Toyota Prius Review Long Term Update
December 29, 2009 by Alborz Fallah
After one solid month with the new third generation Toyota Prius hybrid my opinion still hasn’t changed. It’s quite possibly the smartest, yet the most uncool car under $60,000.
Whilst I’ve had the Prius I’ve also got behind the wheel of two other cars, a Jaguar XF-R and a Lexus IS250C. Although completely different cars entirely, the Prius’ cleverness has left me wanting more from the other two, particularly the Jag. The Prius simply makes driving feel like a much easier experience than it has ever been.
Of course it wouldn’t be an irony if the second ever infringement notice ever gotten in a press vehicle wasn’t in a Toyota Prius.
No, it wasn’t for speeding, I wouldn’t live that one down, it was for having the foglights on. Queensland Police have taken it upon themselves to target drivers who drive around with their foglights on. Fair enough. Given the Prius’ main instrument display is not infront of the driver but in the centre of the dashboard, the little foglight on symbol is relatively well hidden away.
The Prius has been driven between Warwick and Brisbane repeatedly, as well as around Brisbane city traffic and up to the Gold Coast. Fuel economy is rating at an average of 4.6L/100km at the moment but it’s being driven with very little consideration for fuel economy (real world driving).
One rather annoying issue that I’ve discovered with the Prius’ auto-parking system is that it won’t work on any hills, which is not exactly very useful in Brisbane which is hardly flat.
The Prius seems a little scared to apply much acceleration when parallel parking on a hill, so whilst there is sufficient acceleration for flat surfaces, if it has to push a little to reverse up a hill, it won’t do it and if you touch the accelerator to help it, it will automatically cancel the parking system, tell you you’ve been naughty, and to try it on a flat surface.
Nonetheless it does work brilliantly on flat surfaces so I can’t exactly complain, it’s also possible that the camera and sensor systems which measures and calculate all the approach angles and turning points don’t work accurately when its not on a flat surface so it’s possibly a safety measure.
Whilst I was picking up an Lexus IS250c press car the man from Lexus asked me what I was currently driving and I told him I was in a Prius and mentioned all the great technologies included. He went on to say that the technological features included in the Prius (i-Tech) are still unmatched by some of the Lexus models.
The Head Up Display is not even available on the Lexus IS series (even the IS-F) and the radar cruise control doesn’t have all the fancy display that you find in the Prius. Additionally no Lexus that I could find has solar panels on its roof that will cool the car down (using solar power) before you get inside. Essentially what you’re getting with the Prius is the best technology from Toyota & Lexus for a fraction of the cost in comparison with other models.
If the soon to be released Toyota Camry hybrid implements the features found in the Prius, it will easily be the most sophisticated locally produced car in Australia.
It almost makes you wonder if Toyota are making any money selling the Prius or if it’s just a great marketing exercise to say look at what we can do, either way it’s win-win for consumers. It has also become obvious to me that it would be silly to go out there to buy a Prius and not go for the top of the range i-Tech.
Perhaps calling the Prius uncool is somewhat unjust. My girlfriend calls the Prius a fun and safe toy because she likes all the gadgets inside. My friends think the technologies (such as HUD, centre console) should be mandatory on all cars. A good friend of mine who just bought a brand new BMW 135i told me how great it would be if his BMW could have the active radar cruise control for highway driving. BMW drivers seeking technologies found in a Prius? How times have changed.
It’s taken a month but now when I pick up the regulars in the Prius, there is no longer a “oh no, not the Prius” feeling. It’s more a “can I drive it please?” followed swiftly by a “no, and I thought you said this car was for greenpeace activists?”, followed by silence.
The Prius is spending the next week with CarAdvice writer Paul Maric who is in Queensland so expect an update from him in the next two weeks. Meanwhile I’ll be complaining about the Lexus’ lack of head up display until I get the Prius back.
Tags: Toyota Prius
Alborz, the new Prius’ are great! But those wheels are ghastly… I know there is a larger option, but still – crap – Aesthetically I can’t see past them. And if this reverse parking is the same as that implemented in the Lexus LS Series, if I where to pay $150k+ for one, I’d bloody want it to be able to park itself on a hill! Lol.
youd be paying closer to 200k and it cant park itself uphill. I had one for a while on loan from a mate. it is awesome both inside and out but is very quiet and needs less mass.
Jazrod, quite right, the 17″s will be available any day now, much better looking than those crappy 15″ plastic cover things.
Are you saying that Toyota Aus are making the 17s available?
Yep!
Well that certainly makes it up abit in my book. Still not changing to Toyota anytime soon though :)
Those 17″ wheels look the part – As do the Xenon-lighting option in conjunction with the solar roof (from a far looks like a panoramic sunroof)… Wheels look very similar to those displayed on the new BMW Active-E Concept (Though I prefer the Bimmers). Prius in silver thanks!
Ugly ,overpriced and a little illogical for me personally. Petrol / electric is a dead duck. Yuppies and government departments are the target market. The most interesting part of the article is the fine for having the fog lights on. They are damned distracting and congrats to the police for enforcing it. now come to Cairns and teach our police how to do the same.
No surprise it has an auto park feature. Rearview appears to be horrid . Whislt I am not a fan of the Ford econetic either (way too expensive) it still makes far more sense than this car and won’t see your economy go skyward on the highway like the Prius.
Let’s see just how many of the 10,000 Camry’s go to fleet and taxis compared to private buyers.
I drove a Prius a few months ago, and I agree with the sentiment of this article. It’s not so much a car as it is a nifty gadget that will whir you off from errand to errand with minimal offense – either to driver or those who watch you go past. I agree that the wheels look a bit odd, but I think the shape of that rear is always going to look proportionally skewiff. Is that the price of blending a slippery shape and practicality?
Do toys really make the driving experience for you?
As useful as they sometimes can be, i would judge a cars styling, dynamic ability, fun factor, interior quality, and about a million factors before i start garbling on about solar panels on the roof or radar guided cruise controls
Toyota can throw all the toys they like at it, this is white good cars at their worst.
The only independant research I have ever read indicates that a 4.0l petrol Jeep Wrangler is more environmental friendly than a Prius. ‘Dust to dust’ priciple.
Nice post and yes very true. The disposal of the battery pack alone is a major problem. People look at the “footprint” of the vehicle whilst it is on the road and completely ignore the fact that even the manufacture of those batteries was a big contributor to CO2 emissions.
Hybrid petrols aren’t clever in my opinion. This vehicle is more about a manufacturer showing off than any real benefit to the planet. Over-priced, over ugly and over rated.
This research is a myth. Please google “Prius Hummer myth” and you will see what i mean. There are too many points to go into here, but a simple web search will straighten this out for you.
It was probably prepared by Toyota. I have read a few reports regarding the “overall” benefits of the hybrids. They don’t stack up.
You are utterley wrong. Toyota did prepare a response to this ( of course it would) but many other people have looked into the findings of “Dust to Dust” by CNW ( which is a marketing firm). Heres a very good summary of why Dust to Dust is totally wrong.
Copied/summarised from http://www.positivelygreen.com.....an_hybrids
For a start they assume that Hummers do 380K miles , while Priuses do only 100K.
Prius also took a hit because it’s a new technology. As more cars embrace this technology, new tech start-up costs will diminish. The energy costs associated with building a Prius decrease with every new Prius (or similar hybrid) made. Yet a Hummer/Tahoe/insert-other-big-SUV-here will always guzzle an enormous amount of gas. The study’s researchers also point to the nickel metal hydride battery in the Prius, noting that nickel mining is a dirty business. Yes, it is. Yet the Sierra Club’s “Mr. Green” explains that the hybrid batteries currently in existence require less than one percent of the world’s annual nickel production. Prius batteries are also 100% recyclable.
Finally – and perhaps most damning of all – the study was not peer-reviewed and CNW itself has admitted somewhat flawed figures. John Heywood, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, notes that “I can only guess at how they did the detailed arithmetic.” Why only guess? CNW refuses to release its data “for competitive reasons”, says study creator Art Spinella.
Don’t see how the amount of energy used to produce a Prius can diminish with greater production?
How about a dust to dust between this and an i30 diesel?lol
Hopefully only fill a niche market for the sanctimonious few.
Prius is still one of the ugliest cars on the road imo.
Then again the look is probaby part of the marketing plam as being easily to identify as a prius hybrid.
I reckon AU Falcons have had a few more knocks with the ugly stick!!
You hit it on the head there – yes the shape is efficient but it’s also part of the marketing plan. The new Merc E series coupe looks like a normal car yet still has a lower co-efficient of drag than a Prius. Honda copied the shape with the Insight hybrid purely as a marketing move
Many people comment on the ugliness of the car and its wheels.
It doesn’t worry me because when I am driving I cant’see those items.
Should buy one Thomas u would look good in one(Prius).lol
Then u could argue it was really a Lexus like u do with your Hilux.lol
Huh, Dematia setting in?? I don’t have a hilux you tool!!
Also, You would propably get a Prius before me!!
Would look cool with spats over the rear wheel arches.Lol.
Why stop with a centre speedo? Should also have a joy stick for a steering wheel.lol
Happy New Year Thomas. Haven’t got dementia yet but thks for the kind thought.LOL
Happy New Year to you too!!
And here is my christmass tip for you
Toyota Fortuner = Toyota Hilux
Toyota Prado (J120 Platform)= Toyota Tacoma = Lexus Gx = Fj Cruiser = Toyota 4Runner
Hey Real cars.
Pertaining to your post above. The “Dust to Dust” study factored in the planning and development of the prius into their figures (designing prototypes etc). Since this is a fixed quantity, the more Priuses that are made, then there is a smaller proportion of development resources per car as car numbers increase.
No sympathy for fines issued for people driving with any form of auxilliary lighting activated in conjunction with their headlights. Should be more of it and the laws should be changed so that these lights can only be used in conjunction with high beam.
However it is hypocritical in the extreme that the QLD Police are fining people for this when nearly every evening I see the patrol car (Toyota Aurion SX6) in my local area driving with the front fog/driving/idiot lights on!!!
Prius is an interesting car, it is enjoyable to drive but as you say…… it is a little un-cool.
Bring forth the Hybrid Camry!
I don’t doubt that the Prias is a good car but it does seem to be a bit of a con.
Gman has already commented that Top Gear rubbished its green credentials for construction.
The battery power is less than 2 miles and certainly would not take you across even the smallest city – so how it avoids the London congestion charge I do not know.
The real use fuel consumption appears a great deal different from the quoted. A motoring program recently got 34 mpg overall.
An owner (not for much longer) who live near me gets 30mpg on the short shopping runs (approx 5 miles each way) and 40 – 48 on a long run (traffic one way).
Compare this with my Ford Focus 1.8L – that does not pretend to be economical – on a similar shopping run I get 33 mpg and on holiday to Cornwall (200 mile overall mixed roads) I got 40 mpg overall and this was not economic driving (It was observed that I reached 85 mph several times – but as the speed limit is only 70 this must have been a mistake on the part of the observer!)
To add the really ridiculous; when Top Gear ran a Prias fast around its track it got 19 mpg whereas the 2.5L BMW pacing it got 22.5!!!!