Anyone owning a Toyota Prius hybrid -?

Question

I am looking for actual owner comments. How do you like the performance? The maintenance? Is it really cost-effective once you get it home?

Answer 1

I've owned one since January.

It certainly isn't a high performance car, but then it isn't designed to be. By the same token, I am not at all afraid to merge into moving traffic (my daily experience gets me from 0 to 55 in seconds). I need to use cruise control because they have managed to get speeding tickets going UP the Eisenhower Grade. (I live in Colorado, the Eisenhower is a tunnel on I70 west of Denver it rises to an elevation near 12k" above sea-level. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower_Tunnel)
In short, it suits my needs. ; )
I do get about 48mpg, real-life. I live in one of the hilliest cities in the country, whenever I am on the flatlands my mpg increases to over 60.
Cost-effective...well, it cost $10,000 less than my mini-van (17real mpg), and the price was comparable to the Dodge Magnum (about 20-25 mpg). So that is relative, isn't it.

I must say that my car payment isn't much more than I was paying for fuel in my mini-van. My current gas bill runs me about $40 a month, so I'm still ahead in that department.

An oil change, every 5k miles, runs me about $30. My mini-van ran me $25 every 3k miles. I've asked about other scheduled maintenence and the prices are comparable. I understand that there are two Prius' (probably in Japan, because they have been there longer than here) with 500k on the main battery and they are still running. (This comes from http://priuschat.com/ You'll have to search for the thread, sorry.)

Part of the reason my husband and I bought our Prius (and we waited two years to do so) is that we have always believed that alternatives to our current fuel situation need to be explored. We always said that when alternatives began to pop-up, we would be willing to buy one. We did so at the soonest opportunity.

Hope this was not too long and somewhat helpful.

Edit: forgot to add that the size was nice. Our son, 11, is 5'2" and expected to be 6'5". We squeezed a couple of guys we know who are that tall into the back seat. They said as long as we didn't have more children, our son would be comfortable. LOL
In front there is a small mini-van feel to the thing. Meaning, we are not the only people who sometimes forget the car is not bigger. (I grant my husband and I are short...I'm 5'3", he is 5'8", but the friends have been taller than my husband.)

Answer 2

I don't own one and quite honestly I wouldn't want to either.
Performance: Never drove one, so I'm not sure. ..but I have read comments from owners who say it is kinda slow and the handling is vague/sloppy.
Maintenance: This will hit you right in the pocket book. All hybrids irregardless of make will have higher bills because they require mechanics with highly specialized training, beyond standard gasoline powered cars. These mechanics work only on hybrids and are paid more than a regular mechanic at the same dealer. The parts for the hybrid vehicle are also much more expensive.
Cost-Effectiveness: It isn't. The various car magazines such as Road & Track and Car & Driver have already studied this at length. It took the magazines 5 years before they broke even on the additional expense (over the gas version) of their test vehicle.

Answer 3

sorry I don't own one.

They say they don't get the gas mileage that they advertise. Also when the batteries go out it costs around 4000 to replace. And the car costs 9000 more for a hybrid on average I think.

I don't think it's worth it.