Article Comments - 2008 Honda Fit vs. 2008 Toyota Prius

92 messages, Last post on Jan 25, 2009 at 10:36 AM

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What is this discussion about? Honda Fit, Toyota Prius, Car Comparisons, Hatchback

2008 Honda Fit vs. 2008 Toyota Prius - Thanks to a proprietary function called Edmunds.com True Cost to Own, we can answer the $8,425 question when it comes time to determine the relative value of the 2008 Honda Fit and 2008 Toyota Prius. (more)

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#57 of 92 Battery Pack has 100000 mi warranty, the average Prius last much longer by bryanunder Aug 18, 2008 (6:58 am)
The article states "plus the Toyota will be needing a new $2,585 battery pack when the odometer shows 100,000-150,000 miles". Maybe I'm just lucky but my 01' Prius is still going strong at 190000 miles and 8 years on the origional battery pack! On top of that it still has the origional 12V battery and original brake pads (thanks to regen). The only thing I have done is replace the foot pedal position sensor and the right rear wheel bearing. My general maintenence routine consist of changing the oil and oil filter and rotating the tires every 5000 miles. It has been the lowest maintenence cost and most reliable car I have ever owned.
#58 of 92 Re: Retarged [vvk] by bryanunder Aug 18, 2008 (7:23 am)
Replying to: vvk (Aug 08, 2008 5:42 am) Quote:"The biggest reason NOT to buy a Prius is lack of manual transmission." If you love shifting through the gears yourself then by all means stick with a manual transmission, But, don't forget, the Prius transmission is in a class all its own and is the key to making Toyota hybrid system work. It's single planetary gear set about the size of a coke can is a radical departure from conventional automatic transmissions. It will probably last ten times as long and it allows the car run on in stealth mode at low speed and optimize the RPM of the engine at any speed. Replies to this message: stevedebi (Aug 18, 2008 3:39 pm)
#59 of 92 Re: Retarged [bryanunder] by stevedebi Aug 18, 2008 (3:39 pm)
Replying to: bryanunder (Aug 18, 2008 7:23 am) " But, don't forget, the Prius transmission is in a class all its own and is the key to making Toyota hybrid system work." Uh, close, but no cigar. The independently developed Ford eCVT utilizes very similar technology, except Ford has about 200 additional patents that Toyota does not have available. Not to mention that Ford is VERY conservative with their battery state of charge, with battery pack longevity in mind.
#60 of 92 Ford eCVT transmission by commofficer Aug 18, 2008 (4:43 pm)
So, just to be clear here, you aren't saying that the Ford transmission will last longer than the Toyota transmission. Right? Ford might have 200 patents but they have yet to build a car that is dependable and keeps it's value like a Toyota or Honda. That's not even something that can be argued today except for maybe the Ford GT. I've owned new GM, Chrysler and Ford products and will never do it again. The Pacifica was the last straw. CRAP! Ford makes GREAT cars with diesel engines all around the World except here, of course. Sorry but you can't start to compare Ford and Toyota or Honda. They are in a very different class at this point in history and might never recover. Replies to this message: toronado455 (Aug 18, 2008 4:49 pm) stevedebi (Aug 22, 2008 4:04 pm)
#61 of 92 Re: Ford eCVT transmission [commofficer] by toronado455 Aug 18, 2008 (4:49 pm)
Replying to: commofficer (Aug 18, 2008 4:43 pm) The Fusion is good.
#62 of 92 by dirtbag Aug 18, 2008 (7:07 pm)
Just to add my two cents; the Fit and the Prius are both popular, well-made fuel efficient cars. Having seriously considered buying a Fit, mainly for its fuel economy and the fact that I like hatchbacks, I have wondered whether I should also consider a Prius for its even better fuel economy. So I enjoyed the article. It made perfect sense to me to see an article comparing these two vehicles since fuel economy and financial concerns weigh heavily on the minds of many people these days. I think most people think of both vehicles as economy cars, even though the Prius is much costlier (mostly) because of its hybrid technology. Replies to this message: stevedebi (Aug 22, 2008 4:05 pm)
#63 of 92 Re: Ford eCVT transmission [commofficer] by stevedebi Aug 22, 2008 (4:04 pm)
Replying to: commofficer (Aug 18, 2008 4:43 pm) "I've owned new GM, Chrysler and Ford products and will never do it again. The Pacifica was the last straw. CRAP! " The main point of my post was that the Toyota HSD is not unique - Ford technology is similar. But since you brought up the subject... My last two cars have been Fords, and each has had fewer initial defects than my Honda products. My last Ford had one defect after about 4 months; my FEH has had none so far (but it is still only at 5K miles). I don't buy Toyota because I don't like their ride engineering, and I had a series of bad experiences with their I4 engine on three different Camry's in the 1990's. I actually expect that the Ford eCVT will last a long time - it is similar to the HSD. So I would expect longevity to be similar. Because Ford is more conservative with their battery state of charge, I think it quite possible that the FEH battery pack will outlast the HSD packs. I think that the Ford Hybrid is holding it's resale value pretty well. I concur with your opinion of Chrysler.
#64 of 92 Re: [dirtbag] by stevedebi Aug 22, 2008 (4:05 pm)
Replying to: dirtbag (Aug 18, 2008 7:07 pm) " mainly for its fuel economy and the fact that I like hatchbacks" OK, that's twice someone has mentioned the Fit hatchback. The Prius is also a hatchback.
#65 of 92 Comparing Ford to Toyota by andres3 Aug 26, 2008 (4:44 pm)
Is like comparing Cubic Zirconia to Diamond, or "cheese product" to real California or Wisconsin cheese.
#66 of 92 Re: Fit vs. Prius [commofficer] by cbradley Oct 17, 2008 (10:59 am)
Replying to: commofficer (Aug 16, 2008 7:48 pm) I did a similar comparison of Fit vs. Prius with the added benefit of having a rental Prius for about a month. My last car was stolen and I was given a Prius to drive and I was excited to see what the hype was about first hand for a relatively long period of time. I was pretty disappointed overall with the Prius by the end of the month, especially for the pricetag. My biggest complaints lie with the feel of the car/engines while driving, the poor interior, and the complexity involved with maintenance and repairs. 1. The feel of the car/engine -- When I drove the Prius, I felt very disconnected to the road, almost as if I were turning a steering wheel on a video game console instead of driving a car on the road. I was also discouraged by the noisiness of the Prius in the cabin while driving. It could have been the cheap tires the rental company had on the car, but the sound of every bump or crack on the road is amplified in the cabin. The Prius did handle reasonably well and the slim track width made driving in the city easy. But, if you compare these benefits to the Fit, there is no advantage to the Prius. 2. The interior -- Wow, do I have an extensive list of complaints about the shoddy interior of the Prius. Not much on the dashboard's control panel feels instinctive to me and the materials (plastics, textiles, etc.) look and feel very cheap. Another major complaint of the interior is the lack of lighting on the dash. None of the buttons outside of what is on the touch-screen are illuminated making it impossible to see them at night. There are also no tactile guides for the buttons or controls on the dashboard, which makes the Prius somewhat dangerous if someone behind the wheel is fumbling around in the dark for the audio controls. The Prius also underwhelmed me with the cargo space. The Prius's interior cabin is roomy, but not in comparison to the '09 Fit. I was extremely impressed with the '09 Fit's interior--it really feels and looks high-end for a small price tag not to mention the enormous cargo space you get with the Fit. 3. The complexity involved with maintenance and repairs -- Everything in the Prius is electronically-controlled (brakes, steering, etc.), and most interior things by a touch-screen system on the dash. It is always more complicated (and more expensive), to maintain, fix, or replace electronically-controlled components of any automobile (my fiance is a BMW technician, and can definitely attest to this). The Fit's owner's manual is a pretty good testament to the simplicity of the repairs. Yes, there are electronic components to the Fit, but certainly not as many as the Prius. While I never needed to worry about maintenance of the rented Prius, I imagine those costs would add up in comparison to the Fit. If you are trying to purchase a new fuel-efficient car, there are a number of articles and studies done comparing the Prius to the Fit in overall cost and fuel-efficiency and all the reports have come back with the Fit ahead in these comparisons. One of the only issue I have with the Fit right now is the supply certainly hasn't caught up to the demand for the car, so most prices are either at or above MSRP. I paid slightly higher than MSRP for my 2009 Fit, but couldn't be happier with the 2nd generation. I know this review may sound like I work for Honda Fit's marketing division, but I was really considering a Prius as the replacement for my stolen car and went into the month of having the rental Prius as a great long-term test-drive. Unfortunately for Toyota, the Prius fell short. Replies to this message: backy (Oct 17, 2008 1:42 pm) cbradley (Oct 20, 2008 9:21 am) backy (Oct 20, 2008 9:51 am) kdhspyder (Oct 20, 2008 3:34 pm) railroadjames (Oct 20, 2008 7:20 pm)