Anyone Own an 04 Toyota Prius?

[BornAgainPagan]

I've been thinking seriously about ordering one. Only 05's are available as only 30 something thousand 04's were made. I'd like to get some real opinions from real owners. Thanks.

 

[A1FlyBoy]

I pi$$ on your Prius.

Get a real car.

 

[BornAgainPagan]

Welcome to the future pal. It's just as real as any gas guzzling hot rod.

 

[averyrm]

I've test driven one, and it's quite a neat car. If you're looking for some info resources, try http://john1701a.com/

It will out-accelerate my Corolla, and gets 50+ mpg. The interior cloth is really high-quality, the touchscreen is just an awesome gadget, and there's a lot more going for it.

If I had the money, I'd have one.

 

[amaineiac]

My brother-in-law has one and likes it. I've been in it and it was ok. I don't think it's a great family car, but for going back and forth to work, it would make a good choice.

 

[Timebuilder]

I'm sorry to hear that they ran out so soon. Maybe they'll make more in '05.

A friend test drove one, and said it was really eerie pulling up to lights and have the car go "silent", as if the engine had stalled. My friend got used to it, though. Sounds like a good car for Manhattan.

Hopefully, the cost will come down making the purchase more attractive to average folks.

 

[Flying Illini]

Our CP has one. From what I can tell, he likes it. We were hanging out in the FBO and I was reading an article on hybrids and I saw that most hybrid owners are NOT getting the advertised mpg. Most are getting in the mid 40s or so. I asked him about it and he confirmed what the article said. He was getting around 7-10mpg LESS than what was advertised. The reason for this was stated in the article, the test used to determine the mpg is 30 yrs old and does not reflect current driving styles. The good news, he still likes the car and he's still averaging just over 40mpg highway/city combined.

 

[FastCargo]

Elegance...

...in engineering.

I have to admit, I'm an old gearhead at heart. Still have my 71 Mach 1 Mustang from high school. MPG? What's that?

Having said that, I am intrigued by the new Prius. The old one was too small, didn't look like a car that should be on the road. The new Prius looks nice, and has some incredible engineering. I can't believe Toyota actually makes a profit.

Scary thought? Our next purchase may be 'green'! Lexus is putting out the RX400 hybrid SUV. Toyota should also be releasing the Highlander hybrid soon after (yes, I know they are basically the same platform).

I think hybrids are the wave of the future. Now if only they would replace the internal combustion engine...like with a turbine!
(Yes, I know that's been done before too)

FastCargo

 

[00Dog]

Re: Elegance...

I can't believe Toyota actually makes a profit.

A U.S. News and World Report article reads "Auto analysts speculate that Toyota sells the Prius below its actual cost, keeping the price low while building street creed as the hybrid-electric technology leader."

 

[TOGA]

00Dog,
Is that Lake Mead Air?!

 

[00Dog]

That WAS Lake Mead Air.

 

[TOGA]

You poor bastard! How the he!! is that crotchety old fart, Earl? I was just down the taxiway for a while at Air Bridge . . . not that that's any better. Now, by "was", did you mean you used to work there, or they're gone?

 

[00Dog]

"Was" means both that I used to work there and that they're gone. I haven't seen Earl for a while but I hear he's doing okay.

You're a poor bastard too if you were working at 61B. When were you at Bridge?

 

[350DRIVER]

On the subject of cars, has anyone seen the new Saturn four wheel drive, the View or Vue(sp?)? That has got to be one of the ugliest cars I have seen to date.. A friend recently purchased one and I had to laugh when I saw it up close, yikes I think he now realizes that for the money he spent on it he could have gotten a much "sharper" and better looking ride for that kind of money. Sad when you have had a car for less than a month and you are looking to get rid of it. I am trying to get him to look into a 4 Runner or H2. I think he now has smelled the coffee and sees that a Vue(sp?) is certainly not a doctors ride.

3 5 0

 

[Vik]

Screw the Prius.

You want a car thats a real sedan and gets 60mpg? Just get the U.S. govt to let you import a regular sized sedan from Europe.

Will they let you? HELL NO .. the mpg is too **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** high, the gas companies wouldn't make any money, demand for gasoline would drop, the entire country's investments in oil companies will die and the economy would collapse.

Don't believe me? Visit the UK site for Mercedes for example.

Mercdes Benz C 200 CDI (2.0L Diesel)

"The C 200 CDI engine delivers assured performance with excellent fuel economy, reaching 62.8 mpg on the open road, and 34.0 mpg in the city."

"On the road price from £21,580.00
Performance 0-62.5 mph: 11.7/11.9 secs"
Maximum speed : 129/126 mph"

I don't know about you guys, but even VW's Jetta TDI or VW Bug TDI sold in the U.S. doesn't even get close to this good mpg. My cousin has this car and I drove it while I was in the UK in October. I'd buy it if it were offered here and its not a hybrid.

Lets wake up folks. This isn't new technology. I used to live in Switzerland and we had a Audi when I was 8-10yrs old and my Dad tells me it got 44 mpg on average in the 80's and it was a full sized sedan.

Try importing one of these and you'll get laughed right out of town. They pollute too much or some bull. Oh yeah, burning 3 times more of fuel must be cleaner.

 

[00Dog]

Sorry about the thred hijack earlier.

About the Prius, people say they're only getting mid-40's for the MPG? Why don't peple just buy and Echo? It gets 35-43 MPG (manual) w/o all of the hybrid cost and complexity. On top of that, it is only $10-$12K. By the way, I might be wrong on this but don't hybrids have extra batteries resulting in more pollution when they are discarded?

 

[CA1900]

One of my friends has a Prius, and he gets almost exactly what's printed on the sticker. To do that, he pays attention to the energy-monitor screen and makes a conscious effort to drive it most efficiently.

If he just punches it at every traffic light and drives it inefficiently, the gas engine kicks on early and he gets mid-40's. If he accelerates and decelerates more moderately (taking full advantage of the electric motor to accelerate, and the regenerative braking), he'll get mid-50's without much effort. It's quite amazing to watch.

It's racing up to traffic lights and pounding on the brakes that kill the efficiency, just like in any car.

 

[merikeyegro]

By the way, I might be wrong on this but don't hybrids have extra batteries resulting in more pollution when they are discarded?

Something tells me that three or four discarded batteries do a lot less to pollute the environment than does burning 10,000 gallons of gasoline over the life of a car.

Just an observation...

 

[username]

We have a '00 Jetta TDI that has never gotten less than 43 mpg over its 53K miles. On a good road trip we'll get 60mpg on the highway. The diesel engine is practically indestructible. Also, on the Prius there is concern that when the batteries get old/weak you will loose effeciency. The diesel only gets more effecient over the first 100K miles or so as it breaks in. If you don't want to wait for the '05 I'd look into the Jetta. I couldn't be happier with this car.

 

[Super 80]

I was watching American Chopper last night with the episode about building a bike for Jay Leno. Jay has a virtual museum and factory in what appears to be a building big enough to house a wide body jet.

One of the contraptions they looked at was a steam engine. It had just two cylinders and produced 700ft/lbs of torque. Jay Leno said his Stanley Steamer would do 75 mph and got there quickly too.

On the subject of hybrids, could you imagine a battery/steam combination that was heated by hydrogen? Heck, the exhaust from the hydrogen is steam and could conceivably be used in improving the efficiency with some fancy engineering.

Better yet, could you imagine a hybrid in your typical piston driven prop?

Actually the fact that we get away with having internal combustion engines as radical as big radials operating without catalytic converters or jet engines burning kerosene without any emission controls whatsoever gives me the willies should the environmentalist ever set their sights on evil aviation like they've done with SUV's.

 

[I.P. Freley]

Vic... You're getting mighty excited about this diesel thing, aren't ya??

Before you go blaming the government, the oil companies, the car companies, the Freemasons and whomever else you can think of for the lack of diesels in this country, keep in mind what the very real problems are for diesels here in the US:

1- Relative lack of fueling stations. Maybe not a big deal where YOU live, but not everyone has a wide choice of stations that sell the stinky stuff.

2- Perceptions of diesel cars tainted by those available over the last few decades. Smelly, rattly, clattery, and unreliable. Oh, and SLOW. This is largely GM's fault, as they sold a boatload of diesels in the late 70's that permanently turned people off the idea of diesel cars... Though every other manufacturer must take blame, as well, for the relative lack of user-friendliness in their diesels.

3- Lack of choices. I guess the One World Government Organization hasn't gotten their hands on the Germans! Mercedes offered diesels here for years, but I don't think they offer one anymore due to lack of demand. VW still offers diesel Jettas and possibly Golfs, and is supposed to bring a V10 turbodiesel Touareg this year. Aside from that, as far as CARS go, I can't think of another.

4- Emissions. Like it or not, the particulate emissions of diesels will not pass upcoming EPA tailpipe emissions standards, even if we ever make the switch to low-sulfur diesel here in the USA (which our friends across the pond have had for years). I don't believe any passenger cars with diesel engines can be sold in California (a huge market for the company you already brought up, Mercedes-Benz).

5- Cost. Every diesel-powered car costs more than its gasoline-powered equivalent. You'd have to drive a typical diesel something like 80-120k miles to have your fueling costs offset the higher purchase price of the vehicle to begin with. You use an example of a car that "starts" at over 21000 pounds sterling, which at current exchange rates amounts to *ahem* nearly $42,000. Not the best example of cheap transportation.

6- Did I say SLOW? In almost every case, the diesel cars aren't as fast as the gasoline equivalents. The diesels have great low-end torque compared to a gas engine of equivalent displacement, but no top end... They don't rev as quickly, either, so they're generally not as "fun". You helpfully post the numbers for a 2-liter Benz, and have you considered how SLOW 0-62 in 11.7secs is? In the stoplight drag races, the soccer mom in the Honda Pilot next to you will smoke your a** through the intersection.

Diesels are a good alternative to hybrids if certain technological hurdles can be overcome, if customer perceptions can be changed, if American diesel can be changed to the low-sulfur kind, if the EPA will back off, and if there are more choices to be had.

Too many "ifs" and not enough answers, unfortunately. Hybrids are an idea whose time has come, and hopefully there will be greater choices as the technology matures.

 

[00Dog]

Something tells me that three or four discarded batteries do a lot less to pollute the environment than does burning 10,000 gallons of gasoline over the life of a car.

Just an observation...

I think a Hybrid will go through a lot more than three or four batteries in its lifetime.

 

[averyrm]

The batteries are warranteed for 100k miles, and I don't think toyota wants to pay for a lot of exchanges. Also, on the first generation cars there are people with over the 100k on them already so chances are they won't have to be replaced "three or four times."