Toyota Prius Review Long Term Introduction
December 8, 2009 by Alborz Fallah
I’ve spent the greater part of the last five years with nothing good to say about the Toyota Prius, in a way it represented the fear of every passionate car lover. The beginning of the end of traditional cars which cared little about the environment.
In my defence, I was right, as 2009 comes to an end every car manufacturer is now focusing on fuel economy even for their high performance cars. Porsche are doing diesel, Lamborghini, which at one stage produced the most polluting car on the planet, is now talking green and even Ferrari has become obsessed.
Words by Alborz Fallah Pics by Mike Geisel
Whilst Toyota had the foresight to see that fuel efficient electric or part electric (hybrid) cars were the future, American manufacturers decided it was better to concentrate on such things as Hummers and the bigger is better ideology. It worked, for a while. GM even decided to crush all the electric cars it built at one stage.
Whilst Toyota is now the biggest manufacturer in the world and marching ahead, Hummer got sold to the Chinese and parent company General Motors recently filed for bankruptcy and is currently going through a restructuring plan.
If there was ever any moment in history where electric car supporters can say to GM, I told you so, this is it.
I liken the Toyota Prius to Apple computers. At first they were frowned upon and only adopted by those odd people that just had to be different. The mass resisted. They stuck to what they knew.
More than a decade later and the Prius has won over even its biggest critics. It had even convinced me for a brief moment to consider driving one.
So there it was, a dark-silver third generation Toyota Prius I-Tech. A car which I’d been dreading to drive for months. I was afraid of one scenario and one scenario only, that I was actually going to like it.
Originally the car came to CarAdvice Brisbane office’s for one week. I drove it around discretely, trying really hard to find every tiny fault. Day one went well, I went to bed believing I was still right, the Prius is pointless.
By day three I was starting to get annoyed, as the Prius was parallel parking it self and my girlfriend was cheering it on inside, she began telling me just how great it is and how we must buy one, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t argue with her.
Here is the thing. The Toyota Prius is one of those cars that was never originally cool. Like that kid at school that could solve the complicated math puzzles, no one really liked him but secretly we knew it was because we all wished we could do it too.
How would you like a car that can park itself, essentially drive it self, use bugger all fuel, put out less pollution than almost any other car, have plenty of room, be comfortable, have a great stereo and just about do everything as you’d expect it to? And how would you like that for around $55,000?
Part of the week long test was to drive the Prius from Brisbane to Warwick, about 150km away. On the journey there I decided to play with the active radar cruise control and set it to 110km/h.
You may not believe it, but from that point forward for the entire 1 hour and 45 minute journey, I didn’t touch the accelerator or the brake pedal.
What the Prius does is not new, the Europeans (and Toyota’s luxury arm Lexus) have had active radar cruise control for some time, but not for a car in this price range. What the Prius can do can almost seem science fiction to those that haven’t experienced it.
You simply set your cruising speed at the speed limit and the Prius will do the rest, if there is a car in front, it will match its speed, brake for you, slow down and speed up again with traffic. Even if the car in front suddenly brakes, the Prius will respond by braking accordingly and also warning the driver.
For the entire week it never once misbehaved, there were hour long periods were all I had to do was steer. If you drop below 40km/h it simply beeps at you to pay attention then turns cruise control off. I wonder how much longer it will take for a car to be able to simply follow the car in front, even in start-stop traffic.
So, as far as I am concerned the Prius can essentially drive itself. It can also park it self, be it a reverse park or a parallel park, yet another feature becoming more common in cars. As gimmicky as it sounds a car that can park it self can be somewhat handy. You simply line it up, press the button and away it goes. You still have to control the brakes but it will do all the steering for you.
Another excellent feature is the solar panel roof which powers the car’s ventilation system when turned off. Although well implemented, it’s not a new concept. You simply hold down the A/C button on the key fob and it will start circulating cold air through the cabin whilst the car is still turned off. So by the time you get in, the temperature is bearable. A God send in Queensland summer.
Additionally, there is a head up display which projects the speed onto the front windscreen, the car’s computer can pretty much tell you exactly what the car is doing, how much fuel its using, how much battery power and even provide a nice diagram to help you understand how to best save fuel by altering your driving style.
You can stick the Prius in EV mode and it will do its best to just use the electric engine, a great idea for city traffic, you then have economy mode which tends to change the response of the accelerator so you don’t use too much fuel and if you do find yourself in challenging hilly terrain you can always switch to power mode and make the most of the 1.8-litre petrol engine.
Toyota claims fuel economy figures of around 3.9L/100km, a figure which I could not replicate. During the one week test the best figure was 4.2L/100km which is still great. No doubt the boys at BMW are falling off their chair trying to send me figures on the Mini Cooper D which as I tested myself, can in fact achieve 3.9L/100km.
The Prius to me is no longer a car created just to save fuel, it’s actually a great all around package, if it happens to save fuel at the same time, great.
The other thought is the cost to the environment in the production and recycling of hybrid cars. Toyota says that even in the factory where the Prius is made every bit of consideration is taken to save energy everywhere possible.
Battery production has become far more efficient now that Toyota and Lexus are offering or planning to offer hybrid variants in all models. You should expect the battery to last around 500,000km and as a few cab drivers have found in Australia, that’s no myth.
What you really should know is that the Prius’ strength is in the city with loads of stop-start traffic. If you do a lot of highway driving don’t expect excellent fuel economy, however if you do spend a considerable amount of time sitting in traffic or driving around town, you’ll be amazed how little fuel it uses. That’s mainly a result of its electric motors doing most of the work.
When I was in New York a few weeks ago, it became rather obvious that almost all new cabs were either a Prius or some other kind of hybrid car (Toyota Kluger hybrids or Ford Ranger hybrids notably). There in the city that never sleeps, the Prius makes perfect sense. Traffic crawls at the best of times and you’d be making the most out of your electric engine.
My week with the Prius had come to an end. Apart from supercars there has been very few occasions where I’ve felt a sense of attachment to a car, specially one as computerised and “soul-less” as a Prius, but alas, it had to go home and there was that momentary sense of not wanting to give it back.
Somehow through the ether Toyota must have felt my pain, as only a few days later the idea came through that I should take the very same Prius for a three-month long-term loan. An idea which I quickly embraced.
For the next three months I’m going to spend my time driving around in a car which I once thought as the anti-christ, my aim is to achieve the 3.9L/100km official figure and also report on how it is to live with a hybrid Toyota for three months.
Expect a report every two weeks.
Specifications:
- Engine: 1,797cc DOHC four-cylinder (16 valve)
- Power: 100kW (petrol) / 73kW (electric)
- Torque: 142Nm (petrol) / 207Nm (electric)
- Induction: Multi-point / NiMH
- Transmission: Continuously Variable
- Driven Wheels: Front
- Brakes: Discs with ABS, EBA & EBD
- Top Speed: 180km/h (Claimed)
- 0-100km/h: 10.9 seconds (As Tested)
- CO2 Emissions: 89g/km
- Fuel Consumption: 3.9L/100km (ADR)
- Fuel Consumption: 4.2L/100km (As Tested)
- Fuel Tank Capacity: 45L
- Fuel Type: 95-98 RON Premium Unleaded Petrol
- Euro NCAP Rating: Five-Star (ANCAP rating TBC)
- Airbags: Front, Side, Curtain & Driver’s Knee
- Safety: ESC with Traction Control
- Spare Wheel: Space Saver
- Suspension: Strut (F) / Torsion Beam (R)
- Cargo Capacity: 446 / 1,120 litres
- Tow Capacity: N/A
- Turning Circle: 10.4m
- Warranty: Three-Year / 100,000 kilometre
- Weight: 1,420kg (Tare)
- Wheels: Alloy 15 x 6.0-inch
Alborz……….Dear Oh dear…… all i can say is your girlfriend must be a very special person for you to be considering buying what has in my opinion has become the Antichrist of the motoring world, Most people in your place would start looking for a new girlfriend!!!! Maybe one that can reverse park for herself(LOL, Only joking)
I think the reason i hate this car is for what it represents and not so much the car itself, Possers and “MAN MADE climate change” fanatics all love this thing and that’s enough reason for me to hate it!!!
It’s unfortunate that, it has become fashionable to dislike the Prius, I can tell you that I too was in the same bandwagon. However having to live with and drive the car on a daily basis, you really can’t ignore the obvious, which is that the Prius, as a car (even if we ignore the fuel economy) is a brilliant package. It’s a technological showcase for a very cheap price.
I agree, when I was with Toyota, one of the pool company cars was a Prius iTech which I used to say i would not be seen dead in. One day I found it was the only car left when I worked back one night. I had to take it and I was quite surprised that even for the 1.5 model it was smooth and picked up quite well. While I still wouldn’t buy one I do want to test drive the 1.8 to see how much better it goes.
That particular night it took me almost an hour longer to get home from Carinbah because I was playing with all the Prius’techie toys and seeing how low I could get my Litres per hundred.
The only let down was the lack of Torque shove that my golf gives me when it hits 1750 RPM.
All well and good if you don’t mind spending 55G on a wedge.
True, I’d rather fork out for a BMW 120D and have a spare 7 K or so, at least the Bimmer would be more fun to drive whilst saving money on fuel and the environment.
Can only wish you the best of luck
Didn’t Top Gear aka Geremy Clarkson recently announced the Prius as the ‘City Car Of The Year’
That was TG Mag…Don’t immediately associate Top Gear with JC…
You mentioned that the Hummer brand “lost a bucket load of cash” – which is incorrect. Hummer is profitable for General Motors, but when the parent company needs cash, niche brands that account for less than 1% of all sales get sold off – regardless if they’re profitable or not.
“in my defense I was right”
I don’t get it. what was proven right?
That the Prius was the start of all the electric or hybrid cars you see now
These would sell like hot cakes if they were priced like they are in the States Around AU$32,000 When you hand it back ask them for the reason for the massive diffrence? You can buy a lot of fuel fo $20,000
Different countries have different economy scales. In the States, thier average wage / salary are notably lower then that in Australia but the price of most of thier commodities are lower as well. I think you will find it is comparitively relative. Also worth noting is the fact that the Australian car market is approx 1 / 15 the volumn of the US car industry aswell. Then thier other influances such as exchange rates between economies and so forth.
Partially correct. The biggest reason for the price differential is Australia’s excess Duty and Taxes. Cars sold here are approxiamtely double the price of US cars. Luxury cars, even more so (thanks to the LCT). EG. base 911 – 80,000 USD vs 200,000 AUD.
Shane and Manny could you provide figures that prove this. I assume Import Duty is 10% and will be 5% in new year, and then GST, what other duties are there, Import costs should be a very mionr issue. If not cheaper in OZ as we are a coastal country. This could represent $5k, they still have import duties and sales tax in US, I assume.
I think you miss the point in that this car isn’t all about the money. It’s not as sharper alternative as small diesel or fitting LPG in terms of the bank ledger, but some people are now more concerned about their carbon footprint rather than just costs. As they say, “What price clean air?”
With its ‘user friendly’ features it seems like Prius is widening its appeal to potential customers. I’m waiting for the plug-in charge option and lithium batteries for it to be used as electric only vehicle as well.
$54,000 is still a lot for a corolla sized car…
my biggest problem with the prius isn’t the car itself, it’s the “oh look at me, see how good i am doing my bit for the environment, because i’m so clever” attitude that a lot of people who drive hybrids have.
plus, i’m still not convinced that petrol-electric hybrids are the way to go – if hybrids are a must, go diesel-electric instead – electric for the city and diesel for the open road, where they work best.
Couldn’t have said it better myself phase3. You could even add using an LPG engine if they were really serious about the environment. It will be interesting to see how the Hyundai LPG/Hybrid will go. Now THAT should be a cheap car to run around town!
I’m still not sold on the fact that the batteries are not environmentally damaging themselves, both in procuring the materials, manufacturing and recycling. Also as other people have hinted at, most people who drive a Prius are kn0b j0ckeys who think they are doing the world a favour, then go home to their aircon mansion with 3 plasma screens making their electric meter do more RPM than a turbo. Reminds me of the southpark episode where they were so in love with themselves for driving a hybrid car they loved to sniff their own farts. Classic.
Robin is spot on here, “Prius posser’s are climate change loser’s”, the world climate has been changing for centuries buying a battery car is not going to change anything.
We are all going to be hit hard with government carbon tax’s and the very funny thing is we keep exporting our coal to China who are burning this to cause even more pollution,,,,, ‘ Hello Rudd ‘ u must think we r stupid…
Toyota is like the best at doing nothing for change,,, they’re just here to make money from so called greenies….
Also $50k odd for a hatchback this size and performance is outrageous.
How can such a boring appliance-car attract so much attention? Get a life you guys.
This is a poorly opinionated article
The hybrid has far from saved toyota, its mainstream cars and good reputation for build quality is what have given it the best reputation
General motors on the other hand was mis managed to the brim, and was bought down by ridiculous union contracts and poor build quality by those unionized workers. It also had very bad cost accounting and was a badly managed company.
I’m sure general motors could have succeeded selling fuel guzzling v8’s and trucks if that was its niche, it still sells enough of them thats for sure.
I love all the comments I read about smug, self-righteous, Prius drivers – clearly a bigoted view based upon nothing but supposition. My gripe with the car is that due to tax efficiencies they are often driven by people for whom they are an inappropriate form of transport – motorway crusers who always seem to be doing 15-20mph over the speed limit. These cars guzzle (relative term) fuel at that speed and they would be far better served by a diesel. As for climate change, I’m undecided but emiting less polutants can’t bve wrong can it? However, more could be achieved if they could just put a cap on the virtually free airfares that are common place at the moment – I guess cars are just the easy target.
I work with someone who drives a Prius and I can say the stereotype is true. He gets all uppity his Prius and saving the environment, then on the other hand goes against it all by drinking coffee (check out how many litres of water it takes to produce litre of coffee for drinking compared to say tea) and running multiple computers.
We REALLY need to paint the carparks properly! Does the Prius park itself if the parking lanes are faded?
MJ, the Prius parks itself based on the location of other cars around it not the car park lanes, you get the option to line up where the car parks before it begins if there are no cars around so it can get its bearings.
It’s actually pretty simple when you do it a few times.
Crystal set. Buy a diesel.
Hey Alborz, great review, life is tough.
From memory Toyota have been reported as saying the Prius is more Camry sized from an interior dimensions perspective than Corolla. What do you make of the interior dimensions ?
Looks like a lot of fun with all that high tech, but I guess the question buyers need to ask is this:- What will the resale of this vehicle be like when plug-in’s with a decent EV range arrive ? Is this car potentially liable for savage depreciation ?
Great review Alborz. Just a heads-up too, the much-better looking 17″ wheels (that overseas markets already have) will be available from December production onwards. There is a catch though. You can only get the 17s on the base with nav, or the iTech but the solar roof/sunroof has to be deleted.
Hate to admit it but this would be the ideal 2nd car for the lazy weekday commute with the radar cruise, parking etc, only to have a fire breathing beast for the weekends to balance out all that environment saving I did during the week.
Have to agree, the perfect companion for the weekend FPV F6 !! then I’ll be carbon nuetral LOL.
I actually bought the i-Tech because it has leather seats, Sat-nav, bluetooth, great storage (foot parking brake) etc. It was a well priced, lovely car with little luxuries you could only get on more expensive cars (at the time).
Also I’d been driving a diesel because of the distances I drive, and all the usual suspects (Toyota, Mazda) didn’t have diesels then, and I wanted good fuel economy. I’d had a European car but was sick of the costs of servicing, getting spare parts etc.
It drives nicely. Also I work in the city and live 68kms away and do mostly highway driving on cruise control – and use 5 litres 100kms. Religiously. And I do go over the 110km speed limit – but not by a lot. So the idiot who says these cars guzzle under those conditions doesn’t have a clue. It’s still very reasonable fuel economy.
And all you folks who talk about self-righteous drivers are just nasty pieces of work. You’re the ones being self-righteous. Even if I did buy the car purely for the environment (which I didn’t), so what? Would that be so bad?
Good chicks car. All those gizmos will just diminish our driving standards even more.
This car is a compromise – why have two engines? When the diesel brigade can get better fuel consumption figures, the Prius technology to me looks like having a limited lifespan. Surely the next step is a full electric vehicle – The Nissan EV due next year will be an interesting car to look out for.
Time for Prius to go Diesel Rick. But i’d agree its a stepping stone to pure electrics. EV’s will have a slow uptake due to various limitations and infrastructure. So until then the Hybrid will be king.
One line:
“I LOVE THIS CAR”
Good reporting A/F
If you have time to google, you can buy BIGGER battery conversion kits for them, gets down to 2L/100km……
I am in the market for a 2007 I Tech Prius, can you find a better car for $20k?
Cheers
F-0
Frugal, I challenge you to find a 2007 Prius I-tech for sale in this country for 20k! You won’t, what you will find is a 2005 with 100,000 kilomteres or more on the clock, well except for the 2006 model with 41,500 kilometres which has been on carsales for three months ( which begs the question what is wrong with it if he wants high Km 2005 money for it?).
Cheapest 07 Model I can see starts at 25.5 k and you can get a brand new Fiesta Econetic for that money, full warranty, no kilometres on the clock, more fuel efficient, lower emissions, a better handling car and you know the history of the car because it’s just been built.
I re iterate, you are a moron.
The Honda Clarity (etc) is really the direction that all car makers should. Batteries do not cut it really.
can anyone tell me the real figures regarding service costs on a prius…
thought id find it on this article…i was wrong, but at least i have the chance of asking prius owners reading this…Pls, how much does it cost to own one (maintenance/service cost)
I’D prefer to drive a Crown Vic than a P…Pr… I can’t even make myself say it.