Why The First Real Toyota Prius Doesn't Deserve Any Of The Hate A piece on Jalopnik of all places, praising the Gen 2.
Yeah, I was working on fixing it - forgot that Kinja links did that on here, and Chromium-based browsers choke on the edit page when that happens.
Gen2 was so good, it did not need subsidies to sell (got a few, but those were really intended to help other hybrids catch up with Prius)
Yup. Loved the Gen 2. While the Canadian version didn't have all the stuff the US version had (no bluetooth or HIDs... though the HIDs ended up being problematic for Toyota and nav was offered in '05 for $3,000 ), it was a very high tech car for not much more money. SKS - only the LS and brand spankin' new RL had it - both are luxury cars Bluetooth - again, only a handful of other cars had bluetooth phone connectivity Practicality - fold flat seats that can carry large chest of drawers or mountain bikes Headlights - HIDs were practically unheard of in this price range (US-spec) Great visibility (high mounted seat) and flexible configuration (it had a lounge mode just like the Honda Fit). Yes it has its downsides like a really plasticky interior (only a thin piece of fabric on the door armrest), no height adjustable driver's seat (not even in the midlife update) and no telescoping steering wheel (just making its way down to plebian cars).
Most reliable car I have ever owned and that's a lot of cars. Toyota did an Amazing job with the control software on this car the drivetrain is very smooth for the most part and you barely notice the engine turning on and off and it drives like it's a more substantial car than it really is. You drive a lot of cars in its price range like a Hyundai Elantra which is basicly a buzz bomb feeling car although a huge seller and maybe a Mazda 2 and that drives like a buzz bomb and a Nissan rouge that car was a piece of crap. All new cars I I have driven lately. The Prius feels much much heavier. Personally the ride is rather harsh but my wife loves her car. What I have noticed is Toyota had and has the worst commercials for the Prius. Most of them are kooky hippy feeling goofy commercials where I always say it's a much more serious car than that. I wish they had more serious commercials touting the technology. For its day there's some really world class engineering going on under the hood that just flat works.
i agree. Other than fastidious fluid maintenance and tires and struts and belt and ac blower nothing else has failed. Oh and lost a wheel bearing covered under 3/36 and was free. Great little car. There's the hybrid battery looming but it's been such a great car I would buy a new battery when it finally dies. Hoping it will drop in price by then. Maybe not with my luck. But car is worth that.
my neighbor has my '04 with almost 150k, and my daughter has my '08 with 100k, no issues except for recall's.
We've been pleased with the car too. We have the maintenance and repair history on ours including when the previous owner had it. The only real repair was the rear garnish we replaced when it broke loose opening the hatch.
