I am planning to drive my 01 Prius from California to New Jersey. We will spend 9-10 days driving a maximum of 600 miles on just the first two days, then 300-400 per day after that. I bought the car in October 06-it was a lease return with 22700 miles on it. I have had the rack and the accelerator pedal assembly replaced (under warranty!!) and the battery/converter replaced ($400). Has anyone ever taken an 01 that far? Did you encounter any problems with the car? Should I just sell it and fly? Thanks for input.
Sell it to me! Seriously though, our 2002 came from out east and we drove it back home to the midwest, 1500 miles in 26 hours. No problems what-so-ever. We bumped our tire pressure up a few PSI over what was recommended on the door tag (a lot of people here do that) to reduce rolling resistance. Or, sell it to me!
He doesn't know what he's talking about. That year is a DEATH TRAP... but I'LL BUY to save you from yourself.
Our 2001 handled +3000 miles (toronto-florida and back) over seven days when it had over 150,000 miles on it. More recently it handled a similar trip (toronto-nova scotia road trip) over 11 days. The only issues we experienced were a serious case of numb butt each time. You'll need to take breaks more frequently then the car will.
Last week I spoke to a guy who drove a 2002 prius around Australia several years ago, he still has the car and still loves it. Funny enough I was 3000km from home, I drove to Townsville from Adelaide. 36 hours after I left Adelaide I was just over 100km out of Townsville, the following morning just 2 days 3.5 hours after leaving Adelaide I was in Townsville. I wouldn't hesitate to drive a 2001 Prius around Australia if I had the opportunity. Just be careful if you have to drive through any redneck towns.
