Do you have any Prius misconceptions?

Austin

I noticed that a lot of people have formed a hate to the Prius and i still have yet to know why. I've had all three generations and found them all to be comfortable. The first generation was kind of like a Corolla, the second generation was like a higher end Toyota and was even more roomy, higher quality, more power, and comfortable, and the third generation Prius is super comfortable, some even say it's more like a Lexus. It's not lighting fast but Toyota claims it will run from 0-60 in 9.8 seconds, I've clocked my 2010 Prius at 8.8 seconds before from 0-60. The second generation is more like 9.5 seconds, and the first generation took a lot more time with an 11.4 second 0-60 time. All in all, I found that the Prius handles every situation just fine.































I found this video to be helpful too.















http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Fx03i0rJk

Patrick

I don't think the Prius is a bad car. I just think there are better options, specifically clean diesel cars which get better mileage without the extra complication of a hybrid system.

Alan

I think the main problem with the Prius is its looks. It does not look balanced and looks very malformed to me. I know that looks are a subjective thing, but still many believe the Prius, and many other toyota models look somehow malformed with body styles that just are not complimentary to the eye. Also many realize that the idea of being efficient is a scam presented by Toyota to sell this car. There are many cars just as efficient, or more so than the Prius. When the expense of being hybrid is factored in, the Prius is a failure, The Ford Focus, and the new Fiesta are far more efficient than the Prius, particularly when you consider the thousands less in cost to buy them, and far less to maintain them in the distant future. The Fiesta, with an efficientgasoline engine gets over 40 mpg and can be bought with leather interior for just $17,000 or less. A replacement battery on a Prius can cost up to $5000 when it wears out. That alone, places the Prius in second place.

JerryJ

I had one of those "clean diesels". At 80,000 miles the engine blew. Not counting the blown engine, it cost 22 cents per mile for dealer maintenance alone over the 95,000 miles I drove it, while my Prius has cost 12 cents per mile for dealer maintenance, tires, and fuel for the 115,000 miles that I've driven it so far. In addition every fill with the "clean diesel" is a smelly mess, and it still stinks like diesel. Basically 22:1 compression and "small, lightweight" just don't go together.































In addition, diesel is about 18% more expensive than gasoline (except in Europe where the governments subsidize diesel) so you have to subtract 18% from the stated MPG to get the gasoline car equivalent. People keep forgetting that and so many comparisons aren't apples to apples.































As far as the "hybrid penalty" goes, it's about $500. Where the nay-sayers get their inflated numbers from is for comparing the mid-sized Prius to a compact or sub-compact. Naturally, a mid-sized car is going to be more expensive. Also hybrids tend to have more standard features than an econobox. A Camry costs more than a Corolla too as does a BMW, yet I don't hear any complaints about them. I put this down to "People that haven't had a Prius believe that a hybrid takes something away rather than adds to the driving experience". This same kind of thinking was typical of detractors of radial tires when they were first introduced too. The North American tire manufacturers did everything they could to stem the tide of radial tires with the result that there is only one North American tire manufacturer left (Goodyear). All the others started too late and did too little and are now owned by some other company. It took radial tires about forty years to become dominant. The oldest hybrid (the Prius) has only been around since the 1996 model year.































The hybrid system doesn't add complications, it reduces them. In the Prius the automatic transmission with its hundreds of parts has been replaced by a simple planetary gear system similar to a differential. There is no clutch or fluid coupling (the automatic equivalent of a clutch), no starter motor, no alternator, no belts (in the 2010 model).































Interestingly the same arguments were used against radial tires that are used against the Prius:































1. Too expensive.































2. Doesn't get the fuel economy promised.































3. Works in town but not on the highway.































4. Works on the highway but is poor in town (#3 or #4 depended upon whom you asked).































5. Handles poorly.































Eventually everyone figured out that all these complains were just FUD and radial tires took over, but it took forty years. I suspect it won't take forty years for hybrids to replace gas guzzlers.















































Styling is a personal opinion, but there's not much uglier than one of those three box design me too cars that presents a flat face to the wind. Aerodynamic styling always looks good.































About acceleration: There are a few things that fool people:































1. When reviewers get 0-60 times, they rev the engine and pop the clutch (or the automatic equivalent). The Prius won't let you do this kind of juvenilia, but no one (who has to pay the bills) drives like that anyway so a few seconds to the acceleration times have to be added or subtracted depending upon which way you're doing the math.































2. Because there is no shifting in the Prius, you don't get that gear change jerk, which some people equate with engine power.































3. Because the engine RPM is not tightly coupled to vehicle speed as it is in an old fashioned car, some people use the sound of the engine RPM to tell when to back off on the accelerator. If you do this in a Prius acceleration will slow down. The Prius won't let the engine over-revv so backing off just slows acceleration. Note that many folks do this unconsciously because it's the way you accelerate in other cars.

Victor

One of the answers here is really typical about the false negatives about Prius:































QUOTE: "The Ford Focus, and the new Fiesta are far more efficient than the Prius, particularly when you consider the thousands less in cost to buy them, and far less to maintain them in the distant future. The Fiesta, with an efficientgasoline engine gets over 40 mpg and can be bought with leather interior for just $17,000 or less."































REALITY - The Focus and the Fiesta are both econoboxes compared to the Prius. I've owned both, and they are small and cramped. They do have good fuel eficiency, but the Prius vastly outperforms them in terms of MPGs. The Prius base price is $22800, but is a luxury car in comparison to those two Fords. Base price is about the same as the Honda Accord.































QUOTE: "A replacement battery on a Prius can cost up to $5000 when it wears out. That alone, places the Prius in second place"































REALITY - The hybrid system, which includes the battery pack, is warranteed for 8 years / 80k miles. In California, it is warranteed for 10 years. The battery pack is generally felt to be able to last the life of the car. If it does fail out of warranty, you are no worse off than a person whose transmission fails on their Ford Focus after 36k miles (transmission replacement is thousands of dollars). And the battery pack can often be repaired for far less money than a total replacement.

Michael

No misconceptions - I have one in the garage and one is 500 miles away right now, with my wife at the wheel (I hope!)































I had a misconception when I bought hers (I bought mine used later) - I didn't expect it to be this reliable. I maintain my own cars and this one has been nothing but routine. Even the brakes are original after more than 100K miles and the pads all look like new. I've had to do throttle body cleanings - not listed in the maintenance list - but not a single repair in 8 years. Both of ours are 2002 models, so the battery packs may need to be replaced around the 200K mile mark for about $1700 apiece unless the price goes down farther by then. If we had the later generations I would not be facing battery replacement. That's okay - getting over 40 mpg around town in a reliable, quiet, and responsive car is worth it.































I know what you mean about the responsiveness. I think the discrepancy is a quirk in the Wide Open Throttle algorithm. I don't know about the later generations, but on the first generation pressing the throttle to the floor tells the hybrid computer to prepare for a long haul by using the ICE power rather than the electrics. The result is losing a couple seconds when the electrics could be getting you off the line. Using about 1/2 to 2/3 throttle initially and "riding the wave" by pressing the throttle to maximize the electric boost can cut more than a second off the 0-30 time.

my 2nd account

I love my 08 prius and have no regrets. Most of your haters are those that never owned one.

yahoo

no

The Raven

No I don hate it but many falsely think they will save money with it and that is untrue.















































Most people buying a hybrid are assuming they will be the least expensive vehicle to operate but that is totally untrue. Yes they are very good on fuel mileage BUT you have to consider ALL costs, not fuel alone. When including all costs over a three year period no hybrid including the Prius even makes the top ten list of most economical cars as can be seen here:















http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...e-cars-to-own/















The Chevy will be the most reliable on that list.































So if your plan is to save money on operating costs then choose one of the top ten most economical cars form the list and avoid all hybrids sense not even one of them made the top ten list.































Please also note that the Prius has had several problems and has been recalled numerous times as can be seen here: http://www.autorecalls.us/aut-02/rec...ius/index.html































Signed, The Raven