Inspiring?

[stompe]

http://www.worldcarfans.com/113121867670/toyota-prius-hybrid-does-1-million-km-as-taxi-in-vienna

[Cyker]

Is it a Mk2 or Mk3?

I wonder if it has had a Battery replacement?? If not... woah!

[barrycoll]

very re-assuring...but wondering if he keeps his oil level at 2-3 below max for petrol consumption??

[PeteB]

it's a Mk2

I wonder how much the Taxi sign on the roof hits the 0.26 CD drag factor? Apparently, just taking the wheel trims off can knock nearly 0.01 off...

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I thought it'd be a gen2! They're well documented for going hundreds of thousands of miles with no bother. I assumed (wrongly) that the gen3 would follow this legendary reliability. No such luck. With the benefit of hindsight I'd say the gen3 (at least the early ones) are best avoided.

At least we all now know why Toyota only offered a 60,000 mile hybrid warranty. Because they knew they'd been designed down.

[Cyker]

it's a Mk2

I wonder how much the Taxi sign on the roof hits the 0.26 CD drag factor? Apparently, just taking the wheel trims off can knock nearly 0.01 off...

If it's a city taxi, I suspect the drag co-efficient won't make that much of a difference

[PeteB]

it's a Mk2

I wonder how much the Taxi sign on the roof hits the 0.26 CD drag factor? Apparently, just taking the wheel trims off can knock nearly 0.01 off...

If it's a city taxi, I suspect the drag co-efficient won't make that much of a difference

I can see why you might think that, but after nearly 30 years in IT, in 2006 I joined a couple of guys setting up a Prius private hire service in London, and drove as a Private Hire driver for the first 12 months of the company's existence (clocking up some 46,000 miles in my PHVs, as well as about 7,000 private miles in my own Gen 1 (Classic) Prius I had at the time.

An awful lot of journeys involved trips to and from airports (Luton, Stansted and Gatwick as well as Heathrow, plus journeys to and from homes well outside of London.

I would estimate at least half my PHV mileage was in 50-60-70 mph zones. Fortunately, London PHVs had a circular Badge on the top near-side corner of the INSIDE of the front and rear screens, so extra drag wasn't an issue.

I'm surprised they haven't moved to camera-based door mirrors as seen on the Concept Yaris Hybrid a few years ago - that would not only help the aerodynamics even further but also reduce some annoyingly expensive repair bills when they get knocked (as they tend to in London!).

[barrycoll]

nice one Pete.....what is the name of the Company for future Heathrow trips please???

product placement is the way forward these days, so well done

would be interesting to do some miles in a T3 to compare from the back seat to a Spirit

[PeteB]

nice one Pete.....what is the name of the Company for future Heathrow trips please???

product placement is the way forward these days, so well done

would be interesting to do some miles in a T3 to compare from the back seat to a Spirit

www.greentomatocars.com

[PeteB]

...

At least we all now know why Toyota only offered a 60,000 mile hybrid warranty. Because they knew they'd been designed down.

I see where you're coming from, but it could also be argued that they no longer feel the need to persuade people about it's reliability.

I have no idea which is closer to the truth, but Prius and Hybrids with the same system are now selling in greater numbers than ever before so statistically there will be more lemons no matter how small the percentage may be.

Just hoping mine is not one of them - at 22k it's a bit early but I hope to have many years like my 2nd Classic Prius.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

...

At least we all now know why Toyota only offered a 60,000 mile hybrid warranty. Because they knew they'd been designed down.

I see where you're coming from, but it could also be argued that they no longer feel the need to persuade people about it's reliability.

I have no idea which is closer to the truth, but Prius and Hybrids with the same system are now selling in greater numbers than ever before so statistically there will be more lemons no matter how small the percentage may be.

Just hoping mine is not one of them - at 22k it's a bit early but I hope to have many years like my 2nd Classic Prius.

Driving to airports and back is not taxing on a taxi.

Sitting in start stop traffic in the city 95% of the time is and that's the use my car had and probably why it's a pig. It very rarely got over 30 mph and if it had been a manual it would rarely have got out of 3rd gear.

The taxi use in my town does seem to sort the wheat from the chaff. Skoda paid for cars to be returned as their dpf's were unable to hack it, yet VW and Mercedes versions could.