- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
- Messages
- 43,262
- Reaction score
- 31,924
- Location
- TN, please help
- Gender
- Female
- Political Leaning
- Other
I'm a Prius owner, 2007 model.
Reliability is legendary, but a word of warning:
Do not expect performance, because these are dull commuter appliances and nothing more.
If you're looking for a small car with plenty of storage space and/or passenger accomodation, and 38 mpg city/45-50 mpg hwy and nothing else, get one and you'll be happy.
Ignore the talk about 10000 mile oil changes however, and let the engine run for its full cycle before taking off first thing in the morning (about two minutes usually) because some owners report excessive oil use due to not letting the engine reach operating temp before starting off.
3000-5000 mile oil change intervals recommended.
Also ignore the scare talk about battery life and replacement costs because chances are pretty good that you will never need to replace it even with as much as 200000 miles on it.
I hear that the 2015-16 Prius gets even better mileage.
I'm very satisfied with my Prius but I'm most likely going to move to a Volt.
Two family members have Volts and I've driven them both, and I really like them a lot more.
Both of them have been very satisfied with the Volt, they deliver everything promised.
One of them is a real estate appraiser and routinely does 200-300 miles a day, the other is a commuter who seldom needs to go beyond the electric range of her Volt, so she's surprised at the rare times when the engine kicks on while driving.
I love the Volt, have spoken with many people who own one. Their only complaint is that the car is too quiet. It kinda sneaks up on people.
Since I mentioned the Alpha, yes, I have to admit that I am dazzled by looks. The Volt can hold its own though, looks kinda sassy.