Is the Prius an acceptable car?

I'm after a car for general use, I now commute 20 miles to work and while a bike is fine in the summer it just isn't going to cut it for the winter.

So, I want a car that is dirt cheap to run, reliable, good for insurance and good on fuel.

I test drove a Prius today and it was super easy to drive, comfortable and generally ticks all the boxes. Just not sure I can get over the tree hugging reputation. I've set myself a £9k budget, not a penny more. Has anyone else got any good ideas or am I on the right track?

Nope, expensive, not that economical.

Better off with a low emissions blue motion diesel VW IMO, if economy is what your after.


Top gear tested it against the lupo I think and the Prius didn't perform that well, nowhere near the claimed mpg.

About as acceptable as a smack in the mouth for an answer mate.

It'll keep you dry and you can fill it with passengers and luggage. That's all cars are for isn't it?

Also depends how long you want to keep the car, quick look on Autotrader shows your looking at a 3 year old at that money. Toyota's are very reliable, but I'm not sure I'd want a 8-10 year old Hybrid as nobody has proven how well they last yet, the very first ones (of which there are very few) are only reaching 10 yrs old now.

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01137415703424

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01137415408689

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01136413662674

Originally Posted by specialone

Nope, expensive, not that economical.

Better off with a low emissions blue motion diesel VW IMO, if economy is what your after.


Top gear tested it against the lupo I think and the Prius didn't perform that well, nowhere near the claimed mpg.

I raised this question with the sales guy during the test drive. The Polo is smaller, slower, less comfortable and more expensive to insure than the Prius. The test drive that I did I achieved 57mpg which is probably what the bluemotion would get. Not to mention that diesel is more expensive.

Originally Posted by Electro

About as acceptable as a smack in the mouth for an answer mate.

These were the kind of replys I was expecting and I kind of feel the same too which is the main reason I am hesitating.

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

It'll keep you dry and you can fill it with passengers and luggage. That's all cars are for isn't it?

Also depends how long you want to keep the car, quick look on Autotrader shows your looking at a 3 year old at that money. Toyota's are very reliable, but I'm not sure I'd want a 8-10 year old Hybrid as nobody has proven how well they last yet, the very first ones (of which there are very few) are only reaching 10 yrs old now.

I will probably keep it for around three years then get rid. The dealer was quick to point out that the Prius has an 8 year warranty on the engine and electrickery bits. The one that I test drove was a 58 plate with around 38k miles on the clock.

Reliability is a MASSIVE issue for me, I'm not after something exotic or exiting but something that will get from home to work cheaply and reliably.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by ravingdavis

So, I want a car that is dirt cheap to run, reliable, good for insurance and good on fuel.

You dont want a Prius then. My brother used to work at a Toyota dealer his opinion of them is un repeatable on a U rated forum.

He said the fuel economy was terrrible, I guess it depends on your drive to work, anything with motorway or dual carriageway in it, you'll be running on the Petrol engine alot and the engine is small compared to the size and weight of the car. So it guzzles petrol

You want IMHO a small Diesel engine car. Something like

Citreon C3, or the Ford Fiesta with the 1.4hdi engine in, both give decent MPG and will be cheap to run and insure and probably more decent to drive than the Prius is.

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01121387887658

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01137415192578

[fizzwheel]

Or if you want something a bit bigger, I had a diesel 1.6 hdi Ford Focus the other day that was comfortably returning 60mph average on the motorway...

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01138416388715

Mega economy and (for you at least)