This 10-Year-Old Hybrid Is More Reliable Than Many Brand-New Cars

If you’re looking for affordable transportation, chances are that you’re eyeing things out on the used market, where reliability is a massive concern. However, there are models out there that will prove to be sturdier than something new, even with the miles packed on.

New cars have gotten less and less reliable as time has gone on, with tons of fiddly technology loaded into even the most affordable models. There is a ten-year-old hybrid that you can pick up on the used market that proves older cars can be much more reliable than ones produced today and remains competitive when it comes to fuel efficiency.

We take a look at a ten-year-old hybrid which we think gives brand-new hybrids a run for their money in terms of reliability. We explore what makes this model so sturdy and how much it promises to save you in annual maintenance and fuel. We also compare it to some new hybrids and explore how older cars are standing the test of time a little better.

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The 2015 Prius Scores Higher Than Most When It Comes to Reliability

If you’re looking for a ten-year-old car, then reliability should be at the top of your list of priorities. In that sense, the 2015 Toyota Prius will definitely have your back, having a great reputation for lasting ages. Compare it to a lot of new vehicles on the market, and it really does feel like there is no contest, with many claiming that new cars just aren’t built to be as sturdy as they used to be.

Classic Toyota Build Quality

Toyota is well renowned for building cars that will last. This is seen pretty obviously in the long-term reviews of the 2015 Prius. For starters, the compact car scores a whopping 88 out of 100 for quality and reliability from J.D. Power, ranking it among the most reliable cars that you can buy from that year. Even today, there are very few models that rank that highly.

Reviews from owners are just as good. Finding an owner that is unhappy with the long-term reliability of their Prius is an incredibly difficult task, with most having nothing but praise for the little hybrid. On Cars.com, the 2015 model year of the Prius was awarded 4.9 stars out of five for reliability. There is no Prius that has ranked lower than four stars out of five on the site since it was launched in 2001.

The 2015 Prius VS Modern Compact Cars

Above is a depiction of the reliability scores of modern compact hybrids versus the 2015 Toyota Prius. While a lot of the cars currently on the market rank quite highly, the Prius still manages to come out on top. This doesn’t tell the full story, though, as cars are ranked within the context of what else is on the market and, overall, cars have gotten less reliable as time has gone on.

J.D. Power conducts an annual reliability study to determine the number of problems per 100 vehicles produced by major automakers. In this year’s results, they published that vehicle reliability has reached its lowest level since 2009. So, despite the modern compact hybrids shown above being well above average in terms of reliability, the average has actually dropped quite significantly.

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A Ten-Year-Old Prius Is Affordable to Buy and Cheap to Maintain

Front 3/4 shot of a 2012 Toyota Prius

If you’re looking to buy a heavily used compact car like the Toyota Prius, then chances are you are aiming to keep costs down. Luckily, the 2015 Prius has depreciated to a point where it is incredibly affordable upfront. Even better is that long-term ownership costs, like maintenance, are also particularly low, living up to Toyota’s excellent reputation in this department.

Average Used Price

There are a ton of 2015 Prius models currently listed on the used market, with varying miles and in differing conditions. The prices above show that the condition of the car and the mileage that it has on the clock is more important than the trim level, with some higher trim models having lower average prices than lower trims. This spoils you, the buyer, a little bit, as you get to balance out price and condition to suit your budget.

The average list price of a 2015 Prius is currently $12,585, and you’re not likely to spend much more or much less than that when buying one. That makes it an incredibly affordable car. It also depreciates at an extremely low rate, even taking into account its age, due to its stellar reputation for reliability, meaning that you’re likely to get a lot of your money back when you sell it and move on.

Maintenance and Repair Costs

Toyota produces cars that are pretty consistently the most affordable vehicles on the market to maintain. This is certainly true of the little Prius. CarEdge estimates that its maintenance costs are significantly cheaper in the long run than comparable vehicles. RepairPal concurs and estimates the average annual maintenance cost of a 2015 Prius to be $421.

RepairPal has also highlighted some common issues that you may come across on a 2015 Prius, and none of them are mechanical. The two most frequently encountered issues are to do with electronics, with owners experiencing fuel gauges which read incorrectly as well as having their console displays cut out. While these are annoying if they do happen, they are much more manageable than a mechanical failure.

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You’ll Save Tons of Money on Gas With a Prius

Rear 3/4 action shot of a 2012 Toyota Prius

The Prius nameplate has become synonymous with the word ‘hybrid’. Even as other competitors rise to challenge the Prius, it is still the model that made the setup as popular as it is today. Toyota spent a great deal of time developing the Prius to be as cost-efficient as possible, with a large emphasis on keeping fuel costs as low as possible.

Performance Specifications

Even by 2015 standards, the Prius is not a powerful car. It uses a pretty simple four-cylinder engine along with a pair of electric motors to produce a fairly humble 134 horsepower. If you’re trying to get around quickly, or you’re looking for sporty driving dynamics, then this is not the car for you. It can make the run from zero to 60 miles per hour in around 10.2 seconds, which would make it downright sluggish compared to modern cars.

Everything Toyota did with the Prius was to optimize its efficiency. Its small engine worked in conjunction with a continuously variable transmission. This type of transmission may have a pretty bad reputation, thanks in no small part to brands like Nissan and Subaru, but Toyota has been using it pretty effectively for ages.

Fuel Economy

Hybrid technology has come a long way, and we have managed to develop tons of impressive vehicles that are light on fuel. However, the 2015 Prius still manages to put most of them to shame. The Prius has always been one of the best-performing hybrids on the market when it comes to fuel efficiency, something it retains today. Referring back to reviews from owners, we can also see that in a lot of cases the Prius managed to outperform the EPA rating that was awarded to it.