TOYOTA PRIUS [merged threads]

**carlocaraddict** · January 9th, 2006 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by number001

Ever wondered what happened to the famous presidential hybrid car?

Here it is, President GMA's Toyota Prius at Toyota Bicutan.

nandyan pa kaya yan sa wed? I havnt seen one. Gusto ko sana makita ng actual hehehe

**gearspeed** · January 9th, 2006 10:18 PM

Makadaan nga sa toyota bicutan sa wednesday bago ako pumunta sa petron ..

**number001** · January 9th, 2006 11:00 PM

I think the Prius would still be there, since the Bicutan dealership is Toyota's new flagship dealership showroom and no better place to display their supposed technological prowress in the shape and form of a Prius owned by Pres. GMA, if not, the Phil gov't.

Although, I didnt ask, I think it (the interiors) is not open for public viewing. May secu pa tabi parati!

:D

**Andrei28** · January 9th, 2006 11:51 PM

Pera pa rin ng Pilipinas pina-pang gas dyan.

**picantorange** · January 10th, 2006 03:41 AM

At least it's better than Suburbans na pera din ng Pinas ang pinangbabayad sa gas.

**AG4** · January 11th, 2006 12:15 PM

If Toyota decides to sell the new Prius here its going to be expensive since it will most likely be a CBU from Japan.

Would you buy a Prius for P1.4M - P1.5M?

For comparisson a conventional Corolla Altis 1.6E M/T costs P765K.

**ale828** · January 11th, 2006 11:15 PM

In our heavy traffic conditions in Metro Manila, the toyota Hybrid can easily get better fuel economy than a 1.3 jazz. Its just in places like the US and UK wherein Their bumper to bumper traffic is comparable to our light-moderate traffic here. A 1.3 Jazz would get better mileage in mixed city/highway drives and in full highway mode, but the idea of having the hybrid is for heavy traffic conditions.

**number001** · January 11th, 2006 11:45 PM

The Second Gen Prius is said to get 19km/li. Even if the Jazz manages less km. to the liter, it (Jazz) is still the better choice given the price point of the Prius.

**niky** · January 12th, 2006 10:22 AM

The Prius will use almost no gas in heavy traffic, true... but the AC will. I'm on a number of foreign boards and talking with those guys, I'm amazed at how their daily commute mileage numbers are equal to our "trip to Baguio" or "mileage challenge" numbers. But then, they have less congestion, and a cooler climate.

The newer Prius has an electric compressor, yes, but only as an auxiliary. If you're in traffic long enough here in the Philippines, the other one will kick in, and it runs off the motor.

Me and a bud attended a mileage challenge and got 23 km/l in traffic. Someone else got 29 km/l in that traffic. I told my pilot that part of our "poor" :lol: numbers were due to his aircon settings (I felt they were too high). So, considering we used 1.9 liters for the whole run and she used only 1.5... two and a half hours of AC in traffic only used 0.4 liters of gas. (about 15 pesos or so). Not bad, huh?

So given 15 pesos a day in savings for the AC (which lowers to 10 pesos a day if it's hot... as the Prius gas engine turns on when you use the main AC compressor instead of the reportedly weak electric auxiliary), and maybe 30-50 pesos worth of gas in the case of bad traffic (could be less... our city numbers were nearly identical to the highway mileage of other contestants)... you'll probably save around 20,000 a year if you drive about 50-100km everyday.

To make up the possible 700k price difference between a Jazz and a Prius, you'll need to drive for 35 years. Both cars would have run into the ground way before then. And before the tenth year mark, you would have to spend a fortune on replacing the expensive and non-eco-friendly batteries.

And Toyota still isn't selling the Prius at a profit, despite the higher price. They write off the extra cost as advertising. I think more credence should be given to Honda for trying to create more efficient gas engines, and for supporting Natural Gas initiatives. Honda's hybrids, the Civic Hybrid and the Accord Hybrid, are marketed by Honda on their assets alone, and are not over-hyped as hybrid. Honda is trying to make hybrids accessible to the more common consumers.

**mazdamazda** · January 12th, 2006 10:35 AM

IMO

right now, hybrids only make sense for SUVs and trucks. since they'll gain a more noticeable fuel economy improvement compared to those hybrid sedans.

and there's another problem... batteries... battery technology hasn't advanced over the past few years. imagine in the future that you can use your mobile phone's battery to run your car too! hehehe. in any case, hybrid is not a solid viable option for the long run. fuel cells is still the way to go.