Prius Hybrid or Auris Hybrid

[choudhrysuk]

Hi Guy. I need some advise, I am looking to purchase either an Auris or Prius Hybrid.They all see to been either low mileage or very high . What sort of mileage is acceptable. There is some Prius with 100000 to 160000 miles but full main dealer service history. The dilemma is my heart is set on a Prius but the  low mileage Prius are out of my price bracket and are high mileage one i am not to sure about. I would like and auris but would prefer a Prius T-spirit. What are the pro and cons to look out. I am sorry these question may already have been asked. Or would i be better of buying a gen 2 with low mileage.

 

Thanks again guys.

[Chris Dance]

I would recommend a Prius but the Prius has a very good second hand value. I have just traded in my low mileage Gen 3 T spirit and the dealer had sold it even before I had done the P/X transaction.

The mileages you have quoted would be for me far too high. I would say something below 70,000 and it is essential to have full Toyota dealer service history and hybrid Battery annual checks. A good low mileage Gen 2 T Spirit is a good option if you cannot afford a low mileage Gen 3. The Prius is very reliable and a great car to drive. I have only driven an Auris on a test drive but compared to the Prius I was not over impressed but it is a good car.

I have had a Gen 2, Gen 3 and now a Gen 4 Prius. They are the best cars I have ever owned. I am an "oldie" and had lots of other makes of cars.

The 12v Battery on the Prius has a life of 3-4 years.and easily goes flat if an interior light is left on or leave the car standing for a few weeks.

Hope this helps.

[drives]

the problem isn't necessarily high miles but finding one that has been looked after. None I found had the recommended maintenance such as transaxle, brake fluid etc. That said you can pick up a bargain as the above post demonstrates most people don't like buying cars above 100000 miles. Might get lucky and find a well looked after private sale- there's loads of people on the American forum who have gen 3s running without major issue into 200-300 000 miles. There's no major maintenance or things that break suddenly post 100000 miles. I wouldn't get a lower mileage gen 2 if that's not really what you want. They look a bit dated now

[johalareewi]

My 2009 gen3 had 137,000 miles on it when I traded it in.  It was 6.5 years old and running fine.  Things to look out for with older gen3 prius:

The inverter.  MrT did a recall and made a software mod to be kinder to the inverter.  Older gen3s may have an inverter that is about to give up.  My inverter died but I had the Toyota Extended Warranty which covered a new one (otherwise it's a £2000 repair).  Maybe you can find my used Prius? It has a brand new inverter!

The steering column.  Starts making clicking noises and again is a £2000ish repair.

HV Battery air vent and fan.  Can get blocked with fluff and cause HV Battery to overheat.  Seems worse with LHD vehicles in warm climates. (So not much of an issue in the UK).

The problem with 100,000+ mile toyotas is MrT won't allow you to have an Extended Warranty.  :(  But AFAIK you can still get the hybrid health check cover.

If you have £2k stashed away for emergencies, a looked after high mileage gen3 prius shouldn't be a problem.

[FROSTYBALLS]

2 hours ago, johalareewi said:

The problem with 100,000+ mile toyotas is MrT won't allow you to have an Extended Warranty.  :(  But AFAIK you can still get the hybrid health check cover.

The hybrid health check can be done annually up to the car's 10th birthday, and provides a 1 year or 10,000 mile (whichever occurs first) extended Battery warranty.  So if a hybrid health check is done immediately before the 10th birthday, the extended Battery warranty will provide cover for virtually 11 years.

[Anthony Poli]

Have you had a test drive in either yet?

Both share the same hybrid system, so I would say its down to look and feel. Not forgetting your budget, there is a Yaris hybrid too.

[PeteB]

3 minutes ago, Anthony Poli said:

... its down to look and feel...

and size and equipment.  Have done well over 300,000 miles since 2000 with digital instruments, I absolutely hate dials, but not everyone feels that way.

Also, since experiencing the Head Up Display in the Gen 3 Prius, I've gone from thinking it a bit of a gimmick, but interesting, to something I absolutely won't be without - one reason I rejected a Tesla Model S.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

If its been well maintained then personally mileage wouldn't cause me an issue. They're renowned for 300k+ miles with ease.

[unclepoo]

I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago, I wanted to try hybrid motoring, mainly for fuel economy reasons.

I started looking for a Prius but found anything worth looking at was above my price range and I didn`t want to spend £12k on a hybrid if I didn`t like driving it in long term ownership. But while looking I saw that the Auris was available as a hybrid too....and I after a test drive I bought a Auris hsd T-Spirit for about 2/3 the price of a Prius. The running gear and technology is the same, Auris is slightly smaller, and uses a wee bit more fuel due to aerodynamics , but still very good....looks like a regular hatch back and has its hand brake where it should be, not by your left foot as in the prius.

The auris is available as a estate if you need a big boot too.

So the Auris is well worth considering in my view.

[Anthony Poli]

3 minutes ago, unclepoo said:

I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago, I wanted to try hybrid motoring, mainly for fuel economy reasons.

I started looking for a Prius but found anything worth looking at was above my price range and I didn`t want to spend £12k on a hybrid if I didn`t like driving it in long term ownership. But while looking I saw that the Auris was available as a hybrid too....and I after a test drive I bought a Auris hsd T-Spirit for about 2/3 the price of a Prius. The running gear and technology is the same, Auris is slightly smaller, and uses a wee bit more fuel due to aerodynamics , but still very good....looks like a regular hatch back and has its hand brake where it should be, not by your left foot as in the prius.

The auris is available as a estate if you need a big boot too.

So the Auris is well worth considering in my view.

That's how it happened with me, plus I needed the car during the hybrid promotion and there wasn't a prius to be seen without travelling a long distance.