I'm going to test drive a Toyota PRIUS today.

[lady lib]

Please share your experiences and opinions about this car.
Much appreciated...

[mitchtv]

1. could't get to try one around here,

But the mini cooper does better on gas.

[boneygrey]

2. I have a client who bought one and

he loves it.

[tishaLA]

3. A friend has one

and I drive it when I dog/house-sit for her, which is not infrequently. It's a good, solid car, like any other Toyota really. She has had no problems with it.

[Goldom]

4. We own an original and new model

I drive the original one (pre 2004) every day and love it. The new one is a bit awkward size, and hard to see out the back, but as a car, works just fine. Mileage is, of course, no where near the label, but it's still best of any car I've ever seen. My only complaint is the frequent notices you will get from Toyota telling you of things they need to fix or else you will die or something, and they just found this out. We've had to bring ours in tons of times (not because we've had any trouble, that is, but just cause they write us saying that something needs to be changed in all of their computers, batteries, etc.)

[lady lib]

5. Thank you everybody for your responses!

We're leaving now for the dealership, but if anyone else wants to share I definitely want to hear your opinions.

[physioex]

9. Consider the VW TDI instead....

It is mechanically simpler than the Prius, meaning that it is cheaper to fix. It gets great mileage on diesel fuel, and you can run it on biodiesel. Plus it costs a lot less than the Prius.

[Goldom]

6. One other thing you should know if you do get one-

check your tires often. I'm not 100% sure about the new model, but I know on the original Prius, it uses heavy-load tires, or something odd like that (for one thing, means be careful about buying winter tires, it comes with "all-weather", but if it's very icy around where you live, you'll have to find special studded tires for it), and the air pressure needs to be higher than on most cars.. and your milage will drop noticably if they aren't.

[Bamboo]

7. Its not a cookie mummy,its a newton.

Those who complain that the hybrid premium is not worth it should ask themselves if the features they purchased on their cars were worth the money like the tuner wheels,leather seats,automatic transmission,stereo system,navigation system,gold emblem package,projector headlights and extended warranty.Financing a six year loan and depreciation are major expenses which make the amount spent on a hybrid motor look small.The fuel savings will continue for the life of the Prius after the hybrid premium is eventually paid back.One benefit is that my other car gets better mileage because I drive it more like a hybrid.My dentist bought a Porsche which has the fashionable tuner wheels and he said the ride is quite stiff.Large wheels are like large spoilers,at normal speeds the equipment is overkill but is there because of the bling.My other dentist is a Gasparilla pirate in the most prestigious crewe,all that energy expenditure on work and play put America on the map and will probably take it off the map too.

[benny05]

8. We have a 2004 Driftwood

and we love it. It is sometimes challenging to see out the back, and you have to be very careful around kids walking around with cell phones because the car is very quiet. Not only do we like the gas mileage and the toys (we have the loaded package), we like the space inside (it's pretty roomy), and very low emissions, thus it is better for the environment.