TOYOTA PRIUS [merged threads]

[mazdamazda]

speaking of the Highlander... feeling ko mas viable yan kesa sa Prius. given the proper tax breaks... baka pwede yan!

[BlueBimmer]

unless you're a tree hugger, the added cost is not worth it

[theveed]

off din ang aircon??? sure ka pre?

[mazdamazda]

off din ang aircon??? sure ka pre?

oops... sa lumang prius pala yun... sa new models di na (tulad na siya ng highlander).

[Karding]

depends if you're comparing it to the rav4 .. or the getz .. hehe

baka kinukumpara mo ito sa owner type jeep?

anyway, I confirmed what mazdamazda said about older Prius A/C issue. My co-worker confirmed it. If she wants to keep the A/C on during traffic, she needs to put it on MAX so it doesnt stop. And the gas engine turns on of course.

Newer Prius doesnt have that issue, tama ulit si mazdamazda.

If I have to buy a Hybrid car, it would be a Honda Civic. Much better looking than the Prius. But then again, the added cost will make me choose the conventional Civic which gets 30/40 mpg at $5,000 less than the Hybrid model.

[basti08]

imo, di naman tayo makakakuha ng mileage tulad ng USDM cars eh, there are alot of factors like road condition, traffic etc. that will play a role in getting a high mileage... so why the need for hybrids? aside from sacrifice in performance, it will also take a toll on your pocket (very expensive imo).

[Karding]

imo, di naman tayo makakakuha ng mileage tulad ng USDM cars eh, there are alot of factors like road condition, traffic etc. that will play a role in getting a high mileage... so why the need for hybrids? aside from sacrifice in performance, it will also take a toll on your pocket (very expensive imo).

tama ka kapatid, kailangan mag drive ng at least 30,000miles a year or price of gas goes up to $5.00/gal para mapabilis ang pagbawi ng added money spent on a hybrid.

[basti08]

isa pa halimbawa na lang...Mazda Protege ES with 2.0L engine aka Ford Lynx 1.6L engine, sa tate it can get up to 26-28mpg = to 14 Km/L dito...pero goodluck na lang sa Lynx owner dito kung makakuha sya ng 14 Km/L, to think na 1.6L lang Lynx dito dun dos litro pa tsikot mas matipid parin.

yung 83km/L++ nyan ng Prius, goodluck na lang sa magpapatalo ng 1.3M kung makakuha sya ng ganong mileage.

[ghosthunter]

isa pa halimbawa na lang...Mazda Protege ES with 2.0L engine aka Ford Lynx 1.6L engine, sa tate it can get up to 26-28mpg = to 14 Km/L dito...pero goodluck na lang sa Lynx owner dito kung makakuha sya ng 14 Km/L, to think na 1.6L lang Lynx dito dun dos litro pa tsikot mas matipid parin.

In my corolla gli, I was able to get a bit over 13km/L fuel milage but that was pure highway driving (manila to subic and back) and I was driving very light footed. I could only manage half of that (at best) in normal city driving conditions.

[ghosthunter]

yung 83km/L++ nyan ng Prius, goodluck na lang sa magpapatalo ng 1.3M kung makakuha sya ng ganong mileage.

actually from that I have read online, you can extend nearly any hybrid's fuel milage simply by adding more batteries so the car can operated longer & further on pure battery power. Of course adding more batteries will cost you a bit more too.

[jamesvhong]

sana gawin government yung importation tax free nlang para mura yung value nung car at less na rin nalang nila yung acquisition tax, para makatulong government sa energy conservation... hehehe! pati yung mga 1.3 bellow cars wag na nila lagyan tax.

[ale828]

I already saw the 1st Gen Prius of GMA in makati a few months back. it had special goverment plates but i don't think it was GMA who was using it.

Hybrid cars are beinficial in places with heavy traffic conditions like manila, its in these places that they get the higher fuel economy compared to other cars like the Gets, Picanto, Jazz, Matrix. In the US and UK where in most people use highways and their traffic jams arn't as heavy as in Manila, the Hybrid cars are just for the popularity of being an environmentalist. In the Show Top Gear they slammed the 2nd Gen prius for being slow and even pointed out that a VW Lupo Diesel was getting way better mileage in mixed city/Highway driving. But put that Hybrid in our christmas season gridlock and compare it with the Picanto and then you will see the difference.
The Price thou of the hybrid might go higher than 1.5M or even reach the 2M ceiling. Very pricey for such a car, since car buyers in this bracket tend not to be fuel conscious. It only other factor is saving mother earth.

[niky]

The Prius is currently the top-selling hybrid, though... turning out in much better numbers than the woefully impractical Insight or the "stealth" Civic Hybrid. People are willing to pay a premium to be able to boast their "eco-consciousness".

It's very expensive, yes, but there are hidden savings and costs. The hidden cost is that of battery replacement, but in the years that the first gen Prius has been out, none have had to undergo this... yet. The hidden savings include lesser brake wear, as the regenerative braking system takes a load off the brakes, and a prolonged engine life... nothing is worse for a gas engine than idling in hot traffic.

For high mileage users, like taxi-fleet operators, the Prius has shown itself to earn back the premium within a year or two, in terms of gas savings, brake maintenance savings, and oil change and tune-up savings. Here, I think it'll work for probinsyanos like me who have to go to Manila a lot. The only true competition in terms of utility would be the Honda City or the Hyundai Matrix Diesel. Which cost much less though aren't nearly as cool. Still, the Philippine market isn't quite ready to support more than a handful of these cars, I think.

The Protege LX actually has a downsized 1.8 liter version of the RS engine, not the 1.6 that is more common around the world. And yes, it's apparently a bit more efficient than our 1.6.

But US highways are very long and straight, and good driving can get you terrific mileage.

I'm still unsure over the exact conversion of their mileage to ours, because conversion using US Gallons seems way off, especially for traffic conditions, while using UK Gallons yields some more realistic figures.

[kyle618]

yeah i think the prius is pretty good investment here in the phil... especially with SLOW MOVING traffic and stop and go cuz of mofo jeep drivers. with slow moving gas then we dont use any gas... just the electric motor. i did a speech about moving towards hybrid cars before.. haha

[number001]

Ever wondered what happened to the famous presidential hybrid car?

Here it is, President GMA's Toyota Prius at Toyota Bicutan.

[number001]

[ale828]

Who uses the presidents 1st gen hybrid kaya? I saw that car last year in glorietta.

[number001]

I read somewhere in this forum that the president has handed it over to the DOE for them to study it.

[niky]

After talking with others in the US, I now have doubts that the Prius is viable here. Like Karding said, the Prius only gets between 20-25 km/l in the US (around 40+ mpg)... which you can get with a Honda City or Jazz... which costs less than half as much and doesn't rely on engine-off gimmicks.

Now imagine a Jazz with a simple engine cut-off and electric assist (minus heavy batteries)? It would likely get 35-40 km/l in real world conditions, and still cost less.

The Prius is good publicity for Toyota, which is why they advertise it blatantly, even if they are not likely to sell it here. Honda, on the other hand, are quietly making more and more fuel efficient cars, and are inviting people to come see for themselves the real world economy of these cars, instead of just advertising them.

[pixelparadigm]

A VW Lupo Diesel can outrun a Toyota Prius in terms of mileage. Plus, it looks like a normal car, runs like a normal car, and has lots of torque for realistic and legal acceleration.