I am trying to get the opinion of someone who actually bought such a car ...
regards
regards
Anybody who actually owns a Toyota prius or another hybrid ?
I have not owned one, but being a mechanic and working on a few I can give you some pointers here.
First off, they drive just like any other car. They have a high-voltage battery pack, usually mounted under the trunk.. and also a low voltage 12V car battery. The low voltage battery operates all the accessories (such as wipers, lights, radio, etc) and has it's own charging system, etc, whereas the high voltage battery operates the electric motors.
Typically the high voltage battery is VERY VERY expensive, but lasts a long long time, and usually comes with a very long warranty, such as 10 years/100,000 miles. I've seen a few of these with well over 80,000 miles and still having no problems whatsoever (other than regular maintenance items that any car is going to encounter).
Personally I think the coolest part is the fact that they have no starter. No cranking sound.. you just turn the key on and the engine is running. Pretty wild if you ask me. The majority of my experience is with the Ford Escape hybrid. They are able to drive around at low speed without the engine even running! When the battery level drops below a certain level, or you need more power the engine kicks on, feels almost identical to shifting gears!
Also consider what type of driving you do. If you do mostly high-speed highway driving, don't expect a huge improvement in fuel economy as these things actually get their best MPG in stop and go driving.
Personally if I had the money for a new vehicle I wouldn't at all be against owning one of these.. who can argue 50+ MPG in a vehicle that performs almost identically to the 30MPG non-hybrid counterpart?
Go test drive a few and go from there! Good luck!
First off, they drive just like any other car. They have a high-voltage battery pack, usually mounted under the trunk.. and also a low voltage 12V car battery. The low voltage battery operates all the accessories (such as wipers, lights, radio, etc) and has it's own charging system, etc, whereas the high voltage battery operates the electric motors.
Typically the high voltage battery is VERY VERY expensive, but lasts a long long time, and usually comes with a very long warranty, such as 10 years/100,000 miles. I've seen a few of these with well over 80,000 miles and still having no problems whatsoever (other than regular maintenance items that any car is going to encounter).
Personally I think the coolest part is the fact that they have no starter. No cranking sound.. you just turn the key on and the engine is running. Pretty wild if you ask me. The majority of my experience is with the Ford Escape hybrid. They are able to drive around at low speed without the engine even running! When the battery level drops below a certain level, or you need more power the engine kicks on, feels almost identical to shifting gears!
Also consider what type of driving you do. If you do mostly high-speed highway driving, don't expect a huge improvement in fuel economy as these things actually get their best MPG in stop and go driving.
Personally if I had the money for a new vehicle I wouldn't at all be against owning one of these.. who can argue 50+ MPG in a vehicle that performs almost identically to the 30MPG non-hybrid counterpart?
Go test drive a few and go from there! Good luck!
If you're getting one to be more environmentally friendly, keep in mind, you're using tons more resources to make your battery then you are just driving a regular car. They are more damaging to the environment. More expensive to maintain, as you need specially trained mechanics (I had the option to take the training, but it didn't interest me) more expensive parts, and those batteries don't last as long as you'd think. Just some food for though. Make sure you do some research before jumping into one.
There are better choices out there.
There are better choices out there.
Actually, I might consider getting one when I get the money...
In London, you are charged for going into the city centre... (a large area!) and it costs a lot of money everyday... money I could spend on lunch or something else, hehe...
Hybrid cars like Toyota Prius don't have to pay though.
In London, you are charged for going into the city centre... (a large area!) and it costs a lot of money everyday... money I could spend on lunch or something else, hehe...
Hybrid cars like Toyota Prius don't have to pay though.
In California, there are so many people driving Toyota Prius. My company even gives you $5000 bonus if you buy this kind of cars. However I still bought an American car. Japanese cars do have good quality. If there is an accident, Japanese cars are always the losers. I agree that this kind of cars are very good for the environment and is gas efficient. It can go 46 miles per gallon.
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