Saying goodbye!

[sanzomat]

Hi All, when I first got my Prius+ four years ago I was a regular visitor and occasional contributor to this forum. Thank you to anyone/everyone who put up with my daft questions and especially to those that answered them! Over the years, as I got to know the car, I had no questions left to ask and testament to the almost total reliability of the car I never found myself querying strange happenings like I've done on other forums with other cars I've had. As such I've not been on here much, if at all, for the last couple of years.

My Prius+ is now sat in my works car park waiting for the lease firm to collect it and it has now been replaced with a Passat Estate GTE plug-in hybrid. After 5 days I'm very pleased with the VW but won't bore you Toyota types with that - I'll go looking for a suitable forum for that!

Regarding my 4 years/82,000 miles in my Prius+ I have to say that it has been a really good car. I chose it for what might be considered to be all the wrong reasons mainly low BIK tax and the better business mileage rate my firm pays for petrol over diesel, but I also liked the space, the technology and having something a bit different to everyone else. I wasn't bothered by the stodgy image or driving dynamics as at the time I also had an R1 motorcycle for my driving pleasure (that has now been swapped for a kit car)

Since then my choice of petrol over diesel has been confirmed as a good choice as everyone else has realised that diesel chucks out lots of nasty horrible stuff into the air we breathe! My average fuel consumption over 82,000 miles (not from the trip computer but from recording fuel bought and miles done) has been 48.7mpg. I'm pretty pleased with this as this is better than any diesel car I've ever had. The trip computer is one of the least dishonest too, circa around 6% optimistic (the worst I've had was an Audi that was nearly 30% optimistic on fuel consumption!! time will tell if VAG have improved on this with the Passat)

The car is still on its original pads and discs - in fact pads still have 60% left according to my last service - not bad for over 80k and shows how efficient the regen braking is.

Other than a few bits of trim breaking and wear/tear the car has been 100% reliable needing nothing other than servicing and the odd recall. The Battery pack hadn't deteriorated at all as far as I can tell.

Things I'll miss: the reversing camera, voice control and hands free entry (the Passat has neither), the highish driving position, the remarkably comfy seats/driving position (never had any aches/pains driving this car, even for 16hrs plus in a day) and occasional use of the third row of seats. Things I won't miss: rattly interior trim, the "slipping clutch" CVT and the noisy acceleration that comes with it, the foot operated handbrake, the mirrors not folding when you lock it, the lack of a cancel button for the traffic anouncements.

Overall this has been one of the better cars I've had over a 35 year history of driving. I will miss this car. 4 years ago I wouldn't have dreamed I would be saying that!

[kithmo]

Always sad to lose a member Dave, good luck with your new car, I hope it brings you as much joy as the Prius+. I had a Prius+ T-Spirit before the Gen 4 and loved it, the tinted rear windows and sun blinds, the adjustable and reclining second row of seats, the huge boot with the third row folded down, the panoramic roof and the comfort are the main things I missed over the Gen 4. I wouldn't say it had a stodgy image, it was one of the best looking MPVs around at the time and quite few people commented such on it. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Best wishes

[barrycoll]

If you have the time Dave, it would be nice to hear just how the GTE compares with the Prius, as the Golf GTE was on my short list