2001 Toyota Prius

We have owned our 2001 Prius for seven years and put 100,000 miles on it (anybody wanna buy it?). We have loved it. We haven't had any corrosion problems (described by another reviewer), but the San Francisco Bay Area has very mild weather (sans skiing in the Sierra), and we have kept it in a garage, so it's still almost like new.

We loved it when we got it because it was such a marvel of engineering: Gas engine and electric motor, infinitely variable transmission, regenerative braking, and a computer that coordinated the interaction between these components like a symphony orchestra - illustrated real time on a novel display. It also had more headroom than our 1985 Honda Accord. And I have total confidence in its durability and long life because it was a Toyota, which routinely scores high in Consumer Reports reliability charts.

My wife loved it because it transformed my driving from aggressive (beat the traffic) to more conservative (beat the mileage meter). Practicing the skills to maximize mileage was like a computer game, adding another dimension to driving. It also was a novelty back then; people would inquire, and we could boast.

So why don't I score it all fives? 1) The rear seats wouldn't fold down, reducing storage compared to many other compacts; 2) it came with 30K-mile-warranty performance tires that wore out very quickly (after research we bought much longer-lasting tires that reduce mileage very slightly); 3) suspension had a subtle wandery feeling that we solved by over-inflating the tires a bit and then switching the tire style (see 2); and 4) we discovered the hard way two weeks ago that its weakness is the main computer (don't worry about the NiMH battery). Toyota will replace it if it dies within 80K miles, compared to a 60K warranty for the car as a whole. It cost us $1,300 to fix so we could sell it; another dealer wanted $2,300.

And what did we buy? A 2007 Prius, a hatchback that's larger, more powerful, gets better gas mileage, and takes standard tires for more secure steering. Of course it costs twice as much as the 2001 sells for now. And it's no novelty; Prii now are so popular here we feel like conformists. For its price, you'll be delighted with a 2001-03 sedan. Just check whether the computer was replaced or has a warranty.

I love the mileage, or course, but I'm more and more impressed with the car as a whole. The interior is comfortable, the climate control works well, it handles great. They put together a nice little car that does everything very well and still gets better mileage than anything on the market 7 years later. Is Toyota really that much better than everybody else? Or are the other car makers just not trying that hard?