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Buying A Prius? Don’t Hold Your Breath.
Everyone talks about the Prius, everyone wants a Prius and everyone apparently knows someone who owns one.
At least that’s what the media will tell you.
Japan got a nice jump start (big shocker) on us selling the Prius back in 1997 while we were still busy mucking up the environment. The rest of the world jumped on the bandwagon in 2001.
Interesting note, the name Prius supposedly means “To Go Before.” I always thought it meant “Slick Automotive Marketing.”
Here’s all the poop you need on the current Prius models and why its a little difficult to locate these gas sippers.
The first model sold was the 1997-2000 NHW10. You won’t find these in the states as they were only sold in Japan and shipped out to a few other countries. If someone tries to sell you one of these here in the states, its probably a black-market Prius and/or been through hell and back. Move on and keep looking.
The US got the Prius in 2001-2003 - model NHW11. Our version sported the 1.5-liter 4 cylinder gas engine with the electric motors and nickel-metal hydride battery pack. (Probably the batteries left over from the early Motorola brick-cell phones.) The gas engine pumped out a whopping 70hp & 82 ft. lb. of torque. The electric motor kicked out 44hp and 258 ft-lb. of torque.
2004 saw a major face-lift. This created the current look you see everywhere - the NHW20 model…its a half a foot longer and has less drag than previous models. Besides the design, overall efficiencies were greatly improved, such as a smaller battery, more power,(Gas: 76hp/Electric:67hp) independently running A/C and Smart Key Technology. Back-up cameras, better airbag technology and an upgraded stereo/speaker set-up also became available in the Touring Edition starting in ‘06.
Safety ratings got the attention of consumers as well. NHTSA gave it a five star rating for the driver and four stars for passengers. Side crash and rollover tests yielded 4/5 stars for the driver & passenger. The most interesting item I found was the two out of four rating it received for the PEDESTRIAN. Honest. Apparently its not so bad being hit by a Prius as you cross the street.
The real issue seems to be with the batteries. Toyota’s warranty is for 100k miles or 8 years. California’s warranty was bumped to 150k miles or 10 years. The original expectation for the newer models (’04 & beyond) was 15 years.
Expect waiting lists if you’re out shopping for a new Prius. The companies making the batteries are still backlogged. Its been hard for the parts manufacturers to keep up with the increased demand. Be sure to get a CARFAX history report to verify the service history; a one-owner vehicle is preferred. A one owner Toyota Prius is worth an average of $2,241 more to consumers.
Supply is short and consumer demand is raising the price of the used Prius market currently. (In some cases, used Toyota Prius prices may be over those quoted at new dealers because of factory & dealer incentives)
Do your research and consider other alternatives such as the Honda Civic hybrid or the Mini Cooper if your Prius search falls short.
Own a Prius? Tell us about your shopping and driving experiences…
One Response to “Buying A Prius? Don’t Hold Your Breath.”
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July 8th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Good post from Michael Heckman - Prius Envy: http://www.nextburb.com/2008/07/prius-envy.html?cid=121548784#comment-121548784