The story starts in 1997 when Toyota decided to sell a car between the Corolla and Camry in North America. The vehicle must be on hybrid platform in order to compete with Honda Insight, which was 2 seater at that time. It was available with only two standard features; only the air conditioning and electric power steering and due to the batteries, there was no space in the boot so generation 1 (NhW10) lived for mere five years only.
The actual Prius story though, starts from Gen 2 (NHW20).
Toyota’s Chief Engineer, Shigeyuki Hori had redesigned the whole car this time. He went for the hatchback style and put incredible system in it making the Gen 2 a huge success, also thanks to green environmental fans and Hollywood celebrities who bought a Prius as a service to the nature.
Toyota also decided to sell gen 2 in Europe where due to its mileage and rising petrol prices, it immediately became their best selling car in Europe. It even outclassed Corolla from Europe where today, very few Corollas are sold.
Since this year it has became one of the most imported cars in Pakistan and some exporters has sad that if the current situation of fuel price stays for more then 4 years, than Toyota might assemble it in Pakistan.
PRACTICAL TERMS:
It is a five seat car which makes it practical for average Pakistani family while the interior quality is and there are plenty of places to hide your things.
Well Prius was built around great mileage and so with the ongoing energy crisis in Pakistan, it can perform better than any other car and it is safe too, as crash tests are done in US and Europe and has performed great.
American and Europeon media will always say that Prius is a dull and a slow car and it might be slow for them but it isn’t slow for Pakistan as its 0 to 100km time is faster then some local cars. Yes, when electric motor is engaged than it is a but boring but overall, speed and ride quality is good for our road.
like all other cars imported cars, the issue of its service and spare parts is a potential hazard for the buyer as these are electronic cars in strict sense and because it is new in Pakistan you might have to struggle for this. Rears also might be an issue for some, prices of current listed Prius car’s at Pakwheels.com starts from RS 16 lakhs and is likely to stable at RS14lakhs after two years if toyota decided to make it here which might be possible after few years it may be come around at similar price to Corolla as there have been reports in the popular media that Indus Motors is currently testing two hybrid vehicles.
how much is the life of the batteries and their cost if have to be replaced.
totally worth a buy!
Shit car but good to have in Pakistan.
Considering that Pakistan also has a severe electricity crisis, does it not mean that this car is not as viable as put forward in this glowing article?
it does not require an electricity connection for charging. (atleast the non-plugin version we have in pakistan).
what about when it rains here and the roads become swimming pools.
you should do some research before posting a stupid post … the car does not need electricity to charge .. its a hybrid .. engine + motor combo and is self charging when you are using it.
very nice car I like.
For side graphics, Famous Sticker Zone can help.
The prius engine is sealed and impervious to water, so drive it in a swimming pool if you want!!
think 1000 times before buying this car. and search Google for possible issues. spare pars wont be available in pakistan at all. and they are not in in many other countries as well. you will have to import form abroad (japan).even if radiator water pump fails, your car would be parked for months till the part arrives. no spare part is available in market.
also, batteries cost around 250,000. car is giving average of 20km /liter. just calculate if you buy this car for 15lacs, and even after 3 years, you have to replace batteries, the cost of batteries would be recovered in 4-5 years as compared to local manufactured corolla that gives an average of approx 14 or 15km/l. absolutely bull shit. if the complex electronic inverter fails, your car would be immovable unless you call lifter that would lift front wheels of car to take it away because the drive is all electronic, and you cannot put the car in neutral if electronics are not working fine. finally, ac is all electric, means local market wont be able to repair it :P. concluding comment: if you do not believe on my comments, just go to market to check availability of spares, also go to Toyota and ask them if they provide support for hybrid.
so, do not buy this vehicle till they are locally manufactured OR hundreds of cars gets stolen for spare parts to be available in market. otherwise you may feel peace of mind for the first year, and you and your family may be in hell lot of trouble when you wont be able to fid any spare part. because, whatsoever the car may be, when you would drive it, it would definitely require spare pars and maintenance.
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Well Prius was built around great mileage and so with the ongoing energy crisis in Pakistan, it can perform better than any other car and it is safe too, as crash tests are done in US and Europe and has performed great.
Malik Abdullah Hanif yes, you are right, but jus think, after a minor accident, you send you car to junk because of non availability
of parts 😛 and i mentioned the mileage just to calculate that it costs actually more than the petrol cars 🙂
bus ker day naveeday everyone knows japanese cars kay spare parts mushkil say miltay hain aur is prius kay to blkl bhe nahi … i m sure every one who buys this car knows this bfr purchasing…
Faraz Khalid apart from parts, another issue is technology as well. simple efi cars are beyond the understanding of technicians and mechanics, so how would they be able to sort out 100 amperes 300 volts 3 phase 2 motors hybrid inverter lolx….
naveed again jo laita hai i m sure he knows what he l face in near future…