2008 Toyota Prius consumer reviews

I've had my 2008 Prius for about a month. This is the best car I've ever owned. It has put the fun back into driving. I'm getting a solid 48mpg per tank. For me, there is nothing to dislike. I had to pay full sticker price, but not over. Availability was about 1 week, not months like others have had to wait.

I traded my 2001 for a 2007. At first I didn't like the hatchback or poor visibility. Once I realized I could get my bike in and out of it w/o damage, I changed my mind. Not as cute as my old Prius, but the mileage I'm getting currently (summer) is AWESOME (between 48 and 51 mpg, even with the AC on). The mileage did melt down when it was cold out, but it always started right up, and warmed up quickly. Air stream near the pedals could be better; still a wonderful car.

Everything about the 2008 PRIUS is GREAT! I ordered mine and have had it now for 2 months. It just keeps getting better and better. I am averaging 50.6 - 52.4 miles a gallon, "WOW" did I say that loud enough "WOW"!!! I have package # 6. I love the ride (so smooth), the leather seats, the GPS that is built in, the Blue Tooth Phone system, the Six CD Changer, and how roomy the back seat is to ride in. Before I ordered my 2008 PRIUS I read many reviews, what has surprised me was how folks said the break in the back window bothered them. I am 5' 9'' and in no way is it in my way. They also spoke about the back up signal beeping. It's no big deal, I do kinda wonder why they made the sound inside verses on the out side. I have been so pleased with the car over all. I have told my family and friends all about my new 2008 PRIUS, they have ALL been impressed. As a matter of fact my brother & sister -in- law are now looking into buying one also. For those of you out there who have been thinking about getting a PRIUS, wait no longer ... you will be happy with the decision you made to buy one also. I hope this has helped someone out there thinking about buying a PRIUS. I know when I read what others had written I went and test drove one and ordered it the same day. I went from a Chrysler 300 HEMI C, 12 - 13 miles per gallon at best, to this wonderful Toyota 2008 PRIUS!!!

Purchased our Package #2 in April of 2008 and have put approximately 2200 miles on it. The Prius is amazing. The car is big and surprisingly powerful when needed. We've done some research on how to drive the car to maximize mileage, and we are consistently getting 60 MPG around town and 50 on the highway here in Florida. We don't use the a/c a great deal (it knocks 5-10% off of the mileage), but we love playing with the display to set the temperature to an exact degree. The car handles incredibly well and is very smooth to drive or ride in. The outside shape isn't the most aesthetically pleasing for us, but we love its hatchback design. Overall, a great car!

If you are trying to buy a Prius (waiting lists, etc) don't be turned off when someone says it cost about $5,000 more than a comparable gas vehicle. The salespeople have to say that because they have so many "other" vehicles in inventory they need to sell to feed their familes. I think everything has been said time and again about how great the Prius really is, and its all true, because I own one too. What isn't said is how much the Prius (or Honda Civic) will be worth come trade-in time. The trade-in value will more than make up for the up front cost. If you don't believe that, try buying a used one! Oh, and if the add has been on the internet for over two days, don't waste a call, it's already sold!

Gets great gas mileage. Could use a little more head room getting into the car. Would like to see darker cloth seats.

I leased the Prius for one reason. The supposed EPA of 40mpg highway and 48 city. When I first got the car it was averaging around 22mpg in city driving. I called the dealership and the service manager said that you needed to put at least 1000 miles on the car to determine mileage and that it was typical to get low mileage in the beginning. I took him at his word. Now the car has 1100 plus miles and the last big chunk of miles (230) averaged just under 28 mpg. All of this was city driving. Interestingly, on the highway, it gets close to 50mpg. Unfortunately, I am almost never on the freeway so I am paying for technology that isn't working. I took the car to the dealer and was told that all tests on the car were normal and there was nothing wrong with it. He said that 1100 isn't a lot of miles and my driving style might have something to do with it. That's interesting, because I have been driving something akin to a very old person most of the time, with very slow acceleration and slow stops. I have also tried faster accelerations in various degrees. Nothing seems to affect the mileage in any significant way. I must not be the only one with this problem because I see there is at least one class action suit against Toyota. Looks like I will be adding my name to that list. The worst part of the experience is the lack of any support from Miller Toyota. BUYER BEWARE.

I have a jeep liberty that only gets about 17mpg so I was searching for a prius......good luck finding one...but I finally found a used one I took it.......It is great....handles great and what more do you need to say about the gas mileage!! Just a great car

I had my 08 Prius for 8 days when I was in a major 6 car accident on an interstate during rush hour in New Jersey. A large tractor trailer hit the vehicle behind me, pushing him into me. One week was all I had to drive this, now its in the shop. So heres my personal experience with how the Prius held up. It was a rear collison. The rear cargo area was crumpled. Bumper detatched. HOWEVER.... If there were passengers in the rear seats, they would have suffered minor injuries if any at all. Assuming they were wearing setbelts. I only suffered minor soft tissue damage to my neck. The tires did not even puncture. I loved the car up until that point, and considering its compact size and being involved in a bad accident, I would HIGHLY reccomend this regarding safety. Hopefully, I will get it back good as new soon!

I bought a 2008 Prius package #2 about 4 months ago, and I already have about 7,500 miles on the car. I regularly get about 49-50 mpg, which is cutting my monthly gas bill almost in half when compared to my old car. It's great saving gas when the gas engine shuts off in a traffic jam or fast food drive-thru. This car is probably saving me about $100 per month, which should eventually pay off the extra cost of the hybrid when compared to non-hybrid cars. On top of everything, I feel good about saving gas and helping out the world a little bit. I bought the Prius over the Civic Hybrid for four reasons: (1) The backseat of the Prius can fold down, while the Civic Hybrid's backseat can't. Therefore, I can transport many more things in the back of the Prius, including my large 5-piece drum set, young trees for my garden, and two bikes. I even folded down the backseat of the Prius once and slept in the back while camping! I wouldn't be able to do that in a Civic Hybrid. (2) The Prius' "TV screen", including the real-time mpg monitor and the backup camera, was more advanced than what the Civic Hybrid was offering. (3) I felt more comfortable with Toyota's reliability than with Honda's. (4) The Toyota just felt like a new, cool car, instead of an old Civic with a hybrid system bolted onto it. I've had no problems whatsoever with the car. In terms of performance, the car's acceleration is similar to that of an old Civic or Corolla. There is plenty of power to accelerate and pass people at a reasonable pace. Regarding your mpg's, it really depends on how you drive. You will get better mpg's the slower that you drive (best is around 40 mph), the hotter the outside temperature, the longer your trips, the flatter the drive, and the less you have an iron foot. The worst mpg's I ever had was about 35 mpg, driving on a ski trip in snow chains through a snowstorm in a mountainous area. The best mpg's I ever had was about 73 mpg, driving downhill about for about an hour. My favorite features: smart-key system, low mpg's, real-time mpg screen, control buttons on the steering wheel. My least favorite features: low visibility out of the back (I recommend the back-up camera), the car rides low to the ground and therefore scrapes the ground sometimes when exiting steep driveways.