We now own a (used) Prius
We got our used Prius yesterday, trading in our old car. We used it for all our usual Saturday errands, and it was great! I haven’t gotten used to the display showing when the car is using the battery, regenerating it, or using petrol, so I keep staring at it. But Dave has adjusted and finds it much the same as any other dashboard display now.
Click the photo to see the large version at my Flickr account.
Our old car was using about 10 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres. So far the Prius is using 5.5L per 100 km. According to the Toyota Australia website, it’s possible to get an efficiency of 4.4L/100km. I used the Prius fuel saver calculator to see how much we’re reducing our pollution and fuel costs.
| Fuel efficiency | Petrol cost/yr | CO2/yr | |
| Old car | 10L/100km | $2025 | 3750kg |
| Prius standard | 4.4L/100km | $891 | 1590kg |
| Prius our usage | 5.5L/100km | $1113 | 2035kg |
So if the 5.5L/100km becomes standard for us, then we’re looking at CO2 emissions reduced by 1715 kilograms, and fuel savings of $912.
And the stereo is way better than the one we had in the old car 
September 16th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Congratulations! We found it funny that with all the fancy technology of a hybrid, our favorite part of our civic was the keyless entry and mp3 jack!
September 17th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Thanks! We were a bit worried with ours at first - we couldn’t find a cigarette lighter, and that’s what we use to plug in my iPod! But it was hiding under a panel, so that’s ok now
September 17th, 2007 at 9:06 am
As of this morning it was sitting on 5.0 L / 100 Km’s (calculated over all the k’s we’ve done in the car) so that’s halved the amount between where we were to where the ratings sit.
September 26th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
I bet if you quit dragging people at the lights and stopped doing all those burnouts, you could get it down even lower! Hahaha, congratulations you two :o)
September 26th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Haha, great tip, thanks
January 16th, 2008 at 1:27 am
OK.. now you have had the car a while .. are you still enjoying it ?? ( after ther novelty value has dissapeared)
.. is it what you expected ..??
How does it perform ??
I am considering a Prius Hybred or a JHonda Civiv Hybred and am befuddeled by all the hype..
Can you enlightne me ??
Cheers
Bob Rona
iluvoz@tpg.com.au
January 16th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Yes, absolutely! We’re very happy with the Prius, after having had it for 4 months now. It runs well, is comfortable, and is still getting the same results for fuel efficiency. I do think it was good to get it secondhand - I’m not sure I could have justified the cost for a new one.
But I reckon the Civic Hybrid would also be a great option - the Prius has more fancy features, but the Civic is cheaper
It’s really a case of buying the best you can afford - even if you’re on a budget, it’s still possible to get a car that’s more fuel-efficient or less polluting than the others. Have a look at the Green Vehicle Guide to see what’s most eco-friendly in the category of car you need.