I'm a journalism student and am currently writing a news story about "going green" for one of my newswriting classes. I've decided to focus on the pros and cons of owning and maintaining a hybrid vehicle. More specifically, the Prius. I'm going to leave this open-ended. I want to hear about any noteworthy ownership experiences, potential large repair bills, OBSERVED fuel economy (with an emphasis on observed!), FACTUAL rebuttals to any widespread rumors or myths etc... Thank you in advance for helping me out with this! FYI, this is not a Prius-bashing story , i'm merely striving to present both the pros and cons. Cheers! Alex.
The vast amount of information already on this website addresses most, if not all, of your requests.. poke around some of the threads with large numbers of posts.
My best tank 52 MPG, worst tank 39 MPG, I average 42 MPG in a Mississippi summer, 47 MPG when it is cooler. (Mississippi never gets cold) Every 5000 miles it costs me $43 USD for a oil change and tire rotation. First service that is a 'tune up' is at 100,000 miles, then they change the spark plugs. (There are threads where owners try to figure out when they 'should' do more maintenance than Toyota recommends) As far as 'green' goes look at this thread http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...sight-civic-hybrid-jetta-gas-tdi-wrx-sti.html Lets just say the Prius is the least horrible car on that list. ('Clean Diesel' seems to mean 'approaching as clean as an average car') I used to have to tell folks that motorcycles were not inherently noisy, if you heard one that was loud, the owner made it that way; now I say that hybrids are not inherently slow cars, if you see one that is sluggish, the driver made it that way. One bit of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) used against Hybrids is the specter of huge replacement battery costs, as the batteries were quite expensive initially, prices for new batteries keeps going down. And, as the failure rate is very low, more Prius are crashed than have battery failure, so used batteries are very cheap. Toyota will pay to recycle any actual dead batteries, so they all should be recycled eventually. In taxis, the High voltage batteries have averaged 250,000 miles, but taxi use may or may not mimic normal ownership, although so far it appears to. So if I have to buy a new $2500 battery about every 250,000 miles, that is not a deal breaker. If I prefer to buy a $500 used battery and 'only' get about another 100,000 miles, that is good too. Another piece of FUD is fear of electrocution, the best rebuttal is to show the Emergency Response Guide that Toyota prints for fireman and EMTs. https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/staticcontent/en/techinfo/html/prelogin/docs/3rdprius.pdf Why do I own a Prius? Here is my list: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...rs-most-when-comes-your-prius.html#post986000 (Limiting yourself to Gentlemen will shutout some of our most knowledgeable members)
The first step of your research should be using the SEARCH feature. It is better than just asking people to rehash all the stuff that has been talked about for years. We made stickies at the top of the forum to help people do this. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/26050-prius-myths-their-rebuttals.html http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/19877-reliability-information.html http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...77-common-2g-problems-what-do-about-them.html http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/48705-what-every-newb-should-know.html http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/30974-prius-vs-hummer-exploding-myth.html
Here's my five-year mileage chart. Every data point is recorded here: http://www.chicagopriusgroup.com/MileageLogs/TonyPSchaefer/All.htm And what's this "gents" stuff? Don't you want to hear from the sexy, fairer Prius drivers?
You can see by Tony's graph that near the Great Lakes, mileage goes down in the winter, where my mileage in Mississippi went down in the summer (obviously, no one will have 5 years of data on the 2010s, they are new since June) Expect seasonal changes, expect changes when you buy new tires, expect changes as you learn to drive the car toward it's strengths. Don't worry. Be happy.
Thanks to those who replied with information. And yes I am aware of the search function. I figured as you bunch must be passionate owners, someone like JimboPalmer must be eager to reply with some info. Not trying to be lazy, so I apologize.
Pros: The highest mpg vehicle available in the US. Some other vehicles approach the same mpg on the highway, but no other vehicle gets the same mpg in urban driving. One of the most reliable vehicles available as shown by Consumer Reports and True Delta. One of the lowest emission vehicles available in the US. The Civic NGV is also very clean and about the same as the Prius according to the EPA. Very comfortable and nicely sized hatchback car. The Prius is deceptive because it has the interior space to qualify as a midsize car even though most people believe it is a small car. Cons: The amount of misinformation and FUD about the car is staggering, and it gets tiresome to hear. Most of the people who "know" negative things about the car have heard or read it somewhere and have never actually rode or driven the car. The dealer network is just as bad as most other manufacturers; some dealers are great, others are dismal. Some dealers try to take advantage of the customer by recommending unnecessary services. The maintenance needs and costs are actually very minimal, like most newer cars.
I have a Con: that is real, but depends on the owner. The Prius gets better gas mileage, the longer the trip. When first started, the computer's first concern is emissions, not mileage. If you were a sunday driver only driving 3 blocks to church, the Prius would never 'shine', a Fit might have the same MPG. If you drive 20 miles daily, the Prius is great, I commute 55 miles each way and get 40 miles of consistent high MPG each way. The first 10 to 15 miles are good, but not great. I suspect this is really minutes, not miles, but I am going 60 so they are one and the same.
I disagree: no car gets great mpg while warming up, its just not as apparent because you have feedback in the Prius to see it, other cars don't. If you only drive a Fit 3 blocks at a time, you aren't going to get EPA estimated mpg.
Are you writing for a sexually oriented paper?? Use of your title would suggest so. As a journalist you may have already prejudiced your outcome.
Hey. Sorry about the "gents" thing. I recently sold my Audi A8 and the board that I posted on was literally comprised of nothing but gentlemen. I could be the youngest member on the board ;-). I kid you not -- I have yet to see a post from a female member yet, though it would be most welcome! Thanks for the input!
And no, I am not writing a "sexually oriented paper," whatever that might be...? Perhaps about the relation between gender and MPG ;-) ?
I'll give you an idea of what this vehicle is about. I grew up in a strong rural background. We made our lving off the land & at the whim of the environment. I worked for Uncle Sam 1970-73, a time I'll never forget. I have over 3,000 hrs left seat (pilot), rode Harley's forty some years, etc, etc. Been through the hot rod/ dune buggy thing. Pretty much done anything I've wanted to do. I currently live on a small ranch with Boer goats & horses. My "other" vehicle is a 4 WD Chevy PU. I work in the medical field to finance my life/hobbies. I never thought I'd own a foreign made vehicle. I purchased a Prius in December of 2008 & averaging 50.1 mpg over 20,000 + miles (I have wider than stock tires). Most roads hilly, lots of wind. So here's my opinion. Best vehicle I've ever owned. Not one serious complaint. Not the most exciting vehicle I've ever owned but it is the most entertaining. Again, most amazing & best vehicle I've ever owned.
