Long story short, my government doesn't like my recently restored, extremely cheap to run 90's diesel econobox, I might need a new car somewhere next year.
The sensible idea would be to get a small car on LPG, but I always wanted an electic car.
The government won't let me do a forkenswift style conversion (motor + controller have to be EMC/EMI tested/certified, no flooded batteries, etc..) so that plan died in 2010 when they changed the rules.
So my recent random idea was to buy a first gen Prius, since they've come down to what I could afford, do a plug-in conversion, and perhaps get rid of the petrol engine entirely so it becomes an EV, and get the car tax-exempt.
However, I wonder how practical a 1st gen Prius really is..
- It can't legally tow anything, (Toyota said "warranty void if you tow", government took that as "towing anything is dangerous")
- The boot lid is tiny so bringing large items (like a washing machine or fridge, which I did in my tiny hatchback) inside the car is not an option either.
- The drive train is really expensive if it breaks, and its apparently somewhat fragile. (looking at pictures of burned out motor windings) It might already be damaged when I buy it with 135k to 175k miles on it, if they reset the computer a fault might only show up after I buy it. A used replacement "gearbox" is as much as 2/3 of the value of the car.
- Its a
heavy car compared to my hatchback, I assume most of the weight difference is in soundproofing and luxury/safety features, is it worth the higher price in tax and insurance?
On the other hand, its a piece of automotive history, and quite possibly a future classic..
So yeah, any NHW11 Prius owners out there, is it worth it?
How practical is it?