Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Bought a Prius for the obvious economy benefits, having done the V8 thing in the Lexus. This was a jump from one extreme to another, and I absolutely loved the Lexus, but she was an expensive habit that I had to give up.

We originally weren't going to buy new, but decided that for peace of mind around the hybrid system (8 year warranty), the extra expenditure was worth it. Economy is great at an average of 5L/100km compared to about 11L/100km in the Lexus. I know there are more economical cars out there, but most are diesels and the RUC system in NZ does not favour an economical diesel car. Obviously because of our previous car, the economy has been a massive factor, but what really surprised me is how well this car performs. I do miss the V8 grunt and overtaking ability, but with a 100km/h limit, there's no real need for that sort of power, and the Prius has NEVER felt slow and is quite capable of overtaking, and we often overtake lots of people going up hills.

Practicality is awesome. We can easily fit two adult mountain bikes in the car with the back seats folded down, and when we go away, there's no lack of space.

The stereo is great, and bluetoothing the phone to use Spotify is excellent. The Bluetooth phone functionality is also great, and all the on board computer gadgetry is fun to play with. Trying to get the best fuel economy is a continuous game, and I've had it as low as 3.1L/100km on a run into the local town and back. I was driving like a nana, and I never drive like that if someone is behind me!

I'm a big fan of efficiency (which is why I bought a Lexus V8 instead of a guzzling Holden/Ford V8), and the Prius makes me happy every time I drive it.

The CVT transmission is a bit weird, as there are no gear changes - when you floor it, the engine revs go up and stay there while the car gets faster and faster. However, most of the time you don't notice it.

Not had a service yet, but the purchasing experience was brilliant at Toyota - but we were spending a wad of cash, so it will be interesting to see how the (free) servicing goes.

Only thing I wish it had is a bigger battery, as we often "fill" the battery up coming down a hill and the (petrol) engine braking kicks in, which feels like a waste.