Toyota Prius World Records

What World Records Can you Break with your Toyota Prius?

Toyota Prius Projects are basically a string of separate projects put together by Toyota that are all published on the Toyota Prius Projects website; we wrote about one that featured a Prius Projects' Concept Bike a while back. The videos below are examples of one of the projects that's called Toyota Prius World Records aka Prius Records, which is a slew of videos of people breaking world records in and/or utilizing a Toyota Prius.

Check these records below, then head to our website to check out our new Toyota Prius inventory, our Toyota Prius Plug-In inventory or our used Prius selection. If you'd like to see more Toyota Prius Records, click here!

Image via Car Scoop, Prius Records via Toyota Prius Projects' Toyota Prius World Records

The Prius Plug-In Hybrid's MPG Explained

What are the real benefits of driving electric? Are there any?

Bear with me, this post has a lot of numbers! I did some serious math to figure out what the real benefits of owning a Prius Plug-In Hybrid versus owning a regular sedan (the numbers I used for comparison are from a Passat). Two reasons are behind this information; 1. I wanted to know, which means you may have as well. 2. This weekend is celebrating National Plug-In Day at 802 Toyota so what better time to get into the nitty gritty of the Prius Plug-In than right before Plug-In Day?

The Prius Plug-In takes three hours to fully charge (only 1.5 hours if you have a 240-volt Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment outlet). People say it adds roughly $3 to their utility bill to charge, and there are free charging stations in Montpelier, so if you work in the area you have that convenience. If you don't, no problem. The Prius shifts seamlessly into Hybrid mode either when you've run out of electric charge or you manually switch to that mode. Meaning, if I commute from Burlington, Vt. to Berlin, Vt. daily, I can use my electric charge while in the city, switch to Hybrid on I-89, then switch back to Electric once I'm off the highway. The MPGe (electric) on the Prius is 95 MPGe, and Hybrid mode gets 50 MPG.

Break it down:

If I travel from exit 14W to exit 7 and back again on I-89, I spend 76 miles on the highway and 12 miles in the "city". The 12 miles of stop-and-go traffic where I would typically use more gasoline, I'll put myself in Electric mode. Once I get onto the highway where I would get better gas mileage, I switch to Hybrid mode, still earning 50 MPG. So if gas is $3.93 per gallon (Shell's price today in Barre), I'm spending $6.50 for my entire commute, whereas if I were in an average, 35 MPG-achieving sedan I would spend $9.88. Now if I had a more typical commute of 12 miles (there and back), I would spend $.50 a day, as opposed to $2.91 in an average sedan.

For reference, this is not me -
but it could be you!

The numbers don't seem hugely differentiated, until you go by savings per week, month or year. For a person with a 12-mile commute to work, driving a Prius Plug-In will save them $12.05 per week, $52.22 per month and $626.60 per year (granted, they'll have to tack on the $3 to their utility bill so keep in mind that adds back on $36 per year... doesn't seem too shabby though, eh?)

For the person with the 88-mile round-trip commute, the person driving the Plug-In will save $17 per week, $73.23 per month and $879 per year.

So what I'm saying is that if I bought the Plug-In when it came out I could have more than $400 in my pocket already! Want to start the savings (of your money and environment)? View our 2012 Prius Plug-In Hybrid inventory here. Or stop by 802 Toyota tomorrow for more information on the Plug-In and to take a test drive!

Image 1 via car blog

Image 2 via OINTS

Image 3 via 123RF

2014 Toyota RAV4 to Lose its Spare Tire!

Last week Toyota showed off its new model line to a group of car dealers in Las Vegas, and the RAV4's spare tire was nowhere to be seen.

The RAV4 has had its iconic spare tire since its release in 1994 on the first generation RAV, which was named the 1997 Automobile of the Year (to this day its Toyota's best selling SUV).

What do you think about the change? In love with the spare? We've got your back; view our preowned RAV4 inventory or our new RAV4 inventory - both of which are fully equipped ;). If not, we'll keep you updated on the release of the new one as soon as we know more.


Information & image via Foxnews.com

Test Drive of the 2012 Toyota Tundra 4x4

Times Free Press just published a test drive review of the 2012 Toyota Tundra, what they call "a sturdy work truck with a heart of a Lexus." After you've checked out the review, head to our website to browse our 2012 Toyota Tundra inventory too!

Styling & Comfort
A prominent grille and 18-inch alloy wheels give the Tundra "muscle and mass," while the front bucket seats with eight-way power give it some convenience. The Tundra has tons of room for its back passenger, and has the option of a 5.5, six or eight food bed.

2012 Toyota Tundra interior
(image via onsurga.com)

Driving Impressions
The 2012 Tundra has the biggest V-8 engine available, which makes 381 hp and 401 pound-feet of torque. The number 10,000 represents two major things in the Tundra - how many pounds in can tow, and how many miles in between oil changes. It also comes with a sealed transmission, meaning it never needs to be flushed, which is a good feature for saving money.

Bottom Line
As the reviewer said, "A construction boss driving a Tundra projects an image of practicality and good taste. He also proves that he values top-notch build quality and a modicum of refinement."

Review by Times Free Press

The 2012 Toyota Yaris SE Hatchback

The brutally-honest reviewer's test run of the 2012 Yaris SE Hatchback

George Straton, blogger and self-proclaimed “brutally honest” reviewer just posted his own review of the 2012 Toyota Yaris SE Hatchback. What better review of a car than a brutally honest one?

If you’d like to check out our 2012 Yaris inventory after reading, click here.

“What was once raw and bland now sizzles,” he begins. The Yaris SE has a bold front air dam, rear roof spoiler and lower diffuser, as well as 16-ich wheels. The driver’s instrument cluster has relocated back to being in front of the driver, as opposed to the Yaris’ more recent center-dash cluster, making it more conventional. On the sport model, there are black-on-white gauges, flat-bottomed steering wheel and four-speed automatic gearbox fully equipped with chrome and leather.

The small Yaris gets 106 hp out of its 1.5L engine, which Straton agrees wouldn’t typically impress an enthusiast. However, it’s more power than the Mazda2 or new Fiat 500 - and the Yaris SE gets 32 MPG – while making it from 0-60 in nine seconds.

To view Straton's full review and blog, click here. Or head to our website to view our 2012 Yaris inventory here.


Review & photo via George Straton, Drive...He Said