Comments on: Toyota Prius the Taxi champion

By: Prius owner

Prius owner — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:08:44 +0000

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.

By: Gus

Gus — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:05:25 +0000

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.

By: Hagar

Hagar — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:48:09 +0000

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.

By: SkoT

SkoT — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:19:29 +0000

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.

By: Cazza

Cazza — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:08:05 +0000

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?

By: Cazza

Cazza — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:04:24 +0000

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.

By: Vinnie

Vinnie — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 20:54:56 +0000

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.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:09:52 +0000

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.

By: clayton

clayton — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:25:12 +0000

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!

By: clayton

clayton — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:11:21 +0000

Go Ford!!! and there goes to Ford and GM share prices as well! lol down the gutter!

LOL

By: Dayton

Dayton — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:51:46 +0000

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 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: clayton

clayton — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:38:20 +0000

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!

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:00:39 +0000

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.

By: ian

ian — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:14:17 +0000

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.

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:35:46 +0000

Prius Taxis have an easier life,
Just ask TP…….

By: No Name

No Name — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:18:07 +0000

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.

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:47:47 +0000

I was totally FLOORED by Dingo’s FLAWED survey!!! Are you happy now MATE!

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:43:03 +0000

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!

By: TP

TP — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:27:49 +0000

Yes Carl you have a fine taste for motor cars…FORDS. ROFL.

Aurion : Sold Worldwise
Falcon : Australia

Aurion cheapest large car to run.

By: Go Prius

Go Prius — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:20:12 +0000

Carl, flawed not floored !

* Holden owned WHEELS awards – prestiage

* Every other award – Mickey Mouse