hi john

well mostly comments from people who don't drive or own one.

i bought my 2001 almost 4 years ago, this car is almost bullet proof.

i drive the car every day, all day, as a courier i put on about 40,000 miles a year.

i have saved an average of $3000 a year on fuel and about another $1000 on maintenance.

as an example i still have original brakes (pads, shoes, rotors, everything) after 160,000 miles!


as traffic in my city gets worse and worse it's nice not to be idling while stuck in traffic.

as far as the batteries, i have not heard of a single failure or anyone having replaced theirs
(at least on priusonline.com). they are just rechargeble nickel-metal hydride batteries and i assume can be recycled like any other. after all the japanese are fanatical about recycling.

mine (older model) will not be confused with a sports car but the extra torque the electric motors give
makes the car hard to beat off the line and the single gear ratio (like a cvt transmission) makes for
smooth accelerations and ride. i also like the lack of a starter and alternator, less stuff to break down
and two almost guaranteed repairs if you drive your car long enough.

purchase price = $18000 can
savings so far = $15000 can
keeping in mind that this does not include repairs that i haven't had to do
like brakes, timing belt (it uses a chain), starter, alternator and since the gasoline engine only does
half the work it requires very little care.

there is not really any other choice in america if you want an alternative/high fuel economy car
except for the 2 seater smart car and the honda civic hybrid.
i have to agree that with the great selection of diesels in europe the prius is a harder sell

Thanks av in bc nice to hear from a prius owner. The prius forum is interesting and as one would expect similar to the Naim forum in it's enthusiasm for it's raison d'être.

My comment about high maintenance George was specific to my car. There are a few issues with it that I know are likely to cost up to €1000. Also the fact that my long standing mechanic has retired and I've yet to find a replacement I have faith in is adding to my apprehension about repairs.

it's true that if and when the prius breaks down
especially with anything to do with the hybrid system
repair costs are high and you would be forced to go to
a toyota hybryd certified mechanic but that is the case
with most new cars nowadays as they are more and more
complex and use proprietary parts and technology.

I was referring to my current 1992 Volvo in response to George when I mentioned high maintenance.

Generally Toyota is a very reliable brand and the hybrid system seems also to be.

I'm amazed at the strength of negative feeling towards the Prius, reminds me of some Naim haters over on Pink Fish.



SJB

quote:

Originally posted by Sloop John B:

I'm amazed at the strength of negative feeling towards the Prius,
SJB

Me too. If I had one, I'd be very happy to keep it, but as I have a Lexus, I'm gagging to ditch it. I'd do a straight swap today.
Right now, I still think the latest diesels have the edge on economy, even though I don't trust the government to wait until everyone has gone diesel, and then quadruples the cost of diesel over petrol. It's just the sort of con they would pull.

Dear All,

I just do not get Hybrid cars.

Dragging along 3 of me for the ride (weight of the batteries) while still running an underpowered petrol engine is in my bigoted view pointless.

When running on petrol it burns fuel like any other car. When running on batteries i presume it burnt coal,gas,nuclear to charge batteries.

I am surprised by the comments on life span of brakes as the cars are heavy.

But here we go.

The Future Is Here just ask Jay Leno.

The TESLA a poroject with Lotus and TESLA.

0-60mph 4 secs
150mph
Lotus Elise Chassis and Tesla motor batteries and control system.

THis new generation of electric car could work.

But it still burns coal gas nuclear to charge batteries.

I read in a magazine WHEELS or MOTOR here in Aus about the energy content of fuel and energy storage systems.

To have the same energy content as 50 lts of petrol you would need 3500kgs of lead acid batteries.

It takes 5 mins to put that energy into a petrol car but probably a fortnight from the domestic electricity system to charge the batteries.

So TESLA is an interesting car , but HYBRIDS i am speechless.

I will in the near future go and have a test drive of one to better inform my self on this matter.

regards David

Neighbour has a Prius and a Ford Fiesta, it is very difficult for him to get the same economy with the Prius as he gets in the Fiesta.

On two occasions he was not able to start the Prius after a 4 week layoff, the small battery failed (ie the battery that powers the control system rather than the motive power batteries - equivalent to a Bios battery in a PC I guess)

We looked at it quite seriously when making our most recent car purchaces and came to the conclusion that hi-tech modern diesels had far better green and cost credentials than Hybrids. Indeed as it is very rare for us to be driving around in the centre of a city (haven't people heard of feet) we could see no benefit to a Hybrid whatsoever. We also looked at the initial energy cost of manufacturing and the end of life costs, and the figures that we came up with for hybrids were worse than most 2l petrols. Basically the ony good reason for buying a hybrid is if you regularly drive into London and want to dodge the congestion charge!

Current thinking after a chat with Mrs Sloop is that we keep our trusty Volvo until it requires some prohibitively expensive repairs and then....................

we will revert to that quaintest of ideas from a bygone age - the one car family. We really need about 1.3 cars so it will be interesting to see if we can manage without the 0.3 car.


Out of a matter of interest what is the differential between diesel and petrol in the UK and Europe. Until recently in Ireland diesel was cheaper than petrol but latest prices are circa €1.28 petrol and €1.37 diesel per litre.



SJB

quote:

I will in the near future go and have a test drive of one to better inform my self on this matter.

regards David

David

I may have got this wrong but I believe the batteries are charged when the car is being driven. Ther are various points during the driving cycle, (braking, coasting) where the engine power charges the battery instead of driving the wheels.

Modern diesel engines employ some innovative technology to produce powerful cars that have little CO2 pollution compared to equivalent petrol engines. Diesel Particulate filters also remove the soot from the exhaust greatly improving the diesel engine emissions.

Tony

I understand that some people have modded the Prius so that it can be charged from the mains so that the car can be driven more on electric power. This saves the driver having to use the petrol engine.

Then why not just buy an electric car in the first place? There are a few on the market, you do have to look for them though! If SJB only needs 0.3 of a car a G-Wiz would seem the logical choice! Diesel is about £1.22 at the minute - provided you go to the supermarkets.

G-Wiz + Road Traffic Accident =

Lol, one of many reasons it is only point three of a car! There really is little need to go beyond the fact that you can't have the windscreen wipers and headlights on at the same time! That pretty much sums up the vehicle! Please accept my appologies, there should have been a grinning smiley as well as an exclaimation mark after my G-Wiz comment, I sometimes forget people don't automatically assume sarcasm, except from Adam!

quote:

Current thinking after a chat with Mrs Sloop is that we keep our trusty Volvo until it requires some prohibitively expensive repairs and then....................

we will revert to that quaintest of ideas from a bygone age - the one car family. We really need about 1.3 cars so it will be interesting to see if we can manage without the 0.3 car.

Dear SJB,

I was not my place to suggest that, but it is what I would have done!

George

Guess what car is the most satisfying to own = please click to find out

S.I.G

Rotf

Refer to privious discussion of "Hybrid Owner Smugness Syndrome"!

Why is there so many more negative remarks about hybrid and battery technology? This occurs everytime someones ask this topic. It is sad to see so many ill informed people give their opinion when they have not experienced it. It is like saying they do not like NAIM when they have never even heard a piece of music played throught a NAIM system!

My neighbour has sorted all his electrical problems. We live in an area which does not get alot of sun compared to say Saudi Arabia for argument sake. He has his roof covered by state of the art solar panels which not only guve him now free electricity but also form part of his roof! In fact he has so much electricity he has to sell it back to the grid! As for charging his car, it is not a problem.

As for range, lets be honest, how far do you travel in a day? Is 100 to 150 km not enough majority of the time? I do 70 km a day. I have hybrid and only ever see a petrol pump once a month. It is down to how you use your car i.e. how heavy is your right foot?. Never need to change brake pads on any of my car ever.

Do not get me started on tyre life, I will beat most of you hands down!

wellspyder

You can indeed obtain power from photo voltaic panels however, I have been involved in several commercial developments where these have been wheeled out as the solution to address the Planners' needs. On each and every project these have had to be rejected. Why? Because the capital expenditure required will never be repaid. When they become commercially viable I am sure they will be embraced with open arms by all developers. Until then....

As for range, 15km would be sufficient for most of my car journeys. However, I don't want to pay out for a car to serve most of my journeys - I want it to deal with all journeys on the public highway.

You've done really well with your hybrid. The point you may wish to consider, as mentioned above, is that you could do even better with one of the new tech diesel models.

Tyre life is a function of numerous factors. Not least the rubber compound used. If memory serves, the Prius comes with low rolling resistance tyres which not only last much longer than a 'normal' tyre, help also contribute towards improved fuel economy; they just don't enjoy the same levels of grip. Especially with all that dead weight comprising the battery packs. I wonder what the relative emergency stopping distances are...

I have no doubt that the technology will be developed into something truly viable, but, like photo voltaics, they have some way to go.

Peter