Prius 2018

[Lok]

I am looking for prious 2018 is it reliable ? Service cost a lot ? With full tank how many km can cover ? Battery it's expensive if something goes wrong.

[Catlover]

Hello Loukas, and welcome to the Toyota Owners Club in the Uk.              
I am in the Uk and have the same Prius as you looking for, in Uk called it is a Gen4.  Mine is 2016, so coming up 5 years, though I have had it just over 3 year, car has now done 36000 miles.  Replaced 2 front tyres at approx. 27000 miles.  The car shows it has done just over 70 mpg over the 36000 miles.  Fuel consumption is better in the summer then the winter by approx. 6-8 mpg. All hybrids and electric cars do better in the summer 1. Batteries do not like the cold, even a torch Battery. 2. More electric items used in car in winter ie heater, heated windows, heated seats etc.              
In the summer I mostly achieve over 70 mpg, often over 80 mpg, and even done 96 mpg - photos of dash readings posted on here at the time.             
I have it serviced at Toyota for £195 for small service and £345 for full service. Service every 10,000 miles here in uk. Toyota uk also do a hybrid Battery health check which is free with a service or £45 currently without a service. This give and extra 12 months on the hybrid Battery, this is annual up to 15 years. I have not heard or read of anyone having to change a hybrid battery. The cost of hybrid battery is approx £1200 plus vat. Individual cells of the hybrid battery can be changed.                     
On all Toyota hybrids the 12v battery is small (less space, less weight). During COVID when cars have not been used a lot, and then only short journeys shopping, and especially during winter the 12v battery was going flat - no power.  There are ways to mange this, I will leave for another time.      
The Toyota Prius has been in the Uk for over 20 years, the hybrid  engineering has proved to be very good, reliable, and hardly any maintenance. Owners of the Prius tend to be loyal to the model, some owners have had Gen1 (1999), Gen2 (up to 2009, Gen3 (up to 2016), Gen4 (2016-present). I have had a Gen3 and now the Gen4.                     
May not be a problem in your country but in the Uk parts of our society find cutting out catalytic converters from underneath cars, particularly hybrid cars, particularly Toyota hybrid cars is better then getting a proper job. They sell them to scrap merchants that export them. What they are after is the precious metals used inside to cleanup exhaust gases, worth much more then gold. A deterrent is fitting a plate over the catalytic convertor, it takes them longer…. So it is hope they will go away to do a quicker one.  If you do not have these idiots in your country then that would be good.

 

[Lok]

Sounds very good all that you said to me very helpful.

On motorway also it's economy? With one tank how many km you cover? Engine can cover a lot km because I cover a lot km. (I want to avoid diesel cars because I spend a lot of money at service dpf  injectors etc..

[TonyHSD]

25 minutes ago, Lok said:

Sounds very good all that you said to me very helpful.

On motorway also it's economy? With one tank how many km you cover? Engine can cover a lot km because I cover a lot km. (I want to avoid diesel cars because I spend a lot of money at service dpf  injectors etc..

Hi, 

yes Prius is very good and efficient on motorway journeys. Electric motor helps the petrol engine all the time and fuel consumption remains low although driving in town is slightly more efficient. , opposite in comparison with petrol or diesel only cars., but it drives much better than them. You can expect to get around 450-550 miles or maybe a bit more per tank which is around 42ltr. Remember it’s not a fast car and if you pushed it hard to keep up with mercs and BMWs you will kill the  efficiency and it’s not a pleasant experience in general, it is a very relaxed and economical car otherwise. Best to test drive on motorway before you buy one. 
Good luck 👍

[Catlover]

Ok, in July we went on holiday in the uk. 210 miles each way. Good A roads and probably 150 motorway miles, then did 300+ miles rest of the week. Overall the car did 80.4 mpg.  Motorways, keeping at 65-70 mph it’s going to be maybe 75mpg on that run. Seems to do well when the engine well warm. The petrol tank is just under 10 gallon (45 litre) so probably 600-730 miles depending on terrain and summer/winter.            
It is common for Prius engines to be doing 200,00 miles and more. Engine servicing is important, oil and oil filter changes.                 
The Prius is the most easiest automatic car. It has what’s called an e-cvt drive. Amazingly smooth and seemless transmission. Such a relax drive. You cannot feel the changeover from engine to Battery at all. 
 

[Lok]

Thanks for your answer.Yes I know it's not a quick car .But because I am looking for one very economy and comfort car I think it's the right car.

[Lok]

9 minutes ago, Catlover said:

Ok, in July we went on holiday in the uk. 210 miles each way. Good A roads and probably 150 motorway miles, then did 300+ miles rest of the week. Overall the car did 80.4 mpg.  Motorways, keeping at 65-70 mph it’s going to be maybe 75mpg on that run. Seems to do well when the engine well warm. The petrol tank is just under 10 gallon (45 litre) so probably 600-730 miles depending on terrain and summer/winter.            
It is common for Prius engines to be doing 200,00 miles and more. Engine servicing is important, oil and oil filter changes.                 
The Prius is the most easiest automatic car. It has what’s called an e-cvt drive. Amazingly smooth and seemless transmission. Such a relax drive. You cannot feel the changeover from engine to battery at all. 
 

Sounds very good . suspension it's also soft? 

I think it's the right car for me to avoid diesel engines because I payed a lot many alway to repair it.

[Catlover]

How quick is quick? With engine and Battery working together there is 122bhp. The Battery produces instant torque so acceleration is very good. Speed limit in Uk is 70mph, just cruising at that, there is no rev counter but I understand at that speed the engine is 2000 re/minute or less. If I get into a huddle of cars on the MWay and I not comfortable I can easily accelerate away to get clear road, the car reacts very well.

Go on YouTube and search for Toyota Prius, you bound to get USA sites teaching you to get good economy and also reviews from guys who have covered over 200,000 miles.

Suspension is very good, but I have 15” wheels where the sidewalls are deep giving more flex on British roads full of potholes and speed bumps.  Some Prius have 17” wheels which can be harsh. 15” wheels also give 1-2 more mpg.

[AJones]

When you are looking around at the used ones on sale, have a look at the price difference between the Prius hybrid and the Prius Plug-in hybrid.

With the plug-in you get upto around 30 miles of pure electric range, so can do shorter journeys entirely on electric and burn a bit less fuel on long distance trips. You do need to plug it in regularly though so best with off-road parking so you can charge at home. Negatives are the loss of boot space because the Battery is in the boot and the early models upto around 2020 had 2 back seats, not 3. 

But if the price is right and it fits your usage might be worth considering.

[Lok]

No plug in because even the self charge hybrid Prius its economy as the other said I think it's ok

[PeteB]

Most of the year when I had the 2016 Prius (also a 4th Generation model) I mostly got around 600 miles from a tankful, which is about 1,000 km.  I would generally cruise at about 100 kph where it was legal and as other have said, in the winter the fuel consumption is a little worse, but on longer journeys it makes less of a difference.

[Lok]

That's perfect with 42l 1000km. Winter you mean around 8mpg different than summer?.

Prius is my n1 on my list now because I want to avoid diesel cars.

[Catlover]

Keep us informed of your search Loukas.  What country are you from?  and are Gen4 Prius fairly common?  
I bought mine second hand, and I wanted Hypersonic Red (the colour in most brochures I seen), 15” wheels and leather sears. Leather seats was only on the top of the range, Excel, but Excel come standard with 17” wheels.  Difficult to find, but then I saw one advertised in a Toyota dealer 100 miles away…….. and it became mine.   It really is the best car I have ever owned and after 56 years of driving it’s took a long time to find.

[Lok]

Hello I stay in Cyprus .So your Prius what edition is it? I saw the business line also it's nice and fully extra

[Catlover]

In the UK there are 4 Prius in the range, Excel is top, the Business Edison Plus, then Business Edition, then Active.           
I wanted leather seats and JBL 10 speaker sound system and only Excel gives them as standard.

[TonyHSD]

Go for the business edition at least  if you want to have some useful extras, the basic model is very basic and not  a real driver’s car. The top spec excel and business plus the difference is in the seats where excel comes with leather and business plus comes with cloth seats., both models are extremely well equipped, one of those will be my pick when the time comes. 15” wheels are preferred but 17” with good tyres could do the job as well. Best to test drive on motorway before you buy, the car is excellent choice for smooth relaxed driving experience, similar to E200 W124 back in the days., don’t expect Tesla performance though. 👍

[Lok]

Yes sure I will look top specs.yes I know it's not the fast car but I need economy and not sped my money for the service that I used to do with the diesel cars.

[Catlover]

Loukas, I can’t remember whether anyone has mentioned brakes on a Toyota hybrid (not just Prius). With any car the front brakes get heavier use then the back, the same also with a hybrid car. However, with hybrid the motors do some of the braking and consequently rear brakes get used a lot less. This means rear brake discs can rust up and not get cleaned much, and pads/slider pins can seize. Attention at service times to keep things free will help. Just something to look for.