2001 Toyota Prius Reviews, Pricing & Specs

This car is rock solid, cheap transportation. So ends the pros. Finances are priority over fun-to-drive at this point in my life, and that is why I bought this car. With over 160k miles on it, I get 39-47 MPG with it depending on driving conditions, and after 3000 miles, not only is the oil still full, but its clean as well! I've had this car 2.5 months so far and its had no repairs and given no indication it will need them soon. The car is extremely quiet even at interstate speeds, with summer tires on, all you hear is some very faint wind noise, engine noise only becomes audible when laboring up hills. The bad news is this car is NOT built to be fun to drive - it has poor steering response, leans heavily in curves, and the hybrid powerplant is barely adequate for reaching cruising speeds by the end of the interstate on-ramp, and that's with a very heavy right foot. Styling is better than second and third-generation Priuses, but still not what I consider attractive.May 03, 2010

Instant torque so it's always fun to smoke people at green light, and of course get passed. I bought the car at 27,000 miles for $7000. Seats are comfy, and it's handling is pretty good. I can manage to make my tank of gas last for two weeks, except in cold weather, when it's expandable bladder technology in it's gas tank makes it shrink and holds only 7-8, and not 10 like normal. When it switches over to electric, it sounds dead silent and will freak any new prius owner or new passenger out, thinking that it shut off. Mar 09, 2010

The original model Prius was a huge gamble for Toyota that paid off big. It was such an innovative car for the time, and looked pretty cool then (now it' just kind of ho-hum). In only owned it for a year, so I can't speak much to reliability, but the gas mileage was great! I loved getting all the data from the in-dash screen. I loved the battery-only mode which let you creep up on people and surprise them. :) I once got from Kent to Seattle using no gas at all! It is a super fun car to drive, though performance-wise it's not much of a "car" as a "transportation device." May 31, 2009

When the city car I normally drive was in the shop, I borrowed Code Enforcement's Prius. I liked the digital speedometer, it gave me a much better idea of how fast I was going. Buick Regals had them up to 1992, and I don't know why they quit making them that way. But there's not enough middle ground between taking my foot of the gas and pressing on the brake. The brake slows down way too fast, I'm lucky I didn't get rear-ended. Worst of all, the doors lock by themselves and when I tried to unlock the door to get out and check something, the horn went off for no reason! I hope the Prius has been improved.Nov 16, 2008