Thursday, March 5, 2015

Toyota Prius? Not Impressed

A 2015 Toyota Prius with 5,000 miles on the odometer, 1,500 by me, is a disappointment. Toyota is slipping.

Some observations. A very rough ride. You feel and hear all the road imperfections. Although new, it has rattles. The car gets blown around by the wind. After driving in heavy snow, I opened the hood to add washer fluid. The engine compartment was filled with snow. Given all the electrical components in the car, all that moisture can't be good for long term reliability. You can only speculate some of  that snow has road salt/magnesium chloride mixed in.

The headlight covers soon get covered by road gunk to the point the road isn't adequately illuminated. Made of plastic, they should be cleaned with a cloth, not paper, as paper will scratch plastic.

In less than thirty miles driving in blowing snow, the taillights are nearly obscured with clinging snow. My guess a lot of Prius drivers will get rear ended.

Observed mileage in a mix of city and highway is around 40 mpg.

The car is provided by my part time employer. My heart procedure last August has cost well over $100,000. I've decent insurance but the deductibles and co-pays add up. This job will be about a six-month fix.

ADDENDUM:  This post has over 400-page views, the most I've ever had on a single post. Must have hit a search engine lotto.

8 comments:

CenTexTim said...

FWIW, Consumer Reports rates the Prius fairly high. Just out of curiosity, what is your opinion as a professional car guy of CR? Do their ratings reflect your experience, or are they way off base?

re: medical expenses - I thought obamacare fixed all that... (sarc off)

Unknown said...

I hope.l your wallet.recovers soon, too.

Like CenTexTim, I'm curious to read your observations and opinions.

Well Seasoned Fool said...


Always found CR biased. One time they reported they found two problems with an Oldsmobile. In the same issue they, "found ONLY two problems in a Nissan". As a used car manager, we spent the least getting cars ""front line ready" on Fords, then Toyota, GM, Mopar and Honda/Nissan/Subaru and Korean. I wholesaled all European cars except VW. VWs were an expensive pain in the ass but were easy to sell. Likewise, wholesaled all high-end cars. No $3500 Lexus headlights or $4,000 60,000 mile service for me.

Lucky me, I don't have Obamacare. Instead, I get shafted by AARP/United Health Care.



Well Seasoned Fool said...

The marketplace is a good indicator. Prime example, Ford F-150. Another is medium-duty International trucks. Unpleasant to drive but economical over the long haul.

Personal preference plays a role. I put over 500,000 miles on two Lincoln Towncars and never bitched about the 15-20 mpg. They were comfortable, very reliable and did the job I needed.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Momma Fargo has left a new comment on your post "Toyota Prius? Not Impressed":

They get stuck in snow. I have dug so many out in the parking lot. They are too low to the ground. They have no power. The tires suck. They get hella gas mileage, tho.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Don't know what is up with blogger.

Old NFO said...

I've ridden in one, and wasn't impressed... Sorry to hear about the screw job, but that's the new 'norm'...

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Company mechanic says he can't find snow tires for them.

Regarding insurance, I don't think many folks come out well. I'm ok, just don't want to get in a hole.