2005 Toyota Prius

We purchased our Prius in 2005 and have no intention of buying a new car any time soon. Not only does it get amazing mileage, it has a nice big tank that allows us to drive it for over a week before visiting the gas station. My husband is tall (6'3") and he fits comfortably both as a driver and front-seat passenger. We have a 40 pound dog and a 40 pound kid. The entire family fits very comfortably. Often we will seat three adults in the back seat, two in front and the dog in back. It's not the roomiest ride but everyone has their own little space. Since we live in a big city, a small car is essential and because the hybrid engine tends to switch to electric during city driving, it makes nothing but sense to own this vehicle.

(Quick review for those who don't know: the engine is gas and electric. It recharges its electric battery with your braking action. When the electric battery begins to exhaust or when you need more power (speeding up, freeway driving) the gas kicks in.)

We opted for a pretty upgraded version which includes GPS. At the time we got it, the system seemed nothing short of miraculous. It was easy and intuitive to use and the soothing female voice that reads off directions made us giggle. We named her. Since then the system has become a tad outdated. It takes a long time to enter addresses and it is not aware of street changes in the city even after we took it for its software update.

That brings me to another great thing about owning this care. Maintenance is surprisingly affordable. I can't think of a single time when we've left the Toyota's shop having spent more than $250.

Now some drawbacks. I'll go back for a moment to the GPS. It's POI (points of interest) category in really underdeveloped. It is often not aware of landmarks or, more often, not aware of nearby selected stores. It'll confuse a McDonalds restaurant for a McDonalds corporate site, for example.

The map guidance will sometimes choose strange routes. Once when we were driving to a mountain location it ended up taking us on a dirt road along the crest of the range! Needless to say the trip took six hours instead of two, but it turned out the be a beautiful drive and an adventure. We considered starting an "Adventures with GPS" travelogue.

Other small negatives include a super annoying beeping sound when it's in reverse. (We managed to disable that feature using a little internet advice.) It can lack oomph upon acceleration, especially if the A/C is running. Sometimes in drive, our car revs a little too high. I can't tell with any consistency when or why this happens, only that it does.

The pros far, far, far outweigh any cons. I would recommend this car to anyone without any hesitation whatsoever. Toyota is a proven car company, and the Prius really reflects the company's reputation. If you are buying a used Prius in California, you may get the extra bonus (no longer available to newer hybrids) of being able to use the diamond lane on freeways. Get a Prius. Seriously.