Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help?

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Sat 17 Jul 2010 20:00
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Palladion

Hello,

i am in the proccess of buying a used vehicle and i would like your advice!I am between a 2004 Nissan Almera 1.8 (gasoline powered 4 speed automatic with 55.000 Km on the clock and price 6.300 Euros) and a Toyota Prius (any year between 2005 and 2009 and price from 12.000 to 15.000 Euros). The Almera has very good reliability ratings,but,on the other hand,is quite expensive on fuel (i think that this is the case,since it is a 4 speed torque converter automatic fitted to a 1.8 liter engine) and tax (here...in Greece... gasoline has a price of -approximately-1.50 Euros per liter (and it is predicted that its price will rise even more),the annual tax of a 2004 conventional car with a 1.8 liter engine is 252 Euros (this is the data for 2010,as nobody knows what its going to happen the following year...),plus if you buy a car-even a used one-you must pay another tax for having the car registered in your name etc etc

On the other hand,the Toyota Prius is-well,this is clearly subjective-a not so beautiful car...It is complicated in terms of construction and all the technology feautures that it uses,which rases (atlist in my mind) some questions in terms of its reliability...but...it has not an annual tax,it does not consume the amount of fuel that a traditional automatic consumes,its insurance costs are lower and having the car registered to your name does not require any extra cost,since it is a hybrid... Also,in Greece,there is not any restriction for hybrids,as it is the case with conventional cars,in terms of driving into the city center (speaking for Athens).

So,the Almera is,clearly,an easier target to achieve,but the Prius seems an easier car to live with,having in mind todays economical status (and the fact that i dont like manual transmission cars)...

If you had to choose between those two cars,wich one would you buy and why?

Ps:Please,forgive if my English arent that good.

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Sat 17 Jul 2010 20:16
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Collos25

The prius is ok until you have to buy a set of batteries they are horrible cars to drive expensive for parts heavy on fuel compared with other similar cars and check your insurance In Germany they are very expensive to insure.With all the cars that are available I cannot think of a worse pair.By the way your English is near perfect.

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Sat 17 Jul 2010 23:49
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Palladion

Thank you for your answer! I have to say that,there was a time,when i had been thinking about getting a car with an automated manual transmission,like the VAGs group DSG or, alternatively,the well known,but not so well received from the public,MMT from Toyota.But,having read so many negative posts on the internet about problems with that kind of gearboxes and the expensive repaires that they require (not to mention that,in Greece,the majority of mechanics have not even the slightest idea of how to repair,not only an automated manual,but even a traditional TC automatic....and the repaires are quite expensive),i was really discouraged from the purchase of such a product!

My bigest concerns are two:Reliability and low running costs (along with a reasonable purchase price...of an automatic car).If the car is beautiful,then it is even better.I am affraid that,in todays world,i am asking way too much!

Ps:I am also playing with the idea of a Nissan Micra auto (not the CVT one,of course).Is it any good?

Edited by Palladion on 17/07/2010 at 23:56

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 15:29
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Avant

The Prius has had very good ratings in reliability surveys, despite the complicated mechanicals: when they get old, batteries will be an expensive item to replace. Otherwise the Prius is excellent in town, but the previous version (the one I think you're looking at) is less happy on motorways where the petrol engine sounds strained.

I've never driven an Almera but those who have them say they're a good, reliable, unexciting workhorse to get you from A to B.

A Micra is much smaller - OK for town driving.

If you want something more rewarding to drive on the open road, also consider a Focus or a Golf.

If your driving is mainly in and around Athens, if I were you I'd go for the Prius. Make sure you get one with full service history.

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 18:08
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Berisford

I was at the Toyota factory last week on a 'jolly' and they (Toyota) claimed no-one has ever had to put a new set of batteries in a Prius and the expensive battery replacement myth is indeed a myth!

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 11:51
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - pyruse

The mechanicals in the Prius are actually simpler than those in most other cars.

It's just a planetary gearbox - an extremely robust thing widely used in buses and other commercial vehicles.

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Sun 18 Jul 2010 19:00
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - colinh

Unless you are doing a very high mileage the difference in running costs is going to be insignificant compared to the difference in purchase price. Even at €1.50 per litre the difference in purchase price is probably going to provide 2 to 4 years petrol

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 11:49
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - pyruse

I've owned both.

The Almera used to return about 35 MPG in general use - over 40 on a long run.

The Prius returned about 50 MPG .

Both are nice cars to drive, with plenty of acceleration. Both are reliable.

As others have said, the difference is negligible compared to the difference in purchase price.

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Mon 19 Jul 2010 12:29
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Collos25

"I was at the Toyota factory last week on a 'jolly' and they (Toyota) claimed no-one has ever had to put a new set of batteries in a Prius and the expensive battery replacement myth is indeed a myth"

Is this the same company whose American boss called the owners of their cars morons when in fact there was a design fault in the accelerator pedal.

When I worked at a Uni in the UK a Proff had his batteries replace on his Prius and an article in the local paper her in Germany cites a customer having to wait for new batteries as there were non in stock.I take what car manufacturers and politicians say with a pinch of salt .The car was designed soley to get round by a technicality the Calafornian emission regulations .

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Tue 20 Jul 2010 11:05
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - pyruse

Yet the Prius has become very popular with taxi drivers, who use it to do starship mileages. That tells you a lot about its reliability.

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Tue 20 Jul 2010 14:28
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Palladion

If i had the money,i would,deffinately,have chosen the new 2010 Prius.It has all the benefits of its predecessor plus a very beautiful design (imo).But,it starts from 27.000 Euros,something that i find to be quite expensive!

On the other side,i dont live in Athens (thank God),but i live near Halkis,the bigest city of Evoia (i live in a small town near Halkis,where things,in terms of driving,are less stressful),1 hour distance from the capital city.But,because of the fact that i use my car (a manual transmission 1996 Nissal Almera,second hand,which i have for two years now and it is extremely reliable) for traveling in all kinds of roads,especialy on the long twisty B roads of Evoia,plus some short trips to Halkis,plus some trips to Athens (thankfully,not that often),i would love to know which of these two cars is the best choice for a mixed type of driving.

Ps:I have also considered the new 2011 Ford Focus,but i am soooooo affraid of the powershift (or any kind of automated manual,because they might be a heaven to drive,but a hell to repair).

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Tue 20 Jul 2010 15:51
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - b308

Yet the Prius has become very popular with taxi drivers,

Where? I've never seen a Prius Taxi on my travels through the uk...

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Tue 20 Jul 2010 17:18
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - pyruse

Type 'prius taxi' into google and you'll get lots of stories about Priuses doing 500,000 miles without problems.

Edited by pyruse on 20/07/2010 at 17:19

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Tue 20 Jul 2010 17:21
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Sam49

Hi Palladion (your English is great by the way!)

Have a look at the review of the Almera on this site as there are 2 owner reviews for Almera 1.8, one of which is an automatic. Economy clearly not a great point...

As the author of the other review I can vouch for the manual 1.8 as being a comfortable, tough and reliable workhorse - I use mine for all sorts of journeys.

My partner's parents have a Prius and they love it. They live in London so it's great for the city but they use it for longer journeys as well. No problems with that regarding dependability. They bought it at 3 years old but it still cost them a fair bit!

So this probably doesn't help you make your mind up in any way! (sorry!) Just to say then that I think with either vehicle, you're going to be fairly satisfied...

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Tue 20 Jul 2010 17:29
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - nortones2

Berlin. You need to get about more:)

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Wed 21 Jul 2010 18:38
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Palladion

Searching on the net for any available data on Almeras fuel consumption,i have found the following information (on auto-types.com) :

Nissan Almera 1.8 4 speed automatic (with a petrol powered engine)

Fuel consumption city: 10,6l/100Km

Fuel consumption highway:6,2l/100Km

Combined:7,8l/100Km

Is the petrol powered engine more economical than the gasoline one and if so,is there any significant difference between those two?Will a gasoline engine-mated to this gearbox-be heavy on fuel,or it is all the way i am driving the car?

PS:I havent got any great experience with automatics.The only auto that i have driven, so far,and that for short distances,is a 2005 Citroen C4 equiped with an 1.6 gasoline engine,mated to a 4 speed automatic gearbox and...i was amazed by how quickly the gearbox responded to my throtle inputs!Passing a car or quickly merging into traffic was not a problem at all!!!!!!! After that,i was really left wondering,what i am doing with that clutch pedal and the manual gear lever???? Compared to an automatic,they are looking like a medieval torture!!!!

But,here we have the Greek myths,saying that : ''If you dont know how to drive a manual,you are not a real driver'' or ''Automatics are for girls,handycaps and useless people'' or ''Automatics are completely inapropriate for the twisty and hilly Greek roads'' or ''Driving an automatic you dont feel the car'' or ''Automatics are veeeery expensive to maintaine and repaire,they are drinking fuel like alcoholics and do not last long like the manuals do'' or ''It is very difficult to go uphill or pass a car infront of you without your car to struggle,something that may actually put you in danger of getting involved into an accident'' etc etc

Having not got any real experience with an auto (two years ago when i got my driver licence) and listening to all those myths that are widelly spreaded in my country,i was really scared to death from automatics,until i ve got some short trips with one of them...now i WANT one and i am trying to find something that covers my needs for reliability and reasonable economy,at a reasonable price!

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Thu 22 Jul 2010 12:01
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - pyruse

Gasoline is just the American word for Petrol - they are the same thing.

The fuel consumption of the automatic 1.8L Almera isn't much different from that of the manuals.

Modern automatics are much better and much more economical than autos used to be 30 years ago. Much of the prejudice against autos seems to stem from how they used to be a long time ago.

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Sun 25 Jul 2010 18:55
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - Palladion

Thank you Pyruse for your observation!

Can you please tell me (if you know) what is the best automatic transmission fluid for the 1.8 Nissan Almera and how often (in how many kilometers) it (along with the transmission filter) must be changed in order to keep the transmission in a good shape?

Thank you in advance!

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Mon 26 Jul 2010 12:19
Nissan Almera or Toyota Prius? Any help? - pyruse

I don't know what the recommended ATF and change interval is for the Almera, but you could ring your nearest Nissan dealer and ask them; that's what I would do.

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?