Toyota Prius (2003 – 2009) Review
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Toyota Prius (2003 – 2009) At A Glance
Much better than the original. An enjoyable, practical, safe, economical hybrid. Looks good, too. Prius Taxis have run to 400,000 miles plus with very little trouble.
It isn't a fault, but don't expect to achieve astonishing mpg on a clear motorway run. Hybrid drive doesn't regenerate at constant speed. Catalytic converters vulnerable to theft.
Drive into the future. Tomorrow's car today. Car of the next decade now. We've all heard this kind of hype before. Except in the shape of the new Toyota Prius II it all happens to be true.
The Japanese have some pretty good diesels. Toyota's 1.4 D-4D is the best small diesel in the world. Yet despite the economic advantages, diesel's smutty reputation is against it. Which is why for the past ten years the Japanese have been developing and perfecting hybrids. Or, in other words, cars that combine petrol engines, electric motors and batteries to regenerate power and effectively use it twice.
The original Prius and the Honda Insight were proper production cars you could go out and buy, then claw back a Powershift grant for helping to save the World. More than 100,000 old shape Prius were built and sold. Now we're into the second generation of both. Honda has chosen to add hybrid technology to a standard Civic saloon. Toyota has created a totally "all new" car.
Reviews for Toyota Prius (2003 – 2009)'s top 3 rivals
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Toyota Prius (2003 – 2009) handling and engines
- Readers report Real MPG to be between 41–67 mpg
In normal driving, you take off and drive on electrical power. The 500V motor delivers 50kW and 400Nm torque, which is roughly the equivalent of a 1.2 litre petrol engine. Then, as you cruise, the 1.5 litre petrol engine cuts in both to re-charge the batteries and drive the wheels. During sudden acceleration the electric motor gives back-up power to the petrol engine. Then, when you lift off, the coasting wheels turn the generator, re-charging the battery. Once the battery has been brought to full charge a few times and once you get used to the necessary driving technique, you can start to get close to the 56.5mpg (urban) to 67.3mpg (extra urban) of which the car is capable. Alternatively you can press the EV button and drive on electric motor alone, creating zero emissions and a virtually silent drive. Toyota calls the system Hybrid Synergy Drive.
Thinking about the car after my short test drive the surprise is how easy it was to get used to it. Anyone who can drive at all could drive the Prius II without being conscious that the car was propelled and stopped in an entirely different way than they were used to. Even the steering has feel, the handling is fine and, unlike the Touran, the little windows in the front pillars are actually usable. Whether you feel virtuous driving the Prius or not, you certainly don't have to suffer. It's a bit like climbing onto a gentle learning curve, then being surprised and delighted by the new features you discover and your gradual mastery of them.
| Engine | MPG | 0-62 | CO2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 VVT-i | 66 mpg | - | - |
Real MPG average for the Toyota Prius (2003 – 2009)
Real MPG was created following thousands of readers telling us that their cars could not match the official figures.
Real MPG gives real world data from drivers like you to show how much fuel a vehicle really uses.
Average performance
86%
Real MPG
41–67 mpg
MPGs submitted
262
Toyota Prius (2003 – 2009) interior
- Boot space is 408 litres
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4450 mm |
| Width | 1725 mm |
| Height | 1490 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2700 mm |
It even looks futuristic, both outside and inside. Instead of a conventional dashboard, the driver is confronted with a large computer screen and a line-of-sight, digital speedometer. The speedo is so clear and so frees up steering wheel adjustment it instantly makes all conventional dashboards seem hopelessly and ridiculously old fashioned.
You push the electronic key into a socket, press the start button and the instruments spring into life. Then, instead of having to take a master's degree in computer technology, you simply flick a little lever into ‘D', kick the foot-operated parking brake, and you're off. It really is that simple. The only small thing you have to remember is to press a button above the lever if you are stopped for any length of time and that, like most automatics, you have to touch the footbrake again to be allowed to re-engage Drive.
Interior fittings are high quality and rear legroom is almost limo like. The batteries take up very little space directly over the rear axle line. Though the luggage floor is high, it is flat with the rear seats folded and has several compartments underneath which significantly increase its total capacity. A space saver emergency wheel sits right at the bottom.
Toyota Prius (2003 – 2009) models and specs
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4450 mm |
| Width | 1725 mm |
| Height | 1490 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2700 mm |
| Miscellaneous | |
|---|---|
| Kerb Weight | 1300 kg |
| Boot Space | 408 L |
| Warranty | 3 years |
| Servicing | 10000 miles |
| Costs | |
|---|---|
| List Price | £18,370–£21,210 |
| Insurance Groups | - |
| Road Tax Bands | - |
| Official MPG | 63.0 mpg |
| Euro NCAP Safety Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Adult | 5 |
| Child | 4 |
| Pedestrian | 2 |
| Overall | - |
| Hatchback | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | List Price | MPG | 0-62 |
| T Spirit Hybrid 1.5 VVT-i 5dr Auto | £21,210 | 65.7 mpg | - |
| T3 Hybrid 1.5 VVT-i 5dr Auto | £18,370 | 65.7 mpg | - |
| T4 Hybrid 1.5 VVT-i 5dr Auto | £19,155 | 65.7 mpg | - |
Model History
November 2003
Groovy new body on Prius for November 2003 is bigger, faster, more fuel efficient, puts out less emissions and is more fun to drive. 70bhp petrol engine combined with 50bhp electric motor providing total of 478 (353 lb ft) torque). Length: 4,445mm; height: 1,490mm; width: 1,725mm.
Simple and good to drive. Excellent digital instrument layout. Eight year hybrid powertrain warranty.
May 2005
Ride, handling, noise, vibration and harshness improvements from May 2005, together with option of full black leather upholstery at £1,350.
January 2006
Improvements for 2006 include adjustment to the hip point for passengers sitting in the back, new upholstery colours, soft-touch paint finish for the dash and introduction of leather-trimmed steering wheel across the range. New all leather upholstery option replaces previous leather and Alcantara.
Three new met paint finishes – Vermillion Red, Verbier Green, and Tyrol Silver. Fourth new colour, Decuma Grey, follows in April. Option pack of rear parking camera (as in Mazda 5) coupled to Intelligent Parking Assist which 'steers' the car into the avalable space for top T-Spirit only. Prices up £250 to from £17,795OTR. IPA is a £400 option on the T Spirit.
What to watch out for
Apparent problem of nearside front brake squeal, though may be surface rust on the discs.
Seems to be a fault with the double locking security system. One press of the remote is supposed to lock the car. A second press locks the car's systems but allows windows to be left slightly open for a dog or person left in the car. But does not always work and dealers don't seem to be able to fix it.
Corrosion occurring in the rolled front seam (aluminium/aluminium) of the bonnet that shows up as bubbling of the paint along the front edge of the bonnet. Toyota is replacing bonnets FOC on cars up to 4 years old.
Just one report of a failed battery, at 60,000 miles, replaced without quibble together with associated ECU. These failures are very rare within the 8 year hybrid drive warranty.
14-03-2011:Seems to be a voluntary TSB recall to replace the water pump.
02-04-2011:The bugbear is the little auxiliary battery (lead-acid one about the size of a biggish motorcycle job under the floor on the right in the tail). All this thing ever does is run the ancilliaries that require juice when the inverter unit is off (eg alarm), provide a base load to kick the inverter over when you hit the "start" button and then get charged up again. As a result, in normal daily use it only ever gets very slightly discharged and spends most of its time being charged, which doesn't do it any favours. Once the inverter is operating, the 12v feed to the ancilliary components is satisfied by the inverter drawing from the main battery pack and/or Motor/Generators. This also feeds the charging circuit for the aux battery.
Even kicking over the inverter doesn't take much, mine lost two cells taking it down to nine volts but it would still start the car. However, this one did cause it to throw the "red triangle" on start, triggering me to take it into the dealer (who had kittens when he put the diagnostic reader on it 'til he figured out what was up - most of the electronics had logged some sort of error due to the undervolt on startup and/or standby). More usually it just dies in the conventional fashion, still providing a nominal 12v potential but having very little capacity. As a result, the thing can be on its last legs and you won't notice anything untoward until you leave the car for an appreciable length of time, it goes completely flat and will not start the inverter.
If I were planning to leave one for four weeks, needed it to work on my return and wasn't 100% sure that the auxiliary battery was OK, I'd get it checked first! This one's a bit of an old chestnut on priuschat.com as it's quite common for these to give up within a couple of years (that's all mine lasted), especially on cars that are used daily. Note also that Toyota have a policy in place that they'll only admit it's faulty after a test showing failure, a day's trickle charge and then a retest also showing failure. Presumably they know they have a serious issue here and are trying to avoid replacing them under warranty as much as possible.......
11-05-2011:Hybrids should be trickled charged, not jump started (bulletin from Toyota how to do it correctly). If a recovery agent connects jump leads directly to either hybrid battery and then to his battery the sudden charge can damage circuits within the hybrid system (not necessarily the ECU). It seems that not all recovery companies are familiar with the correct jump start process . Damage can be caused which will not be apparent at the time.
07-01-2012:If the cars are not driven distances regularly then the 12v auxiliary battery gradually loses its capacity to hold a full charge. Owners are advised to consult their Toyota dealer and use a suitable trickle charger to keep the 12v battery at full charge.
30-05-2012:First report of a Power Steering system failure on a 48k mile 2005 Prius. Quoted £1,274 to fix.
05-06-2014:Report of hybrid drive battery failure at 10 years old. Toyota dealer quoted £1,400 to replace.
30-09-2015:2006/56 Prius suffered failed water pump in 2013. Pump was replaced then 15 months later the replacement failed.
03-10-2015:Another Prius reported as needing a water pump. This was a 2008 model and the waterpump was needed at its 2014 service. Seems to be a known problem that Toyota dealers look for at services.
19-06-2018:Reader replaced hybrid battery of 108k mile 2006 Prius at a Toyota dealer for £1,250 + VAT. (Another Toyota dealer had quoted £2,000 + VAT.)
10-12-2018:Spate of thefts of catalytic converters reported from Prius II models (2003-2009) because of the high amount of precious metals in them and ease of removal. Prius IIs are particularly vulnerable after a crash while awaiting repair. Thefts not as prevalent from Prius IIIs and IVs because the cat converters are harder to get at and contain less precious metal (but, of course, a stupid thief might not know this).
17-04-2019:Another report of cat converter being stolen from a Toyota Prius Mk II (a 2008). The thieves use electric hacksaws to cut them off. There are devices to protect cat converters from this type of theft: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281977526814 or Google <catalytic converter theft prevention>
28-09-2019:Report of another cat converter theft from a Prius.
04-10-2019:Toyota advice on catalytic converter theft: https://blog.toyota.co.uk/catalytic-converter-theft-how-to-protect-your-car Toyota recommended prices for a bundle that includes a new catalyst and a Catloc are £1,000 for Prius Gen 2.
17-12-2019:This is one make of clamp: http://www.catsafe.org.uk/ This is the type recommended by Toyota: https://www.vtstore.co.uk/accessories/security/catloc-catalytic-converter-lock This is Toyota's advice: https://blog.toyota.co.uk/catalytic-converter-theft-how-to-protect-your-car
