Prospective First Time Prius Buyer

[barrycoll]

Well done Dr Robert.....lots of fun to come ( despite TopGear )

unclepoo, can you provide a link to the Auris video, to forward to a friend who is considering a diesel Citroen!!??

[DrNBC]

Thanks!

I stopped reading reviews of the Auris/Prius. The biggest complaint(s) seem to centre on the fact that they are boring and not fu to drive. But if you want a car that is reliable, safe and has low running costs, they are great. ****, their cons seem to to pros for us!

Try this link:  youtu.be/qZhbHcjYgjU     

Put the requisite https://  in front of it and you'l be good to go.

 

[Duffryn]

3 hours ago, barrycoll said:

Well done Dr Robert.....lots of fun to come ( despite TopGear )

unclepoo, can you provide a link to the Auris video, to forward to a friend who is considering a diesel Citroen!!??

For Heavens' sake - diesel Citroen? Maybe you should choose your friends more carefully Barry!

[Slasher_uk]

I had a diesel Citroen before my Prius And I can tell you there is no comparison the noise level alone would prevent me from going back.

[unclepoo]

It`s fullycharged on youtube....lots of interesting hybrid and ev cars.

[Slasher_uk]

I watch fully charged regularly it's a great channel 

[johalareewi]

My gen3 was fun to drive if I didn't mind burning some fuel. Slow it wasn't.  It was pretty good off road although ground clearance wasn't that great.  And in the snow with winter tyres on, it was brilliant.  But keep it a secret. ;)

[Slasher_uk]

It's all about the tyres in the snow and yes they are quite nippy, not Porsche nippy but still fun.

[barrycoll]

Thanks for the Link folks....

Not too sure the Pot can now call the Kettle black dear Duffryn, as my history is diesel golfs from way back.....but one finds ones way to hybrids n th fullness of time.

but the worst comment from my 'friends', is that they can't drive an automatic!!!

worse than President Johnson not being able to walk and chew gum at th same time.......

 

[DrNBC]

2 hours ago, barrycoll said:

but the worst comment from my 'friends', is that they can't drive an automatic!!!

It is surprising how often one hears this comment in the UK. Is it a function of can't or don't want to?

[PeteB]

Always amuses me when people view a gearbox as something good - it was an unwanted solution to a problem originally - if a motor vehicle was to go more than a few miles per hour, there had to be a way of gearing the transmission for different speed ranges.

[Cyker]

Well they are a good thing - They boost efficiency!

Even some electric cars use them even tho' technically you don't need them with an electric motor.

That said, I suspect it will be a thing of the past in the mid-future as improvements in electric motor tech reduce the benefits vs extra weight and complexity...

(Should clarify I'm talking about multi-ratio gearboxes; I think most electric cars will always have some sort of fixed-ratio gear box rather than going for direct drive...)

 

[kithmo]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Well they are a good thing - They boost efficiency!

Even some electric cars use them even tho' technically you don't need them with an electric motor.

That said, I suspect it will be a thing of the past in the mid-future as improvements in electric motor tech reduce the benefits vs extra weight and complexity...

(Should clarify I'm talking about multi-ratio gearboxes; I think most electric cars will always have some sort of fixed-ratio gear box rather than going for direct drive...)

 

It used to amuse me when I was looking into electric cars and conversion some years ago when converters used to just take the engine out and mate an underpowered electric motor the the existing gearbox (and clutch IIRC), what a palava having to change gear. 

[Sagitar]

No gearbox can improve efficiency. The definition of efficiency is "what you get out, divided by what you put in". Any kind of gearbox will create losses of energy and therefore reduce what you get out from the system. i.e. it must reduce the efficiency of the system.

[barrycoll]

In Oz, where I grew up, auto was the default ( but so were big V8s, as per the US).

But a bit more in the present, ecurie25.com a super car company for whom I had the pleasure of delivering and picking up their 'products', nearly all had paddle shift autos, (Lambo, Ferrari,Maserati etc etc),  and all had to have both paddles pulled to put the car in neutral when stationary....or else the car was being held on 'clutch' and accelerator, and ruining the dry clutch 

in this situation I could possible see just why driving an auto could be compli

 

[DrNBC]

Just picked up the new (well, new to us) Auris. Really like it. Here are a few photos:

[PeteB]

Look very nice.  Enjoy!

Regards, Pedte

[Slasher_uk]

Looks very nice, hope you enjoy your ownership. So to repeat my question of a few days ago how was the drive home 😀

[DrNBC]

11 hours ago, Slasher_uk said:

Looks very nice, hope you enjoy your ownership. So to repeat my question of a few days ago how was the drive home 😀

It was great. The safest and most economical five miles I've ever driven!

[Gerg]

We have recently bought the same car.

Some things that may be of use:-

If the car, when reverse is selected, still has a loud 'beep, beep, beep' warning, then this can be easily disabled by a dealer or owner of a copy of the Toyota Techstream diagnostic software (or the 'Torque' app on your phone, probably). It is very distracting, and destroys the serene urban driving experience.

Some owners judge that the headlamps' beam width is not sufficient. A free-of-charge headlamp change-out is available from your Toyota dealer (if it hasn't been done already - they can tell you) under warranty. It is a small but definite improvement.

The steering can sometimes quietly click when turned (even gently) on to full lock, and when coming off full lock. This is a rare, but known, problem and a visit to the dealer and subsequent 'Intermediate Steering Column' change is the fix. This is a day's work I believe, and it's an expensive part, but it is all covered with your warranty.

A cruise control that looks and works just as the Toyota genuine part can be fitted easily, but Toyota seem to have no knowledge about this. The parts cost about £20 (Chinese - eBay), but the airbag needs to be lifted off, which can be a little awkward the first time.

HTH

[PeteB]

32 minutes ago, Gerg said:

A cruise control that looks and works just as the Toyota genuine part can be fitted easily, but Toyota seem to have no knowledge about this.

A knowledgeable dealer (like mine in Norwich) can fit the official Toyota switch, but for a lot more money.  All Toyota Hybrids have the full system installed (right down to warning lights) and I've had my dealer install on 2 Gen 1 Prius in 2002, a Gen 2 in 2006 and a Gen 3 in 2012.  All Gen 4s come with Adaptive (Radar) Cruise Control so I'd didn't need to trouble them this time.

The Gen 1s needed a different steering wheel too, and Gen 1 & 2 also needed the brake light switch replacing as the standard one didn't have the connector used by the CC system to disengage when the brake was pressed.

Yaris and Auris Hybrids equated to the Prius Gen 3 in terms of the technology (except the Yaris used the 1.5L engine instead of 1.8 of the others).

[DrNBC]

1 hour ago, Gerg said:

We have recently bought the same car.

Some things that may be of use:-

If the car, when reverse is selected, still has a loud 'beep, beep, beep' warning, then this can be easily disabled by a dealer or owner of a copy of the Toyota Techstream diagnostic software (or the 'Torque' app on your phone, probably). It is very distracting, and destroys the serene urban driving experience.

Some owners judge that the headlamps' beam width is not sufficient. A free-of-charge headlamp change-out is available from your Toyota dealer (if it hasn't been done already - they can tell you) under warranty. It is a small but definite improvement.

The steering can sometimes quietly click when turned (even gently) on to full lock, and when coming off full lock. This is a rare, but known, problem and a visit to the dealer and subsequent 'Intermediate Steering Column' change is the fix. This is a day's work I believe, and it's an expensive part, but it is all covered with your warranty.

A cruise control that looks and works just as the Toyota genuine part can be fitted easily, but Toyota seem to have no knowledge about this. The parts cost about £20 (Chinese - eBay), but the airbag needs to be lifted off, which can be a little awkward the first time.

HTH

Cheers Greg. I'll definitely look into this. 

[Anthony Poli]

Congratulations, I have the older Auris Hybrid.

Still get funny looks in car parks because they don't hear you, just suddenly see you  

Also have a Yaris Hybrid in the family, just not had a test drive in a prius to see how the different displays work.