Have bought a new shape Prius which, all being well, should arrive next week

Am really looking forward to it as not only will this be my first brand new car, as opposed to a nearly new previously reg job, but I will also be working her hard as a taxi in North Yorkshire

I am just hoping that I have done my sums well and that the legendary Toyota reliability has some basis and that the latest Prius should live upto its fuel sipping reputation. I know there are a few mk2 versions being worked hard in my trade around the country as well as around the world but it is still a bit of a leap of faith as the technology is still fairly new and not proven like a good old diesel lump.

Presently I am paying £400 per year road tax for a large diesel people carrier which returns around 23-25mpg, over an annual mileage of around 30,000 round town miles. I am expecting a lifespan of 150,000 miles from the Prius or 5 years. On road tax alone this should result in a saving of £2000 (at todays figures). Also, the round town fuel economy of 50mpg should save me about half the cost of the £7000 per annum I spend on fuel, say a saving of £3,000. Assuming a similar figure again over 5 years this results in a saving of £15,000. Am I correct that over a proposed 5 year life span the Prius should pay for itselft in savings alone?? I know there are servicing costs which I haven't refered to, but they should be pretty comparable to the people carrier.

My only concern is the size of the boot in the Prius and feel I will probably lose the odd airport fare for a family of 4 with a suitcase each, but I only get the odd one of these every month or so at the moment anyhow.

So people, I'm hoping I've done the right thing getting an eco-car as it should be a win win situation all round. It should save me money and pretty much pay for itself in savings over its life time, but also, it should be better for the town as it won't be spewing out 30,000 miles of diesel smog into the air either. I am also hoping I'll gain a little extra business by being the first in the area with one of these cars.

I look forward to hearing any views you may have. Have I made a terrible mistake and will be bankrupt and on the streets by February or will I be a trend setter and in 12 months time half the drivers in my town will have a Prius also?

Hi Just to let you know under the floor in the boot is a cargo space large enough for a small suit case

Hi - your sums certainly make sense although I would humbly suggest that if you drive like some of the cabbies round here you'll be lucky to get 50mpg As you say, if you do your own advertising/marketing you may get some extra business on the "green" ticket.

As for the boot, as the other poster says there is extra space underneath so shouldn't be too much of a limitation.

Best of luck

Hmmm, I know what you mean about some of my colleagues but we're not all like that (I think). I did take two extended test drives on different days and drove as I would normally do, both as I would if I had a customer in, and also as I do between customers around all the usual routes. The combined economy on both days was between 52 & 54 mpg which I know should be taken with a slight pinch of salt, but is certainly better than the 25mpg I am lucky to get now.

Another influencing factor in choosing this car was that it is a petrol automatic. Petrol is now cheaper (ever so slightly) than diesel so should add to my savings. Also, a lot of my colleagues at work who have the very latest diesel cars are having lots of trouble with the diesel particle filters clogging up in no time at all. Apparantly some manufacturers don't recommend their diesel models if they are to be used predominantly in urban areas!! Don't see them advertise this anywhere though

Well you can't argue with nearly twice the mpg. I've noticed that the actual mpg I get is maybe 3mpg less than the trip computer but so far without trying I've got 52.71 and 51.28 mpg on the two tanks I've used - and I'm not trying to drive especially carefully. If you have an iPhone, I use an app called iFuelPro to track my fuel usage - may be useful for you?

Or do it on Fuelly - I think there are other sites also.

Is your taxi going to have one of those roof signs? Presumably, sticking one of those on the roof would increase the drag, and therefore reduce the mpg a bit.

No

It'll be a 'private hire' vehicle so luckily will not have the awful roof sign. We do, however, have to have door signs on both sides and both doors showing your licence number and company name, though they are magnetic and can easily be removed when you're not on shift. They shouldn't create any extra drag etc.

My worry is hearing about the 12v battery being a little on the weak side. I'll have a meter fitted along with a two way radio (like a CB but more powerful I think) and despatch computer running at all times when I'm working. Normally this isn't a problem with all cars out there (Mondeos etc) but I am a tad concerned the weak 12v might not be able to handle it all for too long. I suppose it remains to be seen.

The previous model (Gen 2) has a 100A fuse to the DC/DC converter. When the Prius is in Ready mode, the HV battery (201.6v) via the DC/DC converter supplies the 12v power and also charges the small Aux 12v battery. It's any additional standby/quiescent current when the Prius is turned off that I would worry about as that would be drawing from the Aux 12v battery, or if while waiting you were in ACC or IG-ON mode.

I'm not being funny here but could you put that in English please

I could try, not sure how successful I'll be

The first point I was trying to make is that the 12v supply can come from one of two power sources.

In a typical car, when the engine is not running, the power for the various 12v systems (e.g. the interior lights) is supplied by the 12v battery. When the engine is running, the power comes from the alternator (it also charges the 12v battery).

The Prius has a more complicated arrangement, although the 12v supply can still be thought of as coming from one of two sources. When you power on a Prius with the intention of driving, there should be the word "Ready" lit, which means that petrol engine may run or power to run the car may use the High Voltage battery. It'll probably get too messy if I start trying to describe how the HV battery is charged.

The second point, buried in my last post, was that whilst the Prius is "Ready" to drive, there is quite probably sufficient power to run the extra devices. Thinking about the USA model, they have two Aux power sockets, each one with a 15 Amp fuse, so the Toyota designers have (in theory) allowed for up to 30 Amps more than the Prius' own 12v systems need.

My third point, was that the tiny 12v battery becomes an issue if you power any systems when the "engine" is not running i.e. when the Prius is not "Ready" to drive.

Ah that's better

I think I should be OK then as the radio and computer are only on when I am with the vehicle and ready to rumble, though it can be an hour or so sometimes when I am sat waiting for a job. It shouldn't present a problem though as a normal car is OK and the computer is more like a sat nav regarding power drain. I hope so though as I get the car in 3 days

It will be fine, just leave the car in 'ready' mode and the engine will start up and charge battery as required. then switch itself off when done......simples!

So the 12v is 'charged' by the big battery when it gets low? If the big battery gets low then the engine will start to charge it up. Probably a better system than a normal car as I guess the big battery will be able to top up the 12v for quite a while.


Ooooh only 2 more days to go

Hi
i feel i should reply to you Taxi owner Driver 16 years loads of cars and people carrying experience Mercedes ,ford Peugeot . Tx 1 .volks wagon. citroen gone around them all twice over last
people carrying Taxi volks wagon shuttle 8 seater auto . took four months to decide on toyota prius Gen 2 read about it road tested it so on and took the plunge . Love it First year i watched my
fuel bill half road tax £15 instead of £300 insurance even thou public liability go down i eat miles average 40,000 and i have cut down got older and wiser name of game just be content .
i am now on my forth prius 3 Gen 5 weeks old between 4-5000 miles very pleased so far customers love it in all four toyota Prius to Date had no problems one college sold his S. Class mercedes
and bought prius Gen 2 and loves it he has now done 125000 miles no problems just treat the prius with respect and it will pay you back in kind economics

Phew I'm glad there's another cabbie with one. How'd you find the boot space? Any problems with batteries? Any common niggles? I am the first in the area to be getting one but I know a few of the drivers in town are watching how I get on with interest. Guess I'm the guineapig and considering the present economic situation I hope I'm doing the right thing.

Hi i sent you a message think on this fuel is going down see those pigs flying i don,t think so fuel will rise and rise so more you get for your money is best i smile when i fill up because i know i am going to get my moneys worth another satisfied customer

Yippee

Got the car the other day and it does what it says on the tin. Getting 59mpg over 2 days over 65 miles and with various driving but mostly start stop.

Being a work horse with a hard life ahead of it as a taxi, I shall be getting the car licenced up with radio, despatch computer and then away I go earning some money

I go over to Stavanger in Norway a fair amount on business and there are loads of Gen 2 Prius taxis - so many in fact that I wonder if there is an incentive scheme for taxi drivers there. I've taken a Prius on one or two journeys & can comment from the perspective of a passenger that they are great - plenty of legroom and headroom in the back (it will be even better in your Gen 3), and a smooth, quiet ride.

On one journey there were 4 of us, with 2 bags each, and it was a bit of a sqeeze in the back, but the driver didn't try to make use of the extra bootspace under the floor so we had some bags on our laps. Actually the high floor makes it easy to slide bags in and out and I think the new model will be a bit more spacious in any case.

Good luck with the new car - as a passenger I can confirm it works fine as a taxi.