Toyota Prius the Taxi champion
July 22, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
To crush myths and rumours about the Prius’ lacklustre battery life and overall performance, Toyota’s marketing arm has shed light on a brilliant story about the rising number of Prius Taxis getting around.
Up in north Queensland a Cairns-based Toyota Prius taxi has recently clocked up 550,000 kilometres, the highest kilometres recorded for an Australia delivered Prius to date.
According to black and white taxis (the car’s owner), in the 3 years of service the Prius has cost half the fuel and maintenance outlay compared to other conventionally-powered taxis in the fleet.
So far there are 32 Prius taxis in Cairns with another eight already in order. Each Prius averages around 200,000km per annum.
“We’ve have had almost three years great service from it, we obviously track our costs very closely and our reports show the Prius consumes half the petrol of other vehicles in our fleet and also half the service costs – it is quite amazing.” Taxi operator Graham Boundy, who owns Black and White Taxis in Cairns, said.
What about the battery life you ask? How does a Prius manage after 550,000km on its original battery? Not that badly! The car in question had a battery that recorded a “low voltage reading” which led to its replacement at 500,000km, Toyota says another Prius taxi also had its battery replaced after 350,000km. These are the only two Prius cars in Australia to have had a battery replacement to date.
500,000km? 300,000km? Both big numbers, when an average Australian car only travels 15,000km/year. We do, however, have to question the affect of time on the battery as well. Something not considered in this case.
“When you consider that the average car in Australia travels approximately 15,000km per year, the 350,000km Prius has crammed over 23 years of average driving into a couple of years, and the 550,000km Prius has fitted in 36 years into three years, which is astonishing.” said Vic Johnston, Toyota’s manager of hybrid sales and fleet strategy.
Love it or hate it, the more familiar the general population become with hybrid cars, the more the demand increases. Toyota is currently having supply issues in overseas markets delivering an unprecedented number of Prius cars to customers.
“When you consider that the Prius taxis in Cairns are generating half the fuel and service costs of other vehicles in their fleets, the Prius is significantly cheaper in whole-of-life costs. That’s why the taxi fleets use them, and continue to order them – they are simply less expensive to run and maintain than conventional vehicles in their fleet.” Johnston said.
The Prius has also won the honour of the cheapest hybrid car to run according to the federal government’s Green Vehicle Guide. On average Prius owners should expect to pay no more than $990 in fuel each year.
Do hybrid taxis make sense to you?
Print it: 
Maybe taxi drivers are JUST ahead of their time??? We all know they have been conserving water, soap and deodorant for many years now, So using hybrids in their fleets seems to be a natural progression!!!
I’m not a hybrid fan normally. But this is good news for Toyota. Well done!
My opinion is I HATE battery operated TOY-YODA hence the manufacturers name, if I needed a battery powered vehicle I would venture out to my Toy’s and Hobbie center, there are so many wannabe greenies, thinking Priass is the answer but in reality its merely an option for conservative stop go metro drivers in mind, not genuine enthusiasts..
“FORD FALCON LPG FOR ME” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so your a genuine enthusiast “ac cobra” and i am brad pitt! what a genuine wa*nker!
ac cobra i want a lpg falcon s**t box as well we all need these to save the world dont we!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bret:
Obviously you know nothing about how the Prius works.
Go ahead, open the hood of any Prius and I DEFY you to find a timing belt, alternator or solenoid. YOU WON’T.
Face it, there are cars out there that works differently than what you know, and rather than dismiss it as “advertising,” how about actually learning about it for a change?
As I said, the Prius transmission has NO torque converter, no clutch or CVT belts. It uses a Power Split Device which has NONE of those things. http://eahart.com/prius/psd/
Don’t understand it? Then don’t talk smack about it. It just shows how little you know.
The petrol engine is identical to the 10 litres per 100Ks city cycle (real world consumpion not bullshit Toyota claim) in the Yaris my wife owned!!!! Trust me it NEEDS servicing!!
All petrol engines need servicing, and the one in the Prius only requires an oil and filter change AT ANY MECHANIC (you don’t have to go to a Toyota dealer) every 5000 miles if you are using regular oil. 15,000 miles if you use synthetic.
The lower servicing requirements of the Prius stems from the fact that it has a far simpler transmission than a normal car that only needs one fluid change per 90,000kms, the use of regenerative braking (brake pad change at 160,000kms), and the absence of certain wear components such a timing belt, alternator or solenoid. Those are the facts.
All good and well……there is no doubt in my mind that the hybrid/electric part of the Prius drive train works very well and is very smart certainly smarter than the Honda system! BUT where Toyota got LAZY was not to develop a properly economical internal combustion engine with a fuel consumption worthy of a hybrid!
That VVT or or as i’ve come to refer to it as “very very thirsty” Yaris engine is what i hate about Toyota and it’s bullshit fuel consumption claims cos i had to live with it for a year until we woke up and got rid of it and on to LPG!
Who says you can only buy a Prius if you want a car with the Power Split Device drivetrain?
The Nissan Altima Hybrid uses a Nissan engine mated with the same Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive as the Prius.
The Ford Escape Hybrid also uses a PSD transmission and is a very tough car– New York City has been using the Escape Hybrid since 2004 as taxi cabs with absolutely no problems whatsoever. It’s working so well, New York City is moving to an all-hybrid taxi fleet by 2012.
The Prius engine / hybrid system was recently named the 2008 World Green Engine Of The Year, did you forget that Carl ??
Hey Flea bag, dingo or what ever you go by today……that 1.5 petrol engine is a peace of shit and i will say till i die coz i owned one and i was miss led by Toyota not you!! So deal with it coz you or your Toyota mates won’t shut me up EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Dingo/GO Pruis!!……at least have the guts to use just one name on your blogs…..stop cowardly hiding behind different names to try and make Toyota bullshit sound popular or truthful.
If Toyota doesn’t people like me criticizing them then they should be more honest about how pathetically thirsty their petrol engines are!
Go Prius Carl wouldnt know about that award because his head is so far up is ar*e the sun doesnt shine.
Lets just accept the fact that a Prius IS fuel efficient, has the LEAST emmissions and has batteries with a LONG life.
Carl, the market is only true judge of all, nothing is greater !
That said, how is Toyota performing on the global market compared to Ford Motor Co and General Motors … say no more !
TRUTH : the Prius engine / hybrid system was rated the 2008 World Green Engine Of The Year
TP – did you see that the VE Commodore was announced as the thirstiest and most polluting of the large cars in Australia !
A far cry from the Prius.
That award was pathetic as they only considered hybrids as green engine awardable. The judges seem to be very short sited when it comes to considering others. Yes there are other hybrid engines but as most of the judges are European where there is a distinct lack of hybids then they will only consider the farcical Prius.
The Prius engine / hybrid system was rated the 2008 World Green Engine Of The Year !
A mickey mouse awards won’t sway me to consider the Prius in it’s current form……my standards are a lot higher than this Prius and just because a lot of people buy Toyota’s NOW doesn’t make them good, in fact these Thailand Toyota’s that are being churned out like fridges or washing machines will very soon have their days counted!
it’s much harder to stay No1 than it was for Toyota to get there and companies from Korea, China and maybe even India will eventually catch and crush Toyota (IF) Toyota continues to get LAZY and churn out their pathetic and soulless white goods!!!!!!!
TP,
batteries arent a different kettle of fish.
a battery that constantly has fresh charge running through it, will last longer.
how many grannys that have sunday drivers constantly get flat batteries? a lot more than those that turn the car over every day.
a battery should be cranked every couple of days to ensure a better life for it
if a battery sits, it loses charge and life.
it is even the same with cordless power tools.
if they are cycling properly as opposed to sitting for months at a time, they will hold full charge for a lot longer life
Go Prius,
did you see that the thirstiest vehicle is actually a toyota??
Dingo/TP….That Mickey mouse award is almost as Floored as you are!
Your pathetic monogamy with Toyota proves you have no palette for fine motor cars and only people that get aroused by fridges would consider only owning Toyota’s when there are so many great and exiting motor vehicles out there!
I bet you nurse a semi every you open the door of your wide body Camry, don’t you???
^^^^^^meant to write…every time you open the door^^^^^
Aaww Carl – the floored bit doesn;t seem to get notices. Trying to educate Pork youo see. You can take a horse to water but a pencil must be lead.
Haha No Name, yes either that or they are locked in their bedrooms with a Prius brochure!!LOL
Carl, flawed not floored !
* Holden owned WHEELS awards – prestiage
* Every other award – Mickey Mouse
Yes Carl you have a fine taste for motor cars…FORDS. ROFL.
Aurion : Sold Worldwise
Falcon : Australia
Aurion cheapest large car to run.
Dingo…..everyone has typo’s! even you aren’t perfect so if that is all you have to come back with then you’d better go back to your room with that Prius brochure…..or are the pages all stuck together already????
TP….Ford has some more exciting cars than your Camry but i’ve owned many different makes of car in the past and hopefully will try even more different brands in the future unlike you Toyota TOOLS!
I was totally FLOORED by Dingo’s FLAWED survey!!! Are you happy now MATE!
TP – Aurion sold “wolrdwise” do you really mean “World Wide”. If that the case you’re wrong old bean. The Aurion would be too expensive compared to say a BMW 3series here in the motherland. So gladly its not sold here.
Prius Taxis have an easier life,
Just ask TP…….
Pretty amazing to see how misinformed and ignorant of facts many Australians are on hybrid technologies in general, and the Prius in particular. The market, however, is working perfectly fine, as evidenced by the price of Toyota stock compared to, say… Ford or GM.
Two things. First, the Prius insures long life of the battery by the computer insuring the battery never drops below 40% of it’s capacity and is never charged more than 80% of it’s battery. In real life this means when you have 2 purple bars (the lowest the battery will go before the engine kicks in) you’re still at 40% capacity. When “fully” charged (all green bars), you’re only at 80%. This is done to insure the longest life possible out of the battery. A laptop or other device using similar battery technology does not due this. If it did, it would probably last the life of the laptop.
Second, although the engine is similar to the Yaris engine (as stated), the Prius version is much much different. For example, it is based on the Atkinson cycle instead of the traditional Otto cycle like 99% of the engines on the road today (including the Yaris).
The Atkinson cycle is more efficient than the Otto cycle. The reason the Atkinson cycle isn’t used more is because the bi-product of this efficiency is lower torque. Well, with the Prius, torque isn’t a problem because it has an electric motor to get you off the line… so Atkinson works well.
Fords and Holdens are piece of cr!p! wouldnt touch em with a 10 feet barge pole! Go Honda, Toyota and all the Japanese quality cars!
Toyoda Priass are piece of cr!p! wouldn’t touch em with a 10 feet barge pole! All Toyleta’s are pieces of CR@P, Ford are better
Go Ford !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Ford!!! and there goes to Ford and GM share prices as well! lol down the gutter!
LOL
if Ford and Holden are so good, why didnt they think of hybrid cars in the first place, cause they are such dumbasses who kept on building dinosaur fuel surpling crap for all you morons to keep buying crap!
Comments that the Prius battery is time rather than distance limited are easily dismissed by looking at the 10 years of road experience that have accumulated to date: the failure rates on the first generation Prius are 1/10th of typical transmission failures in regular cars, and repair costs are similar if a lightly used battery is purchased.
I own a Prius since 2004, and have always thought that the inverter might be the car’s achille’s heel, but thankfully I have been proven wrong.
Awesome car.
Hi guys,
I have read over some of the comments here, and it seems that this is mostly an Australian chat. But, since it is being chatted about a car that is found in large numbers where I am from, I thought I’d comment as well. Here is Canada there are really quite a few Prius cabs in use with no real complaints about them, even though our winters can get pretty crazy. I have also ordered a 2009 Prius after much research and consideration. I will receive it on 1st og June next year. From all the research I have done, including test driving one, I concluded that it is a very reliable car, cheap on gas, and fun to drive. It may not be a racer car, but it is as powerful as any mid-size car. And most important, I will feel good about protecting the environment to a degree. Also, I must say, it is surprising to see some really negative attitudes thoward the environment by some Ausies. Very American-like attitude, which is unfortunate! :(
Cheers.
Laughing at this….
Why do people hate the Prius so much? It is well engineered, good small car. Toyota have never said it is a cheaper alternative to a Corolla etc, just less polluting in cities. If you like the Prius – buy it and enjoy it – if you don’t like it – don’t buy it.
My experience with Falcons – 3 head gasket replacements in 5 years. Replaced the air con compressor, replaced a starter motor, new transmission last year. Car has done 120 000kms. Car has been serviced by the book.Bought it with 30 000kms on it at 2 yrs old.
Taxi fleet in Cairns is generally Camry and Falcons. Gas is not the answer up there due to price.
Yes I have heard of diesels – not good in cities due to high levels of particulates (even with filters) – look at any VW accelerating hard….
Crash safety? Prius is a 5 star ANCAP rated car – Falcons from 2004 are not. Only now does the Falcon have a 5 star rating.
No I don’t own a Prius, yes I think they are a good effort, no they aren’t the answer to every problem….a little balance is needed.
Why are Ford and GM share prices so low these days? why are they losing billions? Why do they need billions to bail them out? I suspect it is not because they make such fantastic cars……if they did – more people would buy them, and they would be running at a good profit.
GM looks like running out of cash by year end…..Toyota doesn’t – better make my next car a Toyota I guess?
I’m on my second Prius as a family car (upgraded to gen 2), and it’s the best highway vehicle I’ve had. Fits the family comfortably (including dogs), takes our luggage and then some, gets Canberra to Brisbane on a tank and a quarter cruising at 120, and is more than happy on rough bush tracks. I will never have another Commodore or Falcon again.
I’d still prefer to be closer to totally electric, so hurry up Holden, and bring on the Volt!
The only battery explosion I’ve heard of was the guy from the performance car mag who tried to fast charge a pack he’d pulled out of a Prius, and burnt down his workshop- I don’t think Toyota or any other manufacturer can cover for idjits!
And BTW sceptics, the overall running costs have been far less than my last Crummodore and our work fowl-con.
Ah, forgot to say… As much as Prius has been good, it is not suitable for my current country use, too low to the ground and hwy consumption. My next car is going to be the VW Tiguan Diesel, has 4X4, much better ground clearance (Which I do need) and better consumption on the hwy than Prius. But I am going to miss all the Prius Itech toys.
Gday
I’m a small business nwner and bought a 2001 NHW11 Prius in Oct.001. The car has now April 2009 245.000 Km on the clock
and it still performs like new. It is driven intraste and interstate some days more than 1000 Km per day and no hick up has been encountered. As far as the main battery is concerned there is not any wear noticeable, the monitor however shows that charging will take place approximately between half full and three quarter full charge, I simply have not been able to run the battery down to even one third full. At this rate I’ll expect the battery to last at least 20 years and perhaps a million Km. At the moment I can not see into the future but also can not fault the
performance of this battery.Perhaps regular servicing also has something do do with this( at every 10.000 Km ). On average this car is driven between 30 – 40.000 Km per year.
Again sour grapes from flacodor owners with no real experience, do you HAVE a prius? There are 3 in my family, My sister and brother bought one on the strength of my recommendation. Whilst the Ford and Holden camp play the typical game of undermining the credibility of the technology Toyota press on. Camry Hybrid is coming and MADE IN AUSTRALIA. The produtction line for falcon hasn’t changed since the AU, it’s cheap just like enfield motorbikes are cheap in India because it’s OLD. As for batteries your comments are again just sour grapes, yes the batteries deteriorate over time but Toyota/Panasonic overengineered the battery to allow for that AND STILL go 10years/150000 KM’s. For the mechanical side you know toyota motors are unbreakable and this one works less than most, Electric motors make 100% of torque at 0RPM, electric assist takes the strain away from the ICE (Internal combustion engine). I’ll have the last laugh because of comments like this I WILL keep this prius and 10years down the track I’m sure it will keep going but Falcodore owners will be on their 3rd car, 5th diif, 2nd engine etc. Again to the haters do you HAVE one? do you know anybody who does?? I have had Audi’s Pugs, BM’s and 1 VU commodore which I had from new, The half shaft fell out of the diff of the commodore in 4 weeks, The Audi’s trim fell off in a year (down near the transmession tunnel common problem on A3’s) and my wife’s new MINI has been in the shop 4 times for warranty issues, The Prius will outlast them all, and while you live in theoretical land, my Prius has cost less fuel and FAR less in maintenece costs than ANY car I have ever owned, in the REAL world. As for Diesel you get more miles you pay more money and its oily and disgusting near the diesel pump. You will also get less milieage when the proper emissions standards come in force PLUS talk to anybody who owns a Diesel Patrol about how much the Diesel injector pump costs. These are REAL examples not your falcodore theory, you blindly loyal falcodore owners put up with old tech and rubbish quality and have to lash out at anything else because deep down you know it’s better and you are dinosoaurs just like your cars.