have good mpg. From a European point of view this car has not got a good mpg. More or less any diesel car will easily outperform the Prius by at least 20%, maybe 30% lower petrol consumption. Now most new cars are diesels. I'm really puzzled about Toyotas success in selling this car.

1. US currently does not have any small diesel engined cars. 2.0l VW diesel is the first small diesel in years.

2. You need to check your MPG figures, the Prius will average 45mpg US at least if not more. That's better than anything but a tiny diesel motor.

3. Diesel is currently 20% more expensive than gasoline in the US.

Really? My Audi A3 2.0 TDI has 140 HP, does 0-60 in 9 sec, has 320NM of torque which is comparable to a large normally aspirated V6. And it does 4L/100KM, that is about 60MPG if I'm easy on my right foot. And I think there's even a "econo" version of my car that has even better fuel consumption.