Prius. Generation 3

tom_tarbucket

What do people tbink of the generation 3 prius?

Think its a 1.8 engine from 2009 onwards.

Im looking at between 2009-2012.

Anyone know if there waa a facelift during this time?
What models come with bluetooth?

Charlie-Bravo

Facelift model is around end 2012 start 2013 until when the new Gen 4 model came out in 2016- look for the front fogs in the black grille area for the facelift model as they added DRLs on this revised version. Jap imports are slightly different on lights and audio headunits.

From the Auris Hybrid 2010 onwards, CT 200, Prius 2013 onwards, Prius Plus, these all have the same power train. Each vehicle has its quirks. Latest I found, I could fit a large item in my 2010 Auris that I couldn't in my 2013 Prius - this was due to the height of the floor to the roof - a proper hatch worked better!

tom_tarbucket

astrofluff wrote: »

Facelift model is around end 2012 start 2013 until when the new Gen 4 model came out in 2016- look for the front fogs in the black grille area for the facelift model as they added DRLs on this revised version. Jap imports are slightly different on lights and audio headunits.

From the Auris Hybrid 2010 onwards, CT 200, Prius 2013 onwards, Prius Plus, these all have the same power train. Each vehicle has its quirks. Latest I found, I could fit a large item in my 2010 Auris that I couldn't in my 2013 Prius - this was due to the height of the floor to the roof - a proper hatch worked better!

Thanks. Do you know which model Prius come with Bluetooth fitted ?

Bigus

Prius are making a bit of a premium lately , so a 2013 or Later model Auris might prove a better all rounder at less money , and a lot less rattly and more comfortable and solid feeling then a 2009 to 2015 Prius .
I drove a later model Auris hybrid lately and they're a revelation compared to a same engined and drivetrain Prius or CT 200, a really nice all rounder .

tom_tarbucket

Bigus wrote: »

Prius are making a bit of a premium lately , so a 2013 or Later model Auris might prove a better all rounder at less money , and a lot less rattly and more comfortable and solid feeling then a 2009 to 2015 Prius .
I drove a later model Auris hybrid lately and they're a revelation compared to a same engined and drivetrain Prius or CT 200, a really nice all rounder .

Is the 2013 auris the totally new model?

tom_tarbucket

Bigus wrote: »

Prius are making a bit of a premium lately , so a 2013 or Later model Auris might prove a better all rounder at less money , and a lot less rattly and more comfortable and solid feeling then a 2009 to 2015 Prius .
I drove a later model Auris hybrid lately and they're a revelation compared to a same engined and drivetrain Prius or CT 200, a really nice all rounder .

Thanks. 2013 Auris is a bit above budget for me versus for example a 2010 prius.

So a 2010 prius is not built the best and is rattly?

zilog_jones

The build quality is fine, it's just in order to save on weight and cost the dashboard and centre console use rather thin plastic with little sound proofing material. I find mine gets a bit rattly on rough roads.

The touchscreen stereo with Bluetooth became standard with the 2012 facelift (which I think was early 2012). I don't know what the options were for previous models, but you're probably better off replacing it with your own stereo anyway for pre-facelifts.

I got a 2012 Prius Plug-in a couple of years ago. I went to the UK as there is much more choice and better spec (they didn't even sell the plug-in version here), and VRT is quite low. Mine's got JBL audio which sounds pretty decent - I think this only came with the full leather option on Irish cars so is rare.

tom_tarbucket

What kind of MPG are people getting and what is your driving typical style ?

zilog_jones

I have the Plug-in so am averaging about 80 MPG (about 40% of my driving covered by EV mode). But on long journeys and higher speeds I don't really benefit from the larger battery: If I stick to 120 km/h with cruise control on motorways I'll get around 50-52 MPG, and closer to 58-60 MPG at 100 km/h. The standard 3rd gen Prius will achieve about the same. Driving around town will return around 40-55 MPG - it varies a lot depending on various conditions.

Average here based on over 700 owners (excluding Plug-in, unless they put in the details wrong) is about 58 MPG: https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/overview/49-Toyota/439-Prius.html?fueltype=2&constyear_s=2010&constyear_e=2015&powerunit=2

tom_tarbucket

zilog_jones wrote: »

I have the Plug-in so am averaging about 80 MPG (about 40% of my driving covered by EV mode). But on long journeys and higher speeds I don't really benefit from the larger battery: If I stick to 120 km/h with cruise control on motorways I'll get around 50-52 MPG, and closer to 58-60 MPG at 100 km/h. The standard 3rd gen Prius will achieve about the same. Driving around town will return around 40-55 MPG - it varies a lot depending on various conditions.

Average here based on over 700 owners is about 58 MPG: https://www.spritmonitor.de/en/overview/49-Toyota/439-Prius.html?fueltype=2&constyear_s=2010&constyear_e=2015&powerunit=2

thanks, thats a very good average IMHO.

tom_tarbucket

Just from this thread alone, no great gra for the Prius. Seems to be directing me towards an auris hybrid

grogi

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Just from this thread alone, no great gra for the Prius. Seems to be directing me towards an auris hybrid

Prius is miles better than the Auris. Bigger and much better sound proofing.

tom_tarbucket

grogi wrote: »

Prius is miles better than the Auris. Bigger and much better sound proofing.

Not according to Bigus above

grogi

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Not according to Bigus above

Auris seems built better - the interior plastics are indeed softer. But Auris, at least in hybrid version, lets much more of the wind and engine noise in.

tom_tarbucket

Silly question. But is there a battery etc in the Prius for the electric motor? (Like in an all electric car)

And if so, does it degrade or lose “bars” ?

Bigus

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Silly question. But is there a battery etc in the Prius for the electric motor? (Like in an all electric car)

And if so, does it degrade or lose “bars” ?

Yes , but it's an old fashioned ( reliable) NiMh battery, and Toyota will do a health check on it for about €80 . In the real world however , failures are about 1 in 100,000 , or over 10 years old. New one is about €2500 s/hand 400 -700 , and. Repaired with warranty around €1200, in Prius 3 only, inverters go as well , €2500 grand from Toyota or 600 s/hand, or exchange units for £200 repaired.

But in reality Hybrids are proving to be the most reliable of current cars on the road, as proven by Taxi companies worldwide.

tom_tarbucket

Bigus wrote: »

Yes , but it's an old fashioned ( reliable) NiMh battery, and Toyota will do a health check on it for about €80 . In the real world however , failures are about 1 in 100,000 , or over 10 years old. New one is about €2500 s/hand 400 -700 , and. Repaired with warranty around €1200, in Prius 3 only, inverters go as well , €2500 grand from Toyota or 600 s/hand, or exchange units for £200 repaired.

But in reality Hybrids are proving to be the most reliable of current cars on the road, as proven by Taxi companies worldwide.

Over 10 years old, is the battery prone to faults ?

Charlie-Bravo

The batteries are quite reliable and you'd be very unlucky to come across a faulty one. What's impressive is I can't remember the last time I had to change the brake pads. The braking system really does save on maintenance costs in that area.

To be fair, if you find the Auris fits the bill better than the Prius, it's a brilliant car to get. Either way, you won't be disappointed with your choice.

Bigus

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Over 10 years old, is the battery prone to faults ?

Not necessarily, but more common in 04/05/06 models due to age or mileage.

In fact I think gen 3 are not giving faults as battery was improved

zilog_jones

grogi wrote: »

Auris seems built better - the interior plastics are indeed softer.

That is the (perceived) quality of the materials, not how it's built though. The Auris is built in the UK, and from what I've seen they're living up to their stereotype of not being as well built as their Japanese counterparts - nothing major, but small bits of the interior breaking, falling apart, etc.

My Peugeot had nice soft plastics too, but it wasn't built better

n97 mini

I'd advise anyone considering a 2010 Prius to look at a 2010 Civic Hybrid. Very similar economy and the Civic is generally a lot cheaper.

tom_tarbucket

n97 mini wrote: »

I'd advise anyone considering a 2010 Prius to look at a 2010 Civic Hybrid. Very similar economy and the Civic is generally a lot cheaper.

does the civic only come in a 1.3 ?

zilog_jones

Yes, and the electric motor is less powerful too, combined power is around 110 bhp in the Civic vs. 134 bhp in the Gen 3 Prius.

I find the performance adequate in the Prius - I'm not afraid of flooring it when needs be, and overtaking etc. is not a problem. Not sure how it compares to the 523i (saw your other thread! ). Handling is not the best, but it's never felt dangerously bad. Wheelspin can be a problem

tom_tarbucket

What would be a reasonable price to pay for a 2012 prius with average miles ?

tom_tarbucket

Is there an obvious way to tell if a Prius has factory fitted Bluetooth ?

n97 mini

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

does the civic only come in a 1.3 ?

Yep, but that's misleading as it's only part of the picture.

The 98bhp 1.8L engine in the Prius isn't as powerful as a regular 1.8 (it's built for economy), so while the Prius is quicker than the Civic, it's not really a big difference. Neither car is particularly fast. We've owned both.

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Is there an obvious way to tell if a Prius has factory fitted Bluetooth ?

If it has the telephone buttons on the steering wheel (left hand side, below the circular buttons).

Inviere

n97 mini wrote: »

I'd advise anyone considering a 2010 Prius to look at a 2010 Civic Hybrid. Very similar economy and the Civic is generally a lot cheaper.

Is there much in the difference? Also, saloon only I assume?

n97 mini

Inviere wrote: »

Is there much in the difference? Also, saloon only I assume?

Had a quick look on Carzone. Like for like in 2010 the Civic is probably 2k cheaper. I didn't look at UK prices in a while but the gap was bigger last time I looked.

Civic is a better car to drive, probably because it's got an independent rear suspension, and feels better built. Interior plastics in the Prius scratch if you look at them. Prius is marginally quicker at over taking, though as I said neither car is "quick". Civic is saloon only: batteries are behind the back seat, which means the back seats don't fold down.

tom_tarbucket

What is the story with the jap imports ?

Avoid due to insurance etc ?

tom_tarbucket

In regard to mpg.

Let’s say you are on a motorway, cruise on at 120 kph. What kind of mpg should one expect ?

If you are in heavy traffic and barely moving for 20 minutes, are you essentially using zero petrol ?

grogi

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

In regard to mpg.

Let’s say you are on a motorway, cruise on at 120 kph. What kind of mpg should one expect ?

5.5l/100km. Slow down to 100 km/h and it drops to 5.0l/100km.

If you are in heavy traffic and barely moving for 20 minutes, are you essentially using zero petrol ?

Unless you are using airconditioning.

tom_tarbucket

grogi wrote: »

5.5l/100km. Slow down to 100 km/h and it drops to 5.0l/100km.



Unless you are using airconditioning.

They are nice figures. 50+ mpg from a 1.8 petrol automatic at 120kph. Is this standard driving or something funky going on like pulse and glide etc etc

grogi

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

They are nice figures. 50+ mpg from a 1.8 petrol automatic at 120kph. Is this standard driving or something funky going on like pulse and glide etc etc

Pulse and glide does not work at that speed.

tom_tarbucket

grogi wrote: »

Pulse and glide does not work at that speed.

Thanks. Do it’s just normal driving so that the figures can be achieved.

Bigus

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

They are nice figures. 50+ mpg from a 1.8 petrol automatic at 120kph. Is this standard driving or something funky going on like pulse and glide etc etc

It's not a feckin 1.8 petrol automatic, except in old old,old old fashioned terms , not tax wise , performance wise , or NVH wise.

It's a 1.8 ltr with 2.4 ltr performance, 1.0 ltr running cost 800,000 km non turbo diesel lifetime potential lifetime ,and god knows what insurance costs , and they used to be very cheap .

Please go and educate yourself at priuschat .com

tom_tarbucket

Bigus wrote: »

It's not a feckin 1.8 petrol automatic, except in old old,old old fashioned terms , not tax wise , performance wise , or NVH wise.

It's a 1.8 ltr with 2.4 ltr performance, 1.0 ltr running cost 800,000 km non turbo diesel lifetime potential lifetime ,and god knows what insurance costs , and they used to be very cheap .

Please go and educate yourself at priuschat .com

Easy buddy. No need to get worked up about it.

zilog_jones

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

They are nice figures. 50+ mpg from a 1.8 petrol automatic at 120kph. Is this standard driving or something funky going on like pulse and glide etc etc

I get that with the cruise control set to 130 km/h (120 km/h real speed) - see my previous post.

The gearbox is a planetary gearset, and the electric motor-generators are essentially part of the transmission, so it's not like any traditional torque convertor or CVT automatic. It's been a long time since auto boxes were inefficient anyway.

Kangas daddy

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

In regard to mpg.

Let’s say you are on a motorway, cruise on at 120 kph. What kind of mpg should one expect ?

If you are in heavy traffic and barely moving for 20 minutes, are you essentially using zero petrol ?

I’ve been driving Prius since 2006, currently in a 2013. Am moving to electric as most of my driving is on motorway where the electric Prius engine contributes zero to efficiency so I’m essentially driving a 1.8ltr petrol car with an electric motor adding extra weight just largely.

As research for moving to electric I did a few different routes to/from work for my 25-mile each way commute.

Motorway, 120kph gave me 46 mpg

Back roads, variable speeds rarely if ever over 100kph gave between 56mpg and 46mpg (fair bit of uphill climbing)

Re. in heavy barely moving traffic, you’ll be using very little petrol but not zero petrol as it will force the petrol engine to kick in to recharge the battery. In winter with lights and rear windscreen heater on plus possibly heating the interior of the car a while too, the drain on the battery will force the petrol engine to come into play more. You’ll still get some petrol-free movement but in Winter per above not as much as you’d like.
Just placed deposit on new Nissan Leaf EV this evening, trading in my 2013 Prius ��

grogi

Kangas daddy wrote: »

on motorway where the electric Prius engine contributes zero to efficiency so I’m essentially driving a 1.8ltr petrol car with an electric motor adding extra weight just largely.

There is very little regenerative breaking on the motorway (but in typical motorway driving you'll still get a bit of it).

The advantage of Prius comes from the fact that ICE in the Prius running an Atkinson cycle - a much more energy efficient petrol burning cycle. What's more, the eCVT enables it to always run in the most efficient work conditions.

Good luck with the new Leaf anyway - it's a cracking car. For me it's an ergonomic nightmare - even more than the Prius Mk2... But apart from that I liked it a lot...

zilog_jones

Kangas daddy wrote: »

Am moving to electric as most of my driving is on motorway where the electric Prius engine contributes zero to efficiency so I’m essentially driving a 1.8ltr petrol car with an electric motor adding extra weight just largely.

The motor generators (there are two of them) are integral to the transmission, so they are always doing something, regardless of speed. To say they're not doing anything useful with motorway driving is false. If you need power to overtake or climb a hill or whatever, it will always use assistance from MG2 as the Atkinson cycle ICE would be gutless on its own.

Also: The 3rd gen Prius is only around 1400kg. It's not heavy for a car of its class at all. A typical manual diesel of similar size would weigh more.

Motorway, 120kph gave me 46 mpg

Back roads, variable speeds rarely if ever over 100kph gave between 56mpg and 46mpg (fair bit of uphill climbing)

That is certainly below average for a 3rd gen Prius. I've never got below 50 MPG on motorway journeys (and that's with CC set to 130 km/h indicated), and get closer to 60 MPG on slower roads - this is not including any benefits I get from the Plug-in version (where I'd get around 70 MPG on N roads combined with driving through towns). Maybe your rear brakes are sticking?

Kangas daddy

zilog_jones wrote: »

The motor generators (there are two of them) are integral to the transmission, so they are always doing something, regardless of speed. To say they're not doing anything useful with motorway driving is false. If you need power to overtake or climb a hill or whatever, it will always use assistance from MG2 as the Atkinson cycle ICE would be gutless on its own.

Also: The 3rd gen Prius is only around 1400kg. It's not heavy for a car of its class at all. A typical manual diesel of similar size would weigh more.


That is certainly below average for a 3rd gen Prius. I've never got below 50 MPG on motorway journeys (and that's with CC set to 130 km/h indicated), and get closer to 60 MPG on slower roads - this is not including any benefits I get from the Plug-in version (where I'd get around 70 MPG on N roads combined with driving through towns). Maybe your rear brakes are sticking?

I said to the garage when it was in for service that I expected a new Prius to be more aerodynamic and fuel efficient than my previous 7 yr old one but if anything the fuel consumption got worse after servicing! I’ve put down deposit on new all electric Leaf which I’ll be hitting the road with first week in July a la 182

tom_tarbucket

Hi all.

Thoughts on this car:

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/18818234

tom_tarbucket

Is it a bad idea to buy something like a 2009/10 prius with 100,000 or more miles on it?

zilog_jones

I've heard of a few inverter failures (expensive!) with early gen 3's, but I believe it's quite rare. Oil consumption can also be a problem once they're over 100k miles, but I don't know how widespread that issue is.

tom_tarbucket

Any issues with the battery over 100,000 miles.

zilog_jones

Battery durability is more down to operating environment and age than anything else. People in hotter climates tend to start seeing problems around 10-12 years old, but right now that's still the older tech Gen 2 batteries. Many have done over 250-300k miles on the original battery.