MoMack Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 This is especially for Stonemtn but for anyone else as well...I rented the Prius from Discount last weekend. Its a great little car. At first it seemed odd, like a spaceship if you will, but after the first 20 minutes I settled in and its awesome.There's a touch screen for climate control, 6-disc in dash changer with 6 (or more) speakers for great sound. Does speed digital in mph or km/h. Has great pick up in town and on the highway. No problem going faster then you should.Gas: obviously it was great. It was about 30 litres of gas for over 600kms of city and highway mixed driving. ie. it ended up costing me about $4 for every 100km. Which seems just awesome. The screen shows you when you're using the gas or the battery, though I"m not sure I really figured it out.Downside: the trunk is not too big, or at least not that deep. Can't use the cover if you have a cooler in there, and I think a hockey bag or golf clubs might be a stretch. The seats looked like they'd fold down, so depending on the number of people you want to transport it could work.The only other downside was that it gets blown around a bit on the highway due to its shape, but you get used to that pretty quick.For me - I'd buy one if I had a touch more trunk space.Also, people kept talking to me about it and talking about the high maintenance cost. However, no one actually knew this, they just "heard" etc., so I'm not sure if its true or not. They'd talk about having to replace the "insert technical word here" for $5000 or $9000 every 5 years, which seems ridiculous given that the car is only just over $30,000 to begin with. So I suspect its not true.Anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blane Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 my dad's got one and can't stop talking about it. he thinks it's the greatest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak By Night Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 A former co-worker of mine has had one of those babies for 3 years, and has nothing but glowing praise for it. No problems at all. Those nay-sayers are oil industry lackeys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomFoolery Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Where would people get this information about having to change X every 5 years. They've only been around for that long... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Evil_Mouse Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 my dad's got one and can't stop talking about it. he thinks it's the greatest.Precisely the same with my dad too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry jr. Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 "X" refers to the battery. You can do a google search on Toyota Prius battery replacement...it seems that it costs between $3,500-$5,000 to replace the battery, but according to Totota, the battery should last just about as long as the car. They expect the cost of the battery to decrease over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatpatguy Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I wanted a prius but bought a matrix. Good fuel efficiency for it's class but obviously not nearly as good as the prius. I got the matrix for two reasons. The first was price, the second was the extra payload space.I'm hoping that within the next five years Toyota will offer the matrix with a hybrid power plant, much like how Honda is offering the civic with a hybrid power plant.It's great to see so many of them around though.. yay electric! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 "Energy created by the generator and regenerative braking is used to charge the nickel-metal hydride battery. With eight fewer cells (28 compared to 36) the new battery is smaller, lighter and more powerful than previous. It is warrantied for eight years, but Toyota expects it to last 15 years - the effective life of the vehicle.Concerns about the cost of battery replacement dogged the original Prius. Stephen Beatty says that in Canada the company "has not replaced a Prius battery pack under warranty" since its introduction three years ago. In fact Toyota officials say the general warranty experience with the Prius has been better than with other Toyota products. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneMtn Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Hey, thanks for this MoMack. I've been really leaning toward a Prius anyway (and away from a SmartCar) as of late. I'm sort of waiting to see how the 2006 Prius looks, but this gives me good confidence in buying one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 There really should be some tax breaks for people who buy a Hybrid car. Those things are too expensive.A $5000 tax break could easily be justified by people with financial and environmental experience.Paul? You listening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AD Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 A tax break would be better for people who use mass transit. In my opinion, of course.AD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoMack Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 A tax break would be better for people who use mass transit. In my opinion, of course.ADDon't transit people already get subsidies in that they aren't paying the full cost of transit? As for a tax break on hybrids - there is one, although I'm not sure the exact nature of it. Something like $1200 - but I'm not sure if that was a one off or yearly.In California there are yearly tax breaks, but the Ford Escape hybrid doesn't get them. Not good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatpatguy Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 In California there are yearly tax breaks, but the Ford Escape hybrid doesn't get them. Not good enough.there is something about a hybrid SUV that just screams oxymoron to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneMtn Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Oh! I know!I can just imagine their thinking:"Here: Feel like you're helping the environment, when you're really doing nothing more than anyone in a regular car. You even get to deal with your Napoleonic Complex, too, by being in an unnecessarily large vehicle." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoMack Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I see what you're saying ... but I"m not sure its the right approach.Fact is people drive SUVs. Fact is making a hybrid SUV that uses compact car amounts of gas does ALOT more for the environment then convincing a dirty hippy to buy the civic hybrid over a normal civic etc. etc.My thougts are that it should be encouraged. Better to go hybrid then not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatpatguy Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I agree whole heartedly.. but it still makes me smile when I think about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaidy Mae Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 True. I don't see how making hybrids more common is necessarily a bad thing. However, do a quick Google search on Ford and their impact on the environment (I would for ya, but I'm just about to leave the office). Hopping on the hybrid bandwagon with their SUV sounds like more of a PR move the deeper you dig. Still, better than encouraging everyone to buy an H2. Some people must be horribly endowed. Arnold...I'm looking at you! Doesn't the former Mr. Universe have like 6 of the things? Shoulda stayed off the juice in your weight lifting days there Gov. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoMack Posted July 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 But isn't it good that they feel that they have to hop on the hybrid bandwagon. Thats a good step no?Kind of like organic food at the grocery store. The more we buy the more then name brands have to produce it and wake up to the idea that they can still make money doing it...baby steps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneMtn Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I see your point MoMack. Fair enough. You're right that people simply won't be giving up their SUVs any time soon, so you make good, practical sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggrtrhhrtgg Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 its only thirty thousand dollars??? Honestly, that is extremely resonable considering the incredible amount of money you would save on gas. HMMMMmmmm.... maybe next year.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 Comparing my current 95 corolla to a new prius, I would cut my average yearly gas cost in half, from about $1400 to $700 USD. I would also cut my emissions in half, from 7 tons/year to 3.5 tons.I got this from an American site: http://www.fueleconomy.govOf course with taxes and everything else the car is closer to $40K. I got a ways to go before I can afford that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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