I haven't posted on this blog in years - about 6 years in fact - and many things have happened in the intervening years. We've moved house, changed jobs, got a dog ... and changed cars; not our Toyota Prius though! Yes, we're still proud Prius owners!
The Prius has been a quiet, unassuming, dependable servant that's always there for us. It's picked us up when other cars have failed. And it continues to do this as cheaply and economically as it has always done.
The Prius has always been our second car. We've had two Volvos in the intervening years and one Peugeot 5008. Our old Volvo S40 saloon (sedan) we bought for £900 and ran for 3 years until the gearbox and suspension faced repairs that were too costly to make sense to do, given the age and residual value of the car. We sold it to a breaker and thought we had got good value-for-money motoring from it - so no gripes. We then had a 2003 Volvo XC90 2.9T 4x4 (SUV) converted to LPG. It was the most unreliable car we've had the misfortune to own. That saga could easily fill many blog posts. I can feel the vein in my temple throbbing at just the mere thought of it. It was sold and replaced by a 2010 Peugeot 5008 people carrier (MPV). For three years it proved okay and then the problems started. Being French, it involved electrical issues. It's also had its fair share of other problems like broken springs which seem to be thinner than older ones, perhaps a victim of areas where manufacturers are trying to save weight. With too many problems, it's now due to be sold too, which is a shame, as it was a good load lugger, capacious, comfortable and economical for a vehicle of its size. However, repair bills eat into any savings made from the running costs.
In all this time, the Prius filled in the gap as sole family transport whilst we were in between 'main' cars. We've had two holiday trips where the Peugeot was all set to take us, only to let us down the day before the trip and force us to use the Prius. I say "force", but that sounds unfair. It's only the size of the luggage capacity that becomes an issue when a family of four set off in the Prius for a holiday. We solved that by using a roof box. The thing is - and this has always been the case in eight years of Prius ownership now - when you want to use the Prius, you can. It's just there. Waiting for you. Come what may. I love my Prius for that.
So, I'll be resurrecting posting to this blog to share my long term owner experience and cover all the aspects, both good and bad, in the hope that it is of interest and use to others.
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