Find solution
Is the Toyota Prius a good first Car?

Is buying a used Toyota Prius for my first car at age 16 a good idea?

  • I'm 16 and I've been looking at used 04 Prius's and I would love to get one when I save up. Should I?

  • Answer:

    They are amazing cars that are easy to own. They require very little maintenance. They have timing chains that don't need replacing, they don't have a conventional transmission, starter, alternator or power steering pump that can go bad. The wheel brakes last forever because the motor/generators do most of the braking work. They are fun and easy to drive. The hatchback is also very versatile. With the back seats folded down, you can fit furniture pieces, 3 bikes, or two medium dogs inside. You can also sleep in it and have a great view of the stars through the hatchback glass. They are good snow cars if they have decent tires on them. The features are also really nice. Most of them have smart-key so you never need to get the keys out--it knows you have them. The interior lights come on when you get close to the car and the doors unlock when you touch the door handle. The rear window defroster and wiper are really nice to have. There are lots of secret storage compartments. The sound-system's good. They're also safe. The anti-lock brakes stop the car faster than many car's I've tried. Traction-control is standard. It has front and side air-bags. It also has nice crash protection. I was hit in the side by a Caddilac. It spun me clear around but the impact was so gentle that it took me a little while to realize what had happened. The car absorbed the whole impact and there were no intrusions into the passenger compartment. A body shop was able to completely repair the car--it's difficult to tell it was in a significant accident.

Landon C at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

yes it's a great first car. it saves you lots of gas money and is a decent car to own.

alvin

There are two views on what should be a first car: A. Get a cheap used car because new drivers often get into accidents due to lack of driving experience. A cheap used car cost less when it gets wrecked. - There is not much to say about this veiw. It's pretty self explanatory. It's also what most people do. B. Get the safest car you can find because you can always replace a car but you can't replace the driver. One of the safest cars out there is the Prius, and here's why: 1. There are four braking systems on the Prius: - Regenerative brakes - Friction brakes - Engine brakes - Parking brakes 2. Vehicle stability control: - A system that prevents doughnuts during slippery conditions if you are going anything like a reasonable speed. Studies from Europe and Japan indicate that VSC reduces head-on collisions by over 30%. Other cars have this feature, but not in the Prius' price range. 4. Brake assist: - A system that applies extra force to the brake pedal when it senses an emergency stop. Studies by Mercedes indicate that people press the brakes quickly but not hard enough. Brake assist compensates for this tendency. 5. Brake override: - A system that stops the acceleration when the brake pedal is pressed firmly. 6. The smooth acceleration of the Prius (there are no gears that shift) helps prevent you rear-ending someone if they slow down right after stopping. (An old fashioned economy car typically has a very low first gear to disguise the fact the engine is small--this creates rapid acceleration up to about 10 mph after which the acceleration bogs down. The Prius smoothly accelerates up to it's maximum speed of about 105 mph which is controlled by the system.) 7. Optionally in the 2010 Prius: - Radar pre-collision - Lane keep Many of these systems prevent the accident in the first place. The best accident is one you don't have. Besides the safety aspects, the Prius is a mid-size car so there is more room for friends and equipment. It has low maintenance requirements and a very high owner satisfaction rating. I purchased my first Prius (a 2001) for my wife (who was also a new driver at the time). It was so good that I got a 2004 for myself. It's been one of the most exciting and fun-to-drive cars I've ever driven. The 2001 now has 85,000 trouble-free miles and the 2004 has 120,000.

JerryJ

Sounds like a good choice to me. Small and easy to park and maneuver. Safe and reliable. Enough power, but not enough to get you into trouble.

Chauncey Q. Buttercup

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.