Buying a used Prius

SECOND-HAND SENSE: One of the first things to cross your mind when considering the technology-laden Toyota Prius as a second…

SECOND-HAND SENSE: One of the first things to cross your mind when considering the technology-laden Toyota Prius as a second-hand investment, is just what would happen if all that technology were to start going wrong ? All very well being part of a significant move to protect the environment, but if it is going to start costing a stack of money to keep in on the road, that might be another matter entirely.

Well, Toyota offers an eight-year guarantee on all those gizmos that make the Prius the early wonder of the new motoring world. The car works by harnessing a combination of electrical and petrol power through what is known as a hybrid synergy drive - it sounds complicated, but it's not really and it certainly is not a difficult car to drive.

The fact that the Prius is really the only truly environmentally-friendly family car on the road makes it a rare breed. It is a car that will take time to grow on you and when you see the kind of fuel savings you can make - a 45 mpg return is not unusual - it will grow on you even faster.

When you first sit in the Prius and press the start button, you will probably end up like I did and sit there waiting for something to happen and hoping no one was watching. But there is only silence because the electric motor is the first to kick in - the engine comes in only when it needs to. Engage the straightforward automatic gearbox and off you glide on the cleanest and quietest driving experience most of us will ever experience.

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The original Prius, launched some five years ago, was a car whose technology triumphed over its looks. Frankly, it really did not have any looks to speak of and even the technology has been improved on with the newer model, launched here earlier this year. This time around there has been a better reception for the car, with 200 now sold.

The Prius makes for a good second-hand buy, but there are some criticisms and there is room for improvement. The boot, for instance, could be a deal bigger, the electric motor does not last all that long on its own, the handling is a bit loose and the consumption figures are not all that Toyota might like us to believe.

But the deal does come at a cost. The Prius is scarce on the ground and, even with a Budget break from the Minister for Finance, it still comes in expensively. The only two second-hands we could track down both look like ex-demo models from garages. Both are 2004 models, the first with 7,000 miles on the clock and priced at €27,500 and the second has 4,500 miles on the clock and an asking price of €26,000.

We do not have Euro NCAP crash test results for the first generation Prius, but the newer model already has its five stars out of a possible five. That makes it a very safe package indeed.