On July 2, 2003 an irresponsible driver clipped me in the right rear while on the interstate driving 60mph. I went out of control and hit the wall on my left at 60 or so.
Both airbags went off, the right one breaking the windshield. The seatbelt really saved me more than the airbag. I walked to the ambulance. The car was a wreck and totaled by the insurance company. The other driver was ticketed for excessive speed and was apparently more concerned with himself and his ticket than anything else. The real irony of it all is this: when I got home from being checked out at the hospital (very minor injuries) the first thing I found in my mailbox was an ad to be first in line to buy the 2004 Prius.
I will be buying the 2004. My overall experience with the car was very good. My experience with the dealer was fair.
If you're reading this review you probably know all the geeky stuff about the Toyota Prius. I also knew all the geeky stuff before I bought it 12/29/2001. I pretty much knew what I was getting into. The car is a little smaller than my 1991 Accord that I sold with 277,000 miles on it. Especially smaller is the trunk although it is not as small as I thought it would be. I am a computer/printer technician and I do need a little room and the trunk is satisfactory for my needs.
I drive the car to get the best mileage I can. If I do not need to use heat or air I easily exceed 50mpg. In the summer it dips to the high 40's and in the winter the mid 40's(due to the engine running more often to maintain operating temperature). During our summer trip my wife and I drove KC to Colorado, through Wyoming and Montana to Lake Louise in Alberta then back through MT, WY, SD, IA, MO, back to Merriam, KS(KC Suburb). 3700 miles. We were comfortable; the car got decent mileage despite the higher than normal speeds, and my wife proved the car will do 100MPH on a flat.
The driving position is upright and visibility is good. The CD changer is great for long trips to nowhere. The rattles come out of the doors mostly listening to talk radio, especially guys with deep voices. The dash rattles are a bit frustrating especially since this car has more rattles than my 91 accord at 277,000 miles. I do a lot of Highway driving so the cruise was essential and performs very well.
The car has enough get up, more than my 1988 Corolla FX with the same size carbuerated engine, but it is no speed demon off the line. The braking is funky, since the car uses engine braking to help charge the battery, there is often a point in braking where the car slows more quickly without any more pedal pressure. It doesn't take long to get used to this but it is different.
When I first bought the car I thought the LCD was great. It is a distraction, and with so many stupidheads on the road, who needs distractions. Speaking of distractions lets try changing radio stations. Press AM and get 1 AM station...want to change it? Press audio then press 1 of the 6 on the LCD screen...don’t like those that you may have programmed early on? Press more buttons to search other stations. FM is no better. The on/off/volume switch is right behind the shifter and a real hassle. Toyota's engineers should drive this car 3000 miles a month and they might understand my dissatisfaction with this inept arrangement of controls.
Had I known in December 2001 what I know today I would have waited driven the Civic hybrid, which is a more "normal" car. I liked my Prius and now that I am driving a 1995 Honda Civic, I really miss it. The little quirks were at times annoying but the car had real character. I suspect a lot of those issues have been addressed in the 2004 redesign.
Overall the dealer has been rather uncooperative regarding the rattle issue and the only way I've been able to get any more attention was to go to Toyota and they were not much better.


Amount Paid (US$): 23,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: 4dr, front & side air bags, 6 cd changer