AndyLyman

iTrader: (1)

Anyone on here own a Toyota Prius Hybrid?

I know that they are nowhere near anythng like Scoob but I'm thinking with the fuel price near £1.50 or £2 a litre by the end of the year and the £400 road tax looming it might be time to sell the scoob

I dont do many miles about 12 a day to and from work so i would definately help on fuel and the £15 a year road tax is very favourable

any views on the Hybrid?

Andy

Kevin Greeley

They only do about 45mpg.
My Diesel Clio does 64mpg and the tax is only £35 a year. Insurance is really cheap too.
Unfortunately, it's a Renault...
I've had 2 now and would buy another one.
Kevin.

corradoboy

To keep some of the buzz that a Scoob gives you look at any of the VAG cars with their PD turbo-diesel engine. FWIW my Skoda Fabia had a few Scoobs troubled on a dry track, and remap'd to 180bhp and 312 torques I unofficially timed its 30-70 at about 5 seconds (counting in my head, 1-one thousand, 2-one thousand etc ) which matches Prodrives quoted figure for an 03-05 STi PPP It's never gonna corner and handle like a Scoob, but is a very rewarding and fun, and surprisingly quick car. On a gentle run, even after the remap I often see 60+mpg, and get 35+ when teaching and 45+ around town with me driving. Also look at the Leon, Ibiza, Golf, Polo, Octavia and A3 maybe.

AndyMoody

iTrader: (2)

Andy,

Leon FR TDi 170bhp

Blueblaster

Prius can travel in London for free. If this is important then it might be worth a punt. Otherwise get a diesel if you do lots of miles or a small petrol if you don't. Too tired to explain more now.

skinters

Never quite worked out the Prius. What does it actually do?

If it does 45mpg then a decent modern diesel is miles better on all fronts. All it seems to do is reduce pollution in the city while it's running electric and then dump it somewhere else while it's charging?

Plus the batteries are an ecological mess too. Or have I missed the point?

AndyMoody

iTrader: (2)

I know Andy very well, he won't be going anywhere near London. With diesel being £1.32 up the road from both of us, is it still worth getting a diesel with the big difference compared to UL @ £1.15ish around here at the moment.
i.e. Does the extra MPG you'd expect from a diesel make it worthwhile when it's approx 15p a litre more than petrol?

Andy.

corradoboy

15% more expensive fuel

Compare theoretical 40mpg for a small petrol to a potential 60mpg from a decent diesel = 50% better economy.

Very quick and rough maths

dpb

Is it not for like minded cerebrities to flaunt their 'green' credentials on public days ( whilst the ferrari is tucked up in the garage)

I heard taken the build, the running over its liftime and consequent disposal that it was in fact far from green.

corradoboy

Do a search for 'Sudbury Nickel Mine' and find out about the Prious's dirty little secrets

It was once stated that the birth to death (build to scrap) the Prious was less environmentally friendly than a Hummer, mainly because the Hummer is expected to run for about 90 years to the Prious 8 or so.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

12 miles a day! Surely thats not enough to worry about fuel economy.

corradoboy

A push bike would be better

what would scooby do

or public transport..

public pubic

AndyMoody

iTrader: (2)

Blue Motion, same engine as Seat Arosa? or even Mini Diesel is very low Co2 around 100g too.

slim_boy_fat

What he said.

phil_wrx

iTrader: (2)

evo mag did that story and said the panda 100hp was a more green car

boomer

Andy,

I have been driving a Prius for over a year and a half (after 5 years in a MY01 WRX with PPP), and it is a very nice car to own.

The final "choice" that i got down to was a Prius T Spirit or a UK STi with PPP - and i think that i took the best option, especially considering how the motorist is currently being (mis)treated by the government.

People always seem to compare it with the G-Wizz or the Blue Moron, but it is a completely different league. For example, i believe that the Moron falls outside the lowest tax band if you have air-con fitted, and the Wizz is, well, just a waste of space (not that it has any interior space).

If you do a lot of motorway miles, then a diesel will give you better fuel economy, but in stop-start driving the Prius is fantastic - helped tremendously by the continuously variable transmission (and the 400nm of torque, compared to a mere 300nm with my WRX PPP).

Being a Toyota, it is well put together, has a good network of dealers, and has loads of fancy options (standard on the Spirit) - sat-nav including free live traffic updates, bluetooth, climate control (which can work electric only), umpteen speaker multi-CD stereo and i also went for the intelligent parking assist which also gives you a reversing camera visible on the control display.

Don't let the doomsayers scare you with "the battery will need replacing after three years at several thousand pounds!", 'cos the whole hybrid synergy drive comes with an eight year warranty.

Acceleration is easily on a par with your average 2 litre motor - often other drivers seem quite surprised how nippy it is. I do miss the ooomf of the Scooby though (as well a AWD).

Switching to EV (Electric Vehicle) mode is great fun in car parks - scaring old folks and totally freaking out most cats

And as for the bollox that is often quoted regarding "dust to dust with Hummers" and "Lunar landscape at Sudbury" - have a read of Prius Versus HUMMER: Exploding the Myth.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and i will try to answer them - and from real-world experience rather than Googling the words

Cheers,

mb

brickboy

I think Honest John ran a Prius for 6 months and got an average of 47mpg in all types of driving.

The Passat B5.5 PD130 I've just sold averaged 46mpg over 5 years ownership.

In terms of economy there's nothing in it, but I very very seriously considered a Prius as a company car because it would have cost me peanuts in BIK tax.

In the end it wasn't quite big enough for me (I need a family barge), but it was nice to drive, and In The Real World (tm) its performance is a lot better than the raw figures suggest.