Toyota Prius CVT

A decent car for an electric one. Battery doesen't die as easily as you may think. Also it has good potential for sneaking on people :)

A decent car for an electric one. Battery doesen't die as easily as you may think. Also it has good potential for sneaking on people :)

Owned for 3 years and 130k miles. On the plus side no breakdowns but 2 recalls. Fuel consumption on the t spirit is about 48mpg. Service costs high. Handles poorly. Brakes are a little unpredictable at times. Plastic trim finish looks cheap but no mechanical failures.

I liked the Toyota Prius CVT but after twenty months ownership and two mild winters I could not cope with the TRAC stopping me dead every time I attempted to drive on ice, packed snow or even slick mud. I began to fear that one time i would get stranded in a dangerous position so the car had to go. Fortunately it was not a slippy day! Comfortable and easy to drive esp. in traffic.

The Toyota Prius CVT is a well made and engineered car. Plenty of room for passengers in front and back.

Passing at normal highway speeds good. Keeps speed on even steepest hills.

Gas milage, with less than 1,000 miles on the car has been 44MPG. (Temp. averaging around 20 deg's)

Keyless entry is very handy. Takes a while to get used to not having to put a key in the door or ignition. (Just keep remote in your pocket)

Handling on open road and corners is very good. Noticed some "Very - Very" slight feeling of wandering on straight highway traveling.

If I have one complaint it's the Traction Control on this car.

I find when on slippery surfaces, like packed snow, and I try to apply power, the car "Just Won't Go!! " Both wheels sense loss of traction and mechanism will not allow wheels to spin.

This results in no power to wheels therefor no ability to move forward at all.

I have a Toyota Avalon with same traction setup.

There is a button on Avalon to disable this traction function. When on slippery surfaces I can get more forward movement by disabeling the traction system.

In my opinion this is very dangerious.

I have been on dry pavement with a small amount of sand and tried to accelerate out into traffic, with the traction system engaged, and the car just sits there and will not move forward.

The same situation, with traction system disabled, I will spin tires but the car moves right out safely into traffic.

A very helpless feeling to step on gas and have nothing happen, just like if the car had stalled.

The Toyota Prius CVT family car looks and drives as well as any other car on the market within the same segment and price range. It might be boring to drive but so is a Mondeo!!!

The good thing is that it feels like you are driving an ordinary petrol 4 door saloon with automatic transmission.

This car is no more trouble to use or maintain than an ordinary car.

My initial reticence to even sit in this vehicle (because lets face it, the Toyota Prius CVT family car looks weird) was replaced almost immediately by a huge childlike grin at the sense of fun and doing something new. At low speeds the car is powered by its electric motor so no noise, nothing, its like a bumper car but on steroids because the acceleration in this 1.5 litre is top notch, then the transition to the diesel engine is almost seamless. It handles very well even though it is one of them there wire driven things. Its does start to get noisy over sixty, and over seventy it feels less an extension of the driver and more like an animal that has to be reigned in.

On the downside one feels a degree removed from the car, as if it is not really responding to your driving but simply allowing itself to be taken by you until it gets bored, and the quietness has obvious safety issues in built up areas / school runs!

All in all a hugely enjoyable ride that reminds you of the days when driving was new and fresh and FUN.