Is Toyota Prius for older people

samizdat

Don't forget that the self-employed can get 100% First Year Allowances on a new Prius (or any car with <95g CO2 per Km, subject to a private-use deduction, if any, in proportion to split between personal and business miles). This helps defray the admittedly high purchase price of these cars when new.

I have had a Gen II for over five years, and I think they make for a good city car. Diesels by comparison are not great for short journeys as you will ruin the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). Toyota's automatic transmission is also not plagued by unreliability, unlike that of some other manufacturers. The car accelerates fast from traffic lights because of the electric motor.

There have been a few fringe benefits such as £10 road tax, free residents' parking in my London borough, no London congestion charge for the first 5 years (car no longer qualifies), and decent petrol consumption. Servicing costs have been generally low, but I did have to replace the water pump for about £300 (a common fault).

The car is roomy in the cabin, but the boot isn't great because the batteries make the loading floor quite high. Rear visibility is terrible, side-winds are problematic at speed, and until recently you could not get heated wing mirrors on the UK model.

Some people do seem to have a visceral hatred of the car and those who drive them. For me it was just about having a reliable car of the right size with a low total cost of ownership, and I have been more than satisfied.

Probably it would have been cheaper to buy a used 3-year old Focus, but it is comforting to have owned a car from new. However, without the benefit of 100% capital allowances, I probably wouldn't have bought the Prius, and certainly not a new Prius.

Prothet_of_Doom

What else would 6K get you?