2002 Toyota Prius Reviews

Everybody rips on this car but I really dont know why.  It serves its purpose wonderfully.  It is built great and it actually has decent performance.  The way I look at is if you cant have a performance car why not go with this?

Love the cost of ownership -- low fuel costs and reliability have been stellar.  Maintenance costs are okay, but some parts are out of this world.  For example, a replacement 12v battery is over $350 from the dealer and no one else sells a direct replacement.  

The car handles adequately, accelerates well enough to keep up with traffic, and the brakes work. But that's about the best you can say for the performance.  Most other economy sedans are better on all fronts.  

The styling is odd.  Nothing pretty, nothing quirky.  The newer version is better insofar as it is at least different (or was...)

There is nothing fun about this car -- except filling it up half as often as my other cars.  

I am the second owner of a 2002 prius -- the first owners were my in-laws who owned it from new, so I've been associated with the car from day one.  They replaced it with the newer Prius, so clearly they loved it.  

This car gets fabulous mileage, and has been incredibly reliable.  However, there is no joy in driving the car.  It handles tolerably, but almost any small car built today will handle better, accelerate better, and return more driving pleasure.  The main problem, I think, is the weight.  Having complained, however, I will mention that the car is extremely nimble in parking lots and tight situations. It has one of the tightest turning circles I'm aware of.  

In warm weather, I get between 47 and 52 MPG, depending on my driving conditions.  In winter months, that drops off to 40-43. One thing to note -- the battery condition, including the 12v accessory battery, will impact the mileage, to some degree.  

Driving the Prius is an adventure when new, because the first time the engine stops when you pull up to a stoplight is very disconcerting.  Also, the acceleration suffers from a standing start, until the gas motor kicks in.  However, on the highway, acceleration is reasonably brisk.  On the highway, the car drones because of the CVT -- the revs don't really change as the car accelerates.  Also, the brakes are grabby, but once you get used to them, smooth stops are possible.  

I drove a 2007 Mazda3 as a rental car, and I have to say I preferred it as a drivers car over my Prius, but I will admit the fuel economy wasn't even close.

The car is reasonably spacious for a small car.  The trunk holds a fair amount, but you'll never confuse it with a mid size car or a good hatchback.  However, I don't know whether the hatchback model (the newer Prius) is really much better, as the cooling stacks for the battery may intrude into the space.  One thing which would help would be rear seats that fold down allowing a "Trunk-through".  

Last criticism:  I recently had to replace the 12v accessory battery because it had reached its expected life, and was not holding a charge in cold weather (note -- this battery does NOT start the car, but is necessary for starting, because it powers the electronics).  The dealer cost to replace the battery was a whopping $325 including labor.  Why?  because Toyota saw fit to redesign the part, so a retrofit kit is necessary, and not included.  I have found no place that carries a direct replacement battery.  The best I've found is an internet site which offers a $25 kit to replace the battery with a Miata battery (which has been the same since 1990!)  Considering that a battery is usually a $50-100 part, and zero labor cost (at most auto parts stores), the situation is absurd.  Toyota was NOT looking out for the customer when they did this.  I bought the internet kit, and will buy a replacement battery when I get the chance (I've been working with stand-alone jump start device which costs less than $50 at walmart or the like -- in the end, I will have spent about $150 between the kit, the battery and the jump start device, and I'll have a jump start device and a larger capacity battery to show for it.)