PH hasn't been paid by Toyota to write about the Prius and no we aren't mad! The reason why this car is being featured is more along the lines of 'why not?' The Dutch-based owner struggling to buy a decent used car, fill it and tax it. The issue lies around the weight of cars in the Netherlands, with the road tax paid depending on how heavy it is.
Now the Prius, a staple in the Uber communities, has been around since 1997 in Japan, then later introduced in 2000 around the world. That is 20 years of hybrid knowledge across four generations and this is a reason why LeoZwalf wanted to satisfy his curiosity. A Gen2 was picked up not far from his house with just over 205,000km on the clock. Maybe these cars may not be to everyone's taste but it does offer some insight into what living with a Prius is like.
He admits the steering lacks feel, but with all the mod cons and the mid-50s MPG figures, there was little to complain about. Even when it comes to service items, there is only one belt on the engine - that of the engine water pump (removed on the Gen3) and the basic filter and fluids can be found at most car parts stores. One thing that should be looked at once in a while is the HV battery cooling fan and whether it needs a clean. Much like a vacuum cleaner, if you don't clean the filter it doesn't pick up dust as well. If the HV battery cooling fan doesn't cool the battery properly that reduces the life of the battery.
From then on it has just trundled on and on and on past 235,500km. If he gets bored with the lack of sound, someone over here in the UK has fitted straight pipes to his Gen2 . Congratulations LeoZwalf, your Toyota Prius Gen2 is our (unexpected) Reader's Car Of The Week. Read the full thread here