How does the Prius hold up?

Stay away if thats your concern. Very few have gone more than 300,000 miles before being totaled by an SUV.

As for size, be sure not to actually sit in one else your preconceptions will be dashed. Three big adults in the back is a bit tight, but not two. Surprising amount of legroom and headroom.

Consumer Reports rates the Prius tops in reliability. There's little maintenance to do (change oil and rotate tires, of course), nothing at all for the electrical components of the hybrid. The CVT (continuously variable transmission) is remarkably simple, no doubt contributing to the Prius' reliability. The gas engine is designed to shut off when the car stops for a red light, etc. and often as one drives, so the gas engine does not get as much wear as would the usual auto engine.

Here in California the Prius high voltage battery is warranteed for 10 years or 150,000 miles.

Brake pads should last for a very long time because so much of the braking is done by charging the battery instead of brake pad friction.

You say the Prius is a little small. On the inside the car (mine is a

2008 purchased in Oct. 2007) seems a lot larger than it would appear from the outside. I find the hatchback design is extraordinarily functional.

The Prius government safety ratings for 2008 are 4-stars except for the front side crash 5-star rating. Yes, I would have liked all 5-stars.

The biggest problem I have had is finding my car in the parking lot because there are so many silver Prius's around. My fix for that was to customize my silver Prius by wrapping yellow tape around the antenna.

Tom

If you need space, look at the Camry hybrid or Ford Escape hybrid. Both are quite roomy.

I've only had mine for over two years and bought it used with 49,300 miles. I expected to replace the tires and did after a year. I've changed the oil, added a 1 kW inverter and otherwise driven over 50,000 miles getting 52.3 MPG. The new ones get even better mileage and have a lot more space and performance.

GOOD LUCK! Bob Wilson

"Bill" ...

What you read above is a study in facetiousness. Tomes

"Bob & Holly Wilson"...

.... and have less MPG too.

Mine after a year and a third is just fine, no problems at all. We get

52-56 MPG every tankful (right now the tank is almost empty and it reads 54.7).

Get in one and drive it before you decide it is too small. It uses the TARDIS principles where the inside is bigger than the outside . Tomes

Have you sat in one? Have you put your friends in one?

It's astoundingly large, actually.

The passenger compartment of a Prius is about the same as a Camry's. Where the Camry has a lot more space is in the luggage compartment - its trunk is considerably bigger than the Prius's hatchback space.

Excellent just about covers it. I've had mine coming up for 3 years now and it's been great. I intend to keep it until one of us drops (and because it's a Toyota I could well go first!) or until they launch something better.

'Nuff said?

Chas

An acquaintance of mine is thinking about buying a car, and I suggested she get a Prius, of course. She was concerned about fitting into it (she's trying to become a contestant on "The Biggest Loser" TV show), so I let her sit in the driver's seat of mine. She said that it was quite comfortable.

Mine is from Feb. '06 and still works almost exactly as it did the day I drove it off the lot. The only signs of age at this point are some squeaks and rattles when hitting bumps and potholes, but I usually have the radio on so these are mostly unnoticeable. I haven't been back to the dealer in 25K+ miles (do my own oil changes and tire rotations, nothing fancy - just good ole Castrol 5W-30), although I'll probably come in at 30K just to have it checked out. I'm in Southern Cal., and I drive it like any other car (no babying, opening it up to

85 mph plus on the freeway when it flows that fast and not getting in anybody's way), getting 45.8 mpg lifetime so far.

So you are really getting about 52 MPG. The factory MPG meter is pretty good but its optimistic by at least 2 MPG. $@^&@ P.O.S. being 4% off... :-)

I haven't tried the rear of a new Camry but my 2007 Prius rear seat is bigger than older Camry rear seats. Bigger as in, "more leg room".

Well, see, that's the thing. With the bladder in the gas tank checking the MPG via fill-up is unreliable unless one checks over 30 tankfuls or so, with each tankful increasing the potential accuracy of the measurement. I am going by the computer on my data above, it is all I have really. Tomes

I have a 2008 Prius purchased only three months ago. I would prefer a larger trunk, but its ok. I have a folding bike that spends a lot of time in my Prius' trunk. Little else fits in there unless I stash it in the lower compartment. When I take a friend who's wheelchair bound out, if I fold down the rare seats and shove my bike forward, her large wheelchair fits in fine.

How do you know that?

You can't, not at all, unless you measured the gasoline very carefully and over a long period of time. The gas tank design doesn't let you accurately measure gas mileage by measuring your fillup and calculating that against the odometer.

The only way to know, really, would be to start with a full tank on a certain day of the year, say in June, then go a year and fill up the tank again at the same pump on the same day in June the following year. Measure your miles driven in that year and calculate against the total amount of gas you put in during the year.

The gas tank bladder simply doesn't allow a tank by tank measurement of fuel mileage.

I've only had mine for a little over two years, so I can't answer your question about how well it holds up. I haven't had any problems.

Let me offer some other feedback. Most feedback in this thread has been very positive, and for good reason. But I'd like to offer some less favorable feedback based on my ownership experience so far:

- Visibility is poor. Lots of blind spots, rearview mirror is too prominent in the sharply sloped windshield, especially if you're on the tall side of average. The rear spoiler is aptly named for its effect on the view out the back. The rear camera helps considerably if you have one, at least when backing up.

- Driver's seat lacks suitable adjustability for comfort, especially because it lacks the ability to tilt the seat bottom upwards. This is a problem if you have longer legs.

- Fuel efficiency does not match advertised values for most people. This depends on driving style, terrain and climate, among other things. I am continually disappointed when I see others posting MPGs in the high 40's and

50's when I only get low- to mid-40's despite being very conscious of driving style. I am in a flat area (central NJ), so that may be the biggest factor for me. As they say, "Your mileage may vary".

Other than these things, I agree with the positive feedback offered by the other responders. Despite this bit of negativity, I really DO like the car, and I do NOT regret the purchase.

- Doug