Used 2012 Toyota Prius One 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT) Consumer Reviews
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as advertised, and a bit better.
Sam, Nixa, MO, 04/07/2016
updated 10/16/2017
Toyota Prius One 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
17 of 17 people found this review helpful
Bought a 2012 Prius 6 months ago, and I've put about 8000 miles on it. Observations: Very good in bad weather. It's heavy, with a 4 cyl engine, electric motor, and battery pack over the rear wheels. Stable. Driving on hilly roads with sleet coming down and cars going off left and right, I never lost grip. Felt very secure. Wife drives a Nissan Pathfinder, and the Prius is better on snow (less clearance, of course). There's a BIG difference in MPG if you drive 65 or 75. I can average over 50 on my 45 mile highway commute (rather hilly) if I drive 65. I average perhaps 40 if I drive much over 70. The Prius is much louder at higher speeds. At 65, it's not too loud, and it's pretty peaceful. The car has a decent JBL stereo, and it covers up the noise. Speed up another 10 miles an hour, and the road noise and wind noise is significant. Headache loud. So, if you are willing to drive 65 and get passed a lot, the car will treat you better. And I timed it, by the way: I save about 3-5 minutes by going 10 miles an hour faster, on average. Not worth it, to me. Goes up hills much easier than I thought it would. Not at all gutsy, but gets the job done. Engine drones in most unpleasant manner under hard acceleration . . . almost as if Toyota purposefully tuned it to sound ugly so as to encourage me to not floor it. MPG is as advertised, around 50. In town, if I drive carefully, I can get much more--up to 70. Then, though, I'm probably irritating people behind me. But it's fun to try to keep the gas engine off for as much as possible. 6 months later, all is still good. Boring, now that the novelty has worn off, but still getting over 50 mpg. My gas savings is enough to make 80% of the payment. Couple of years have passed. No reliability issues. 50k miles. Boring car, but still getting about 48 mpg on hilly commute.
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Needs a little design rework
solarweis, Kirkland, WA, 08/16/2014
Toyota Prius One 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
10 of 12 people found this review helpful
It's not a bad little car, we call it our "road rat", I use it as a commuter car mainly on the highway. I've expressed concerns with the steering wheel not being straight while going down a straight road, about it pulling and having to hold pressure on the steering wheel to keep it going straight, Toyota says the car is fine. I don't agree, I don't want to exercise the entire time I'm in the car driving. It wears out the edge of the left tire, it took a while, but both front and rear exhibit the same problem, due to tire rotations. New tires and alignment indicate the rear Toe is out of spec, but it's not adjustable. The engine is noisy when your trying to speed up, it roars, so strange.
2012 Toyota Prius for sale near you
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- Three Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $3,600163 mi away
- Four Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $3,000163 mi away
- Five Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $10,900164 mi away
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Great car in town or long haul
Duncan Beardsley, San Mateo, CA, 01/22/2017
updated 07/23/2019
Toyota Prius One 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
We loved the mileage - 30,000 miles average 42.7 miles to the gallon on regular. We hadn't anticipated that we would take it on long trips, but have ended up doing so as the car operates so efficiently. We had been told it didn't have any acceleration when getting on a freeway. Not True. He have never felt that there wasn't additional power when we asked for it. Finally with the fold down back seats we have been able to transport all sorts of things that we hadn't expected would fit.
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Best car I've ever owned... by far.
Chris, 07/05/2024
Toyota Prius One 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Bought my 2012 Prius with 14,000kms back in 2014... straight out of the showroom. They had to boost it so I could take it for a test drive. I was looking for an economical change from my Nissan Xterra, and wouldn't you know it, the money I saved on fuel made my car payments and then some. I still own the car in 2024 (eleventh year of ownership), which surpasses anyone's expectations cause I'd never owned a car for more than a few years in the past, with the average being about 6 months. Now, I've owned a Z06 Corvette and I've built a 347 stroker engine to put in my fox body Mustang... so I'm what the Brits would call a 'petrol-head'. Over the years however, I got tired of repairing vehicles. Any adrenaline junky will back my up here, it's expensive getting your speed fix. Back to the Prius, that battery they charged when I bought it (the one I thought I'd need to replace before the following winter)? I just changed it this year... 10 years of -45 Celsius extremes, never plugging it in (block heaters need to be plugged in for those southern folks) and never missing a beat. Here are the repairs I've had to do over the last decade, now with 311,000km: Brake pads, brake rotors, sway bar bushings, spark plugs, coil packs, tire repair/replacement, oil changes. THAT IS IT!!! In ten years! I mean, the peace of mind alone makes this an amazing car. But I actually enjoy driving the thing. It's WAY more spacious than my wife's 2014 Corolla S, better on fuel, and actually accelerates slightly better (don't scoff, it's true). And then the fuel economy... well, at $1.55 CDN per liter (over $6 per gallon), let's just say I still don't stress about fuel prices. Highly recommended, this car. I'm pumped to get the new one, with over 200hp, great looks, and available AWD, yes please!
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Really enjoyed the 51 miles per gallon.
Cheryl, Chico, CA, 06/02/2016
updated 06/04/2018
Toyota Prius One 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
8 of 25 people found this review helpful
The Fuel economy was unbelievable. Good, excellent even, but: and it's a big one. The machine rides like a buckboard. Rough, very rough. The struts do not do the job. If you live down the street from your work and all are paved roads in good repair then it's worth considering for the fuel savings alone. The resale value/ trade-in was not all it was cracked up to be. The largest disappointment were the mice. Literally. We had mice in the battery compartment, mice in the spare, mice in the rear seat. Mice in the ac. The mice were colonies. The fought, they died, they stunk, and stunk and stunk until we had to give up the ride. They came in though the engine cowling at the hood, under the wipers. They chewed through the cabin filter. We had them cleaned out by the dealership once, very expensive, and the car sanitized. They came again, we cleaned it out ourselves and placed wire over the air intakes under the wipers (YouTube) but during the summer every time we hit a bump, you guessed it: The smell of decaying mice through the air vents. Finally we traded for a Subaru. it's a much better ride but I sure do miss that 51 mpg. Finally traded that rascal for a Subaru Forester, a much better vehicle but only about 30 mpg hwy. The Prius was good for the gas mileage but little else. It rode like a buckboard, had no room, attracted mice and was poorly constructed. The struts were terrible.
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