Hybrids

[PSP NANOTECH]

Ive just signed up for this site and all ive been seeing are that anytime someone puts up a question about a hybrid, flocks of users keeps insulting them on their vehicle. I really dont see what they have to hate them so much?? I own a prius 3rd gen and i can tell from over 2 years of use that although it may not be in the same class and far from the of looks as an exotic or be anywhere near a sports car in performance it does serve its purpose better than any other car ive used so far. Ive been using a 121 and ive been using beemers and several other US models and ive experienced first handed that this prius is much more reliable and much economical in every sense compared to other cars of the SAME price range. I am an avid lover of tuned modified cars and the prius does not make those come true but it still is one of the best cars ive ever driven. To anyone looking for a car which is reliable or economical i would recommend a prius although if looking for a cheap car it would not be bad to get a used 121 or civic (i am not a environmental freak btw though i do care for it :| )

The prius saves me a lot on gas and i mean a lot. i drive over 3000km per month both in colombo and to outstation locations. during long distance driving i ususally get over 20kmpl but if not going agressively i can get around 30kmpl while going at 50-70kmph. in rush hour traffic i get varying mileage while sometimes it may drop to 16kmpl but usually about 19-22kmpl. and considering the price of fuel it is a great saving considering i dont even have to use 95 octane. i was going to buy an allion 2011 but decided against it as the prius was full of options unlike the allion. someone here suggested that i test the pre collision system by driving at a wall or tree... and i did try it. but i instead drove it at a pile of cardboard boxes and for their info it did stop automatically without hitting it. and the radar cruise control is also a useful feature but i dont use it much considering our three wheel drivers and motor bikes. other maintenance stuff is also lower as the service has to be done only every 10000km and there is no need to change ATF oil or any belts. ive been using it for 40000km and the brake pads are almost like brand new. (in the corolla i would have to replace every 25000) the only problem is the stock ture size that came in the touring mode. the 17" 215 tires are a bit expensive but this problem is not there in the regular JP prius. ive yet to replace a single mechanical part and there have been no issues at all except that i drained the 12V battery once by listening to the radio in ACC mode for too long. another benefit is when the car is stopped you can use the AC without burning fuel. the performance is nowhere near a BMW or an american car but it does provide more power than the majority of vehicles in sri lanka (outside inner colombo ) and the acceleration response is better because of the motors. and in PWR mode it feels much better than an insight in S mode (though the sound of the engine is not at all sporty... sounds like an aircraft taking off)

On the contrary to what people say, the battery is as reliable as any other part of the car and the chance of your battery failing is almost nil unless you treat it badly which is the same for a gasoline car if you do not maintain the engine it will be damaged. and the battery can now be repaired by changing damaged cells which are about 7000 rupees only.

and i believe a reason people insult hybrid owners are because they drive slowly. thats the fault of the driver, not the car.. driving slow will not make it more efficient and ive seen people in jaguars and BMWs going slower than that.

to all who think hybrids are cheap vehicles. just because they are relatively cheap here, in japan they are about two time more expensive when used than a brand new allion..

AND i know some here are going to say im jobless to be typing this yeah. true. im doing this just because some people dont care about saving their hard earned money that doesnt mean they should insult others who do try. anyone who has any questions im willing to provide answers to the best i can.

and im open to any comments why your'll hate hybrids so much (P.S i did hate them before i bought one... so you should try it without being prejudiced)

[VVTi]

machang, 2 years worth of Hybrid bullshit and you washed them all away with one classy post.

My respects. Forgive me if I wont run out an grab one based on this, but impressive sum up.

Now it will be great if there is no more pontification of the Hybrid. Ok?

[NPP]

if all other previous hybrid owners were like you, this would have been a different place.

[PSP NANOTECH]

if all other previous hybrid owners were like you, this would have been a different place.

machang, 2 years worth of Hybrid bullshit and you washed them all away with one classy post.

My respects. Forgive me if I wont run out an grab one based on this, but impressive sum up.

Now it will be great if there is no more pontification of the Hybrid. Ok?

i still cant even convince my friends that just because they have a hybrid they dont have to drive like old men annoying everyone on the road. i specially dislike those who drive right in the middle of the lane... if they drove while leaving space to overtake then i dont mind how slowly they go.. but they dont let anyone else to go and that makes them hate them even more.

and btw thanks for not insulting me

[VVTi]

You are welcome!

[Pericles]

and im open to any comments why your'll hate hybrids so much

Since you asked, I'll try to sum this up.

As you seem to have guessed, its not the car, its the drivers, both on driving and general attitude.

The Prius is just A-to-B transport, and thats fine, there is plenty of need for A-to-B transport, thats all most people ever need. There are times thats all even we need, for example, like you pointed out, in traffic. You justify it as you have, then no issues. Its all the BS that annoys people.

That said, I'm still not convinced about the support in this country if something does go wrong, so I personally wouldn't recommend it here. Still on the wait and see. Like you said, if you don't mistreat it, then possibly it won't go wrong. But that IS a chance. If people wanna take the chance, thats their risk. Hey, people have Ferrari's and a Lambo in SL without any dealer support. I like those brands but I wouldn't recommend those either.

I mean, I wouldn't get a Prius for myself right now even if the support was here. I just don't like the car as a car. But different strokes.

Also, I'm just speaking for myself here.

[Watchman]

I would like to call a bluff on the OP

He drives over 3000km a month; but for math sake, lets use a moderate 3000km a month, for 2 years which is 72,000km, Yet you say you have done 40,000km. So which part of your argument do you stand by? Clearly you cant stand by both

[PSP NANOTECH]

I would like to call a bluff on the OP

He drives over 3000km a month; but for math sake, lets use a moderate 3000km a month, for 2 years which is 72,000km, Yet you say you have done 40,000km. So which part of your argument do you stand by? Clearly you cant stand by both

yeah. i had the 121 till recently. used it occasionally for the rough roads in mahiyangana. i dont want to risk replacing the suspension too quickly. and sometimes i used the office vehicle. since this year june ive been doing 3000km on the prius since i left the office and sold the 121.

btw. the 3000 is usually made up of 30km one way to colombo from homagama times two and bout two sometimes three trips to mahiyangana and dehiyathakandiya bout 600 km for each trip and the rest by the other usual trips. before this year june, the office vehicle or the 121 was used for the mahiyangana trips since the dehiyathakandiya roads are being repaired. but now since the roads are good. everywhere on the prius

[PSP NANOTECH]

Since you asked, I'll try to sum this up.

As you seem to have guessed, its not the car, its the drivers, both on driving and general attitude.

The Prius is just A-to-B transport, and thats fine, there is plenty of need for A-to-B transport, thats all most people ever need. There are times thats all even we need, for example, like you pointed out, in traffic. You justify it as you have, then no issues. Its all the BS that annoys people.

That said, I'm still not convinced about the support in this country if something does go wrong, so I personally wouldn't recommend it here. Still on the wait and see. Like you said, if you don't mistreat it, then possibly it won't go wrong. But that IS a chance. If people wanna take the chance, thats their risk. Hey, people have Ferrari's and a Lambo in SL without any dealer support. I like those brands but I wouldn't recommend those either.

I mean, I wouldn't get a Prius for myself right now even if the support was here. I just don't like the car as a car. But different strokes.

Also, I'm just speaking for myself here.

true story. anything how reliable they may be has a chance of getting messed up. like if i had an accident and ended up messing up the motor system or something it would be a pain to repair them here. so yeah. and last year i wouldnt have exactly recommended buying one either because of the lack of support.

but the thing is that the more the number of people that buy a particular car the better the support gets. like so many hybrids started to be imported that Toyota lanka finally decided to give company support and now lots of places offering support.

for any new thing people will become accustomed just like when auto vehicles came they said they will cause problems and they cant be repaired and so many stories. garages will also begin to work on them to keep up with the competition. for example when i first bought it i went to toyota lanka to ask about the support. they said they would not bring prius to sri lanka or give official support for it... now they are selling them. when i was buying it i went to a really popular car sale in nugegoda (which has a lot of premios, prados in front) they said they will not import hybrids because they are not good. now the front of the sale is full of hybrids (aqua and CRZ)

[VVTi]

I think this is heading towards yet another Hybrid pontification thread, better kill the beast before it raises its ugly head...

[PSP NANOTECH]

well. i just thought that since i mentioned only the benefits i get. i should mention the downsides i am facing too. the biggest problem is the low ground clearance compared to the usual japanese car. this keeps hitting the ground a lot when full of people. also the front visibility is very low compared to other vehicles of same class even with the seat put up high and my head almost touches the roof. so i decided to fix 4 parking sensors to the front. but not any other problems i can remember right now. and with the 17" alloys the ride is a bit more stiffer and jerky than the regular though the steering response and stability are better..

[PSP NANOTECH]

I think this is heading towards yet another Hybrid pontification thread, better kill the beast before it raises its ugly head...

haha. yep i guess it looks that way first time i started talking bout these stuff. usually car talk for me and my friends involve only high end exotics and modified racers. lol. i must be getting old normally we dont talk bout these stuff too. everyone likes the exotics so no arguments there

hmmm. though im wondering.at first one of the reasons why i bought this was because of the options at the low price the added fuel economy was a side benefit. if the taxes were the same for hybrids i doubt i would even look at them. then prius would be somewhere around 15 million. O.o i bought for Y2900000 auction.(4720000 rs at current rate without taxes) so with 200% tax itll be about 14.1 million.... would rather buy a BMW or three 121s when i bought it i got it for 5.2 million so the saving was like paying up for any problems.

[whatever]

haha. yep i guess it looks that way first time i started talking bout these stuff. usually car talk for me and my friends involve only high end exotics and modified racers. lol. i must be getting old normally we dont talk bout these stuff too. everyone likes the exotics so no arguments there

hmmm. though im wondering.at first one of the reasons why i bought this was because of the options at the low price the added fuel economy was a side benefit. if the taxes were the same for hybrids i doubt i would even look at them. then prius would be somewhere around 15 million. O.o i bought for Y2900000 auction.(4720000 rs at current rate without taxes) so with 200% tax itll be about 14.1 million.... would rather buy a BMW or three 121s when i bought it i got it for 5.2 million so the saving was like paying up for any problems.

Your saving, if any, should be based the market value rather than an imaginary Rs.14 million value. Also, if possible, it is more realistic to estimate the total cost of ownership over a period of time rather than the saving only on fuel.

[Supra_Natural]

I have to say this is probably the best Hybrid thread we've had on AL and we appreciate your candor.. Its good to see that the car works for you but personally speaking if I was going to spend 5.2 Million on transportation I could think of several much better choices to do the same job. For example;

1. For Fuel Economy - 99 Audi A4 1.9 Tdi - you can get a great one for 2 Mill or under, does 14km/l in the city on diesel. Still far more comfy and refined than a Prius despite the age.

2. For enjoyment - Impreza WRX or Sti, Lancer Evo 4 or 5, Nissan 300ZX - Any one of those can be picked up for under 2.5 Million

Total outlay - 4.5 Million, put the rest into savings for insurance and any upkeep that they need and you'll be well sorted. And enjoying life a lot more than if you'd blown 5.2 Million on a bloomin' Prius.

[XBeat]

I'm not against hybrid cars or the hybrid technology. I don't by a prius simply because I can't afford it. I can't afford more than 2.5M for a car and I think in general more than 50% of sri lankan car byers can't afford for a car more than that amount. Until such time the price tag of a hybrid fall to that level it will not be the majorities ride.

[Magnum]

Th reason i hate Prius is its interior, doesnt have that quality of a family car's interior

[The Don]

Personally PSP Nanotech, I don't think you have run the car long enough to comment about its reliability and ease of maintenance. And to be honest, if you are being really careful with the car and not running on beat up roads etc, then that would obviously increase its lifetime, especially of the suspension, but that would apply to any car, not just a Prius.

I would also be very worried, if a 3rd generation Prius had already started to develop problems because they are sold with 5 year 100K mile (not Km) warranties in the UK. But most vehicles get through warranty fine. It's what happens after that which define them.

[charitha19]

atleast a sensible hybrid owner... without all the best car in the world bullshit... but looking at the kyron thread our fears about support holds true... especially if you are outstation and stuck there is no support even for the locally assmbled (i belive) kyron... this is the problem...

[Dushan Perera]

Hey guys I 'd like to anonymous so this is a fake FB profile. Anyway I've been driving a prius (3rd) for a while and i'd like to say one thing........ I'd like you all to remember the past, When the front wheel drives came what happened? can we find a rear wheel drive car now? when the automatics came what happened? it is going to be the same on hybrids. Luckily enough i bought an automatic car (brand new) for the permit in the year 1999 when everyone i know told me not to.at that time the automatic was more expensive for the brand new vehicles and I paid more than 1 lack for it. At that time the automatics were cheaper than the manuals in the car sales. I still own that car too and still i have not done anything on the transmission(No repairs) next month the car will be 13 years and i have done over 150,000 Km. I can still sell that car at a decent price since it is an auto..Now as i see it the future will be not hybrids but electric cars...... but as of now the it is hybrid.. have you done a survey to find repairs of the 1st gen prius.... i heard their batteries are still running fine. so as i see it the hybrids will be the future.... do you know that BMW released their hybrid versions in sri lanka last week. The 3 series is with a 3 cyllinder with 355 BHP,,,, beat that dudes. When I buy a car i usually don't sell it unlike most of you guys out there.So i bought a car for the future ..... the prius. I have had BMW, Mercs and other european cars in the past ... their maintenance and petrol bill really hit your purse. All the cars will be hybrids in the future so if you are inversting in a car for the future buy the prius it is an amazing car. What i tell people is that ..... don't talk about cars that you have not used and don't judge cars just by looking at them. (My prius does 13-14 in the city with heavy traffic and over 20 outstation) Most of the sri lankans have used a vitz/ 121/ vios/ because of the petrol price but most of them dont know about a luxury drive in the beemers and the mercs and most people don;t know how well the car handles, performs and how comfortable they are as they have not used a wide range of cars. the prius is par with most of the european cars with the PWR mode with 134BHP, in style, performance, design, and comfort why don;t you guys read the US reviews on hybrids. I am quite sure most of you guys who hate the prius haven't even got into one

Edited November 2, 2012 by Dushan Perera

[VVTi]

and there you have it....

The Hybrid posse is here... with more words...

BTW, the Hybrids will not be the future of automobiles.... it will be EVs, but Hybrids will be the stepping stone to that....

BTW, I have been in a hybrid, driven one and hated every effing second in it. If driving a car is like having sex, then driving a Hybrid is alike a drunk passed out girls whose punani is dry as sand paper and who just had a her period, where as any other car would feel like nymphomaniac on crack.

No thank you, I will have a torque steering, unreliable, seat of your pants Alfa any day... The day all cars are Hybrid/EV then I will consider, until then....

But to each his own, I say.

PWR mode with 134BHP??? You mean you put the car on a dyno? Or are you going by the rating on he book? well, you have to understand that the power ratings given are based on the octane figures and the fuel quality. Yours could be any thing less than that considering the fuel we have here.

Edited November 2, 2012 by VVTi

[GayanR]

I think the real problems would kick in after like 5 years or so from now when things get old.When all the hybrids comes into a state like all the old japanese vehicles here going through hand to hand for ages,replacing each and every part possible.When all those electrical items starts to lower their efficiency by time giving trouble by that time it will be a mess to identify and replace them,just a thought looking at how it goes.

[charitha19]

Hey guys I 'd like to anonymous so this is a fake FB profile. Anyway I've been driving a prius (3rd) for a while and i'd like to say one thing........ I'd like you all to remember the past, When the front wheel drives came what happened? can we find a rear wheel drive car now? when the automatics came what happened? it is going to be the same on hybrids. Luckily enough i bought an automatic car (brand new) for the permit in the year 1999 when everyone i know told me not to.at that time the automatic was more expensive for the brand new vehicles and I paid more than 1 lack for it. At that time the automatics were cheaper than the manuals in the car sales. I still own that car too and still i have not done anything on the transmission(No repairs) next month the car will be 13 years and i have done over 150,000 Km. I can still sell that car at a decent price since it is an auto..Now as i see it the future will be not hybrids but electric cars...... but as of now the it is hybrid.. have you done a survey to find repairs of the 1st gen prius.... i heard their batteries are still running fine. so as i see it the hybrids will be the future.... do you know that BMW released their hybrid versions in sri lanka last week. The 3 series is with a 3 cyllinder with 355 BHP,,,, beat that dudes. When I buy a car i usually don't sell it unlike most of you guys out there.So i bought a car for the future ..... the prius. I have had BMW, Mercs and other european cars in the past ... their maintenance and petrol bill really hit your purse. All the cars will be hybrids in the future so if you are inversting in a car for the future buy the prius it is an amazing car. What i tell people is that ..... don't talk about cars that you have not used and don't judge cars just by looking at them. (My prius does 13-14 in the city with heavy traffic and over 20 outstation) Most of the sri lankans have used a vitz/ 121/ vios/ because of the petrol price but most of them dont know about a luxury drive in the beemers and the mercs and most people don;t know how well the car handles, performs and how comfortable they are as they have not used a wide range of cars. the prius is par with most of the european cars with the PWR mode with 134BHP, in style, performance, design, and comfort why don;t you guys read the US reviews on hybrids. I am quite sure most of you guys who hate the prius haven't even got into one

oh no.. not another one... listen we dont care about ur shit here.. the OP gave some real world facts and cons as well.. and the people here respect that kind of writing.. please dont come here and defecate on the only hybrid thread that is worth a second look at.. and as for driving hybrids. most people here have driven various hybrids and even do car reviews for a living.. so dont be an idiot... i peronsally have drived the prius, CRZ, and the insight, plus a couple of others.. i am with VVTI in this... but its a point A to B car.. and a good mode for transportation for the average consumer...

Edited November 2, 2012 by charitha19

[VVTi]

so as i see it the hybrids will be the future.... do you know that BMW released their hybrid versions in sri lanka last week. The 3 series is with a 3 cyllinder with 355 BHP,,,, beat that dudes. When I buy a car i usually don't sell it unlike most of you guys out there.So i bought a car for the future ..... the prius. I have had BMW, Mercs and other european cars in the past ...

Hey Dushan

IF you are going to quote info, make the effort to at least read up on it before you post crap.

BMW Activehyrbid for the 3 is a not a 3 pot car, its a 3 litre, 6 pot, Twin turbo charged engine with motor assist.

In your world, the 5 must be a 5 pot and the 7 must be a 7 pot... god help the 1 series in your happy little world.

Thats it, the only hybrid thread that had some value is now officially Claiforikan level retarded.

Edited November 2, 2012 by VVTi

[charitha19]

Hey Dushan

IF you are going to quote info, make the effort to at least read up on it before you post crap.

BMW Activehyrbid for the 3 is a not a 3 pot car, its a 3 litre, 6 pot, Twin turbo charged engine with motor assist.

In your world, the 5 must be a 5 pot and the 7 must be a 7 pot... god help the 1 series in your happy little world.

Thats it, the only hybrid thread that had some value is now officially Claiforikan level retarded.

such a shame... Nikan level retarded indeed...

[whatever]

Why are Prius drivers so smug?

http://youtu.be/CVdMySWfAIQ