2005 Toyota Prius Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Pros: 48 mpg so far, very smooth and quiet drive. Comfy seats, has a lot of room for a smaller car. Body is good condition, air works great, Keyless entry works great so far. There’s a spare tire that’s easy to find and remove. All the fluids are full. The screen where MPR is in the perfect spot, and I don’t have to move my head around to find them. Cons: Bluetooth is super slow. It takes so long to make a call with voice command. You have to reconnect the audio every single time you turn the car off. It takes 40-60 seconds only in Park, but that seems forever when you’re going to work. I can’t use it when I’m in a hurry. The radio antenna onlypicks up near by stations. It’s speeds up pretty slow. A key replacement cost $450! There’s no interior button for the trunk and there’s not trunk button on the key. The wipers seem pretty old. There is a fog/cloudiness on the glass there the time and mileage are. It’s hard to see them both. It was over priced due to inflation but I had to buy a car soon because I wrecked mine. It was twice what I paid 3 years ago. Aug 12, 2022

We love this car. It takes some time to get used to when it stops at traffic lights - quiet and no engine running movement. People often can't hear you driving behind them or backing up in the parking lot because it's so quiet when the gas engine is off. Among all the hybrid cars in its class, I think Prius has the best performance in terms of handling, power, reliability, fuel efficiency, and cargo space. On highway, it's a little noisy compared to Honda Accord. Great gas mileage for local commute especially if you have to go through a lot of traffic lights. The smart brake system works really well if you allows it to work by not pumping the brakes. Because the gas engine is not on all the time fir hybrid cars so the recommended oil change is every 5000 miles instead of 3000 miles. Less wear and tear on the engine parts. Smart key is very convenient, so I never need to look for car key in my purse to open the door or start the car. The built-in navigation system just makes every trip we took more fun and less stressful. It's comfortable for road trips, and we defintely enjoyed the gas savings. The cargo space is large and usable with the back seated folded down. Loading and unloading are also easy because of its flat bed design. It's a great car! Feb 06, 2012

Its now been about 4 years since I bought my Prius.. Was it worth the premium .. YES!! would I buy another one .. YES!! Toyota's.. cant kill em with a brick! They just keep going and going and doing what they were intended to do! Have since added a RAV4 to our group of cars.. Love that as well .. I wish there was something bad I could say about the Prius.. but after 4 years .. cant find anything to critisize! Jan 23, 2012

Surprisingly large on the inside. Build quality is typical Toyota, meaning very good. Performance is uninspiring, but adequate for commuting in Chicago. Not the car you take out for a fun Sunday drive on a twisty road, but nothing beats it for a 32 mile commute in Chicago. Averaged 45 MPG in winter (I think temperature affects battery performance) and 52 MPG in summer. Only one dislike is that the cream interior shows dirt easily and the design of the arm rests on the drivers side led to visible wear. Liked it enough that I gave it to my daughter and bought a second one.Jun 26, 2010

What can I say - This car is GREAT. Judy had been reduced to driving my Jetta after the reliability of the MB became an issue. She returned home from work on a Friday one day in August of 2005 and had just filled the tank after driving 30+ miles in heavy freeway traffic with the 5 spd manual tranny Jetta and declared that she wanted to get a new car. (FINALLY - I had been trying to get her to get a new car for at least a year.) The next day we bought the Prius and haven't looked back. There are many cool things about this car - but the one that sold Judy was the Smart Key. Finally she would no longer have to fumble for her keys in the purse. You just have the key on your person as you approach the car and the doors unlock. You get in the car, put your foot on the brake, push the Start button, and you are ready to go. How Cool is that? I wish they made a SmartKey for all cars and the house! The car gets 45MPG without really trying. On longer trips, it is not easy to achieve 50 to 55. Mileage is inversely proportional speed. So if you drive 75 or 80 - you are NOT going to get 50mpg. As far as performance goes, it is much better than I thought. That little electric motor does help the gas engine to get you moving. I was out in the desert one time and wondered if there was a third digit on its digial speedometer. I pushed the pedal to the metal on a good stretch of I40 east of Barstow. I was gaining on a truck in the right lane when he pulled out to pass a slower truck. I had to lift off. As I did I glanced down at the speedo and it was showing 107MPH. I thought it was still accelerating, but not sure. Anyway, it runs fast enough to get you in trouble. We had the Carpool stickers for the car but they expired in July, 2011, so I removed them. Having those stickers did save some time in rush hour.Mar 28, 2010

I drove a Toyota Prius a few months ago as a Zipcar member, and I was impressed. It was my first experience driving a hybrid, and I was amazed at how quiet the car is. It drives comparatively well to any other non-hybrid car I have driven, and I enjoyed seeing how the inside of the car was being utizilized as I drove (you can watch it on a screen on the dashboard). I would certainly drive it again.Oct 02, 2006