Tell Toyota what you look for in a car and see what MNers thought of their Hybrid range! £200 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

You may have recently seen that 7 Mumsnetters attended an event day at Toyota HQ all about hybrid cars. Now, Toyota have asked us to find out what other Mumsnetters look for in a car.

Toyota say, “Toyota have been making hybrid cars for over 12 years and have sold over 2.4 million Prius Hybrid models to date, but there are still many myths surrounding this technology, like do hybrids need special fuel? (No!) Does a hybrid save me road tax? (Yes!) How does it feel to drive a hybrid?”

Below is a video of the event day. Please watch it and let us know your thoughts. (To read the feedback of Mumsnetters who attended the day please click here.)

Mumsnetters who attended the event commented on different aspects of Toyota hybrids including cost effectiveness, technical features found in the cars and its spaciousness. How do these rank for you when purchasing a car? What other optional extras do you look for? A feature that’ll park the car itself, perhaps? Or maybe car seat heating? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear about it!

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Contd... Nooks and crannies would be good! If it could have a mini Hoover which lived in the boot and which charged up as the car was driving this would be perfect. We very rarely actually get round to taking or Hoover out onto the street to Hoover up all of the crumbs we leave behind.

I look for:
Spacious boot (camping)
Sensible design - a triumph of function and paracticality
Economical to run, repair and maintain.
Sensible level of gadgetry
Good storage - spacious glove compartment, ability to put things under the seats etc.
Accelerator pedal at the right height / angle. Doesn't give me cramp in my leg!
Safety for passengers and pedestrians
Good visibilty - no obscured rear and side windows.
Easy to see the front of your bonnet (sounds silly, but it's hard to see where my frnt bumper ends from the driving seat in my current car)

I am not remotely interested in:
Parking sensors (I am a demon parker and the sensors bleeping drive me nuts)
Heated seats
Electronic displays that tell me things I don't need to know
Status

I try and avoid:
Electronics. Anything electronic that goes a bit wrong, or just temperamentally causes some light to come on on your dashboard is usually expensive to repair.
Over complicated engine parts. Why, oh why does the bit of exhaust hose that connects to the catalytic converter on my car only come with a whole new CC? And cars where you have to dismantle god knows what at 'How much!!!?' an hour just to change the headlamp bulb.

I look for good space, large boot.
Safety
Good Visibility from drivers seat through all windows and around (I've been in some cars where it's like driving in a submarine)

1 Safety
2 fuel economy
3 versatility ie having 7 seats that you can configure how you require them.
4
I would really consider 4wd having previously scoffed at the need for it where we live unless you have a requirement for Ru it such as horse etc. I will.now admit I was WRONG. The 4x4s are coping well with the potholes, flooded roads, foot deep mud.

I look for:
Fuel efficiency
Cost of insurance
Cost of repairs
Will a bike fit in it
Generous space for driver and passenger (both over 6 foot)
Will the carseat fit

Not bothered about:
Fancy electronics
Air conditioning

I look for:

• Flexible interior space with the option for lots of legroom in the back. Dh is a full foot taller than me and our dds are now leggy teenagers.
• Reliability. Ultimately for me a car is about getting from A to B so reliability is the bottom line.
• Running costs, particularly parts/repairs and tax/insurance. Again, with teenagers we're starting to think about adding them to the insurance in the future and the cost of that can be eyewatering.
• Air conditioning as this helps with travelsick youngsters
• Heated windscreens that clear rapidly on winter mornings.
• Rear speakers for the radio. We test-drove a car recently where the radio couldn't be heard in the back seat, which went down like a lead balloon with my dds.

Not bothered about:

• Fancy gadgets. The fewer moving parts the less can go wrong! Also, see my A to B comment above. My car is a tool for our family, not a lifestyle statement.

What I look for in a car;
Space - especially in the boot as I have a pushchair and I need room for shopping or scooters for my two older boys.
Also enough room in the back for a baby seat and two booster seats, plus three proper seat belts - no lap belts.
Leather seats - These are much easier to clean when you have children, muddy feet get everywhere.
Air conditioning
Fuel efficiency and cheap car tax

In a new car I look for plenty of space in the boot for pram and dog,plenty of leg room both in front and back,easily cleaned seats,plenty of room in the back for two car seats to fit comfortably with isofix.
Good allround visability,child locks on back and windows
Most important would be that it has a first class safety report,5 doors

Qualities of a new car -
Visibililty - a high up driving position is important, plus deep windows and no enormous vertical moulding between windscreen and door.
Visibility for rear passengers - so children can see out of the windows.
Edges - intuitive feeling about where the bumpers are.
Space - enough to have your picnic lunch in on a rainy day without feeling all cramped when you turn from front seat to the back to dole out the food.
Cup holders, phone holder, space on the dashboard for stuff.
Boot - big enough for family tent, wellies.
Can attach general bike rack and top box without hassle
Fuel economy.
Simplicity of design, not all fat moulding on the outside with no actual space on the inside.
Obvious how to open bonnet, how to do basic maintenance / jump start.
Not overly bossy - alarms about having seatbelt on etc: options about this.

We look for:

visibility
good safety score
fuel economy
high driving position
comfortable, stable ride.
low servicing/repair costs.

High safety rating

4/5 doors

An interesting colour I like (not your standard red/blue and definitely not orange or yellow! - preferably green)

A reliable brand which won't cost the earth to service

Very good MPG (as I commute 2 hours a day for school run and work and more at weekends for social stuff) and reasonable road tax.

Decent stereo/cd and air con as standard - we don't all have mp3 players

Not having to pay for all the 'extras'. I want a model/special edition that is within my budget and comes with the 'extras' I want without having to add them for more.

Salesmen who don't try to rip me off. I want to know the price charged is your best possible price without having to haggle. If you don't offer me a good price to start with I will go elsewhere.

I desperately need a new car haha.

For me I need:
Ample Space for two car seats
Leg room for passengers
Safety
Boot size
Cheap running costs
Cheap repairs ideally!
Heated windscreen
Smooth drive
Fun to drive if possible
Environmentally friendly is a bonus!

Blizzard!

SAFETY
COMFORT/SPACE
RELIABILITY
MPG

Things I'm currently looking for in a car:

• 7 seats (we have 7 in family so need this)
• isofix points in as many seats as possible
• usable boot space
• fuel economy
• cheap road tax
• reliability
• safety

I would also prefer sliding doors but they seem to be very hard to come by!

I really don't need any gadgets and extra electronics that are just something to look good in a brochure but realistically it's just another thing that could break and cost a lot of money to fix.

comfortable seats for 5
power steering
central locking
great vision
plenty room in boot
flexibility

Practicality
Great at De-frosting/De-fogging the windows
Safety & Security
Fuel consumption and then performance
Looks

Toyota owner for 15+yrs, various models.
I love a good spec as standard. Top of my priority lists are:
safety
reliability
good fuel economy
low overall running costs -tax, insurance group etc
room for three car seats in the back (yes, managed it in the Yaris!)
would love to see a more affordable 7 seater in the Toyota range.

Cup holder. There are some great car interior easy-clean ideas from other posters already - am fed up with nooks! Boot big enough for pram AND shopping is a definite want (or was when I had little kids). Window controls for rear seats that are lockable/operatable from the front. Heated windscreen is a good one - it's a faff (& dangerous) having to 'pop out' to start the car 5mins before you leave on frosty/icy day, leaving littlies inside on their own. Retractable aerial (boobs make it hard to reach ours which is located centre-front roof, when going to car-wash). Somewhere flat under the bonnet where you can sit windscreen/water refilling containers while you wrestle with getting the washer reservoir cap off. Some way of making the bonnet prop usable withOUT getting filthy fingers, would be great. Covered mirrors on inside of both front screen shades (our SmartForFour has em). Heater/fan control that allows simultaneous demist, feet & face. A alterable intermittent wiper control. Do NOT copy Merc's ridiculous foot-operated parking brake - disgusting idea that doesn't work.

Well, you did ask!

Economical to run, like the idea of a hybrid and am looking at them for my next car
Automatic (and still economical), my current A class automatic Mercedes eats petrol at an alarming rate
Good safety rating (I take notice of crash test data)
Heated front windscreen
Speed limiter (have this on current car and it's excellent, makes staying at 30 in a 30 mph easy without having to think about it)
Good lumbar support in front seats, I can tell v quickly if a car is going to make my back hurt
Link up to smartphone

My top priority is for a car that is reliable and economical (so a hybrid would be good if the price is realistic). It has to be small enough to park easily in tight spaces but with a flexible interior layout so I can carry a drum kit plus its 6'3" owner and another band member in comfort!
I like an upright driving position with deep windows to give good visibility, and also shelves/pockets/spaces to keep sunglasses, change for car parking, emergency wipes etc.

After driving for…… 18 years and with young children, I definitely appreciate the following feature in a car:

Rear sensor parking is a must
Easy to clean car seat material (without paying extra for seat coating protector…can’t remember the name)
Easy to clean interior without too much narrow spaces (hoover nozzle can get it!)
Big car boot space for buggy and shopping
Possibly a small round/convex easy view back seat car mirror just above the rear mirror to view children in back seat (saw this feature in a Ford and shop bought mirror always fell off!)
Less carpet area on foot rest as it just catches mud :s
Fuel efficiency/mpg
Good size cup/bottle holder
Clever uses of spaces like a sliding drawer under back seat (saw this in Scenic and it’s quite clever)
Easy to adjust driver seat as I really hate turning the big ‘dial’ to adjust back seat angle… can you not bring back old fashion pull lever?

Looking forward to this car :D

We're looking to buy a new car and some of the things we are looking for are:
MUM wants a car that looks nice! So good exterior design is important, she wants to feel she looks good driving her car... She also wants a car that is Super Safe as her most precious treasure is likely to be with her on the road... She's also very much needed at home, so she better stay well protected at all times...! Boot space has to be big enough to comfortably put in pram (with one hand!) and also fit a week's worth of shopping :)
DAD being more practical is looking at cost efficiency. He needs a car with a reasonable price tag that will drive 'for less' and that will also save on tax. Being a gadget man, he'll also look for high tech stuff such Bluetooth, GPS, parking sensors and good sound system!
And we're both looking for a car that while is taking us places to enjoy as a family will be as environmentally friendly as possible, so we can feel we're doing our part to protect the environment....

I'm looking to replace my yaris with something a bit bigger. We have a 7-seater too but it would be nice to get me plus 4dc in (we can do it in the yaris but it's a bit squashy and they are getting bigger.

Fuel efficiency is my top thing as my milage is huge so I fancy a hybrid but DP is convinced that they need new batteries every 5 min. I'm also not willing to pay a huge price upfront. I know I'll be saving money on fuel and tax but I need the sums to add up.

I want heated seats, sat nav and bluetooth because I've got used to them in my big car (don't have them in the current yaris, and I don't need them, I'm just being greedy. Parking sensors give me the rage so if I had them I would need to be able to turn them off. I want a decent stereo that picks up more than BBC 1-4.

I want a cup holder that takes my very standard thermos mug.

I want to be able to turn the front passenger air bag on and off easily.

I want it to go like the wind.

I don't want it to look like a 'mum' car - even though it is.

I like that lexus hybrid (200 something?) but I can't afford it. I need a poor mans version of that, but fuel efficient and high spec

My DH is thinking about getting a Prius.
The main things for us are cheap road tax, good fuel economy, 5 door and reliable. Oh and safety.
I had a Volvo with heated seats before and it was ace! But really, I'm not much of a car person and would happily let my husband choose and buy it.

a nice colour seriously though, a decent sized boot, easy to see / read dials a good sound system controllable from wheel. easily adjustable seats, efficient heat / air controls.