My 08 uses about a 1/2 quart in 7,500 miles. It was using more. It has been getting progressively better since breaking 100,000 miles. I have always used either 0/20 or 5/20 syn. oil. FWIW...

There was a boatload of changes when the 2012 model rolled out. A google search will overwhelm you with information.

Mechanical issues "because they were earlier generation hybrids".... Those would be few and far between. The most common probably being the issues regarding the ABS system failures. Other VERY rare issues would be a coolant leak between the transaxle (PSD) and engine. Another would be inverter failure.

 

I've not heard of high oil consumption issues with the older or newer models. You can get higher oil consumption from not properly breaking in the engine. Most owners make the mistake of babying their engine when it is new. What is really needed is to drive them at full throttle through several acceleration runs. You want to seat the piston rings before the low spots glaze up. Here is a bit of info on how you break an aircraft engine in.

Teledyne Engine Break-In

This article from Green Car Congress provides the best summary of changes in the 2012 model year that I know about. The most frequent issue I have seen reported on the older hybrids is a water pump leak. There have also been some failures of the brake control module. At some point the engine went belt-less. More recent models don't seem to have the water pump problem, so perhaps it has been fixed with the change to eliminate the belt drive.

 

I've not heard of high oil consumption issues with the older or newer models. You can get higher oil consumption from not properly breaking in the engine. Most owners make the mistake of babying their engine when it is new. What is really needed is to drive them at full throttle through several acceleration runs. You want to seat the piston rings before the low spots glaze up. Here is a bit of info on how you break an aircraft engine in.

Ron, this was a curiosity when I bought my new TCH. Since I can't decel in any gear and I have ZERO CONTROL over engine rpm and on-time, I realized we are at the mercy of the quality of the rings and procedures in assembly of the engine.

 

The issue with the coolant pump is the ICE coolant pump, NOT the coolant pump associated with cooling the inverter. It is NOT a part of the hybrid system. Rather a part of the engine cooling system.

The issue with the engine driven coolant pump is also a problem with the regular 4cyl. Camry. It is well known and documented problem, here and elsewhere.

Other problems of any kind with the "Hybrid system" seem to be pretty darn rare.

 

I have a 6 gen i-4 ice and I can vouch for the water pumps being below what I expected for a Toyota. I replaced it at 104k miles but it had a slight leak for the last 30k or more miles. I personally couldn't justify the added cost of a hybrid versus the regular i-4. I do mostly highway though, if you do much stop and go at all it would be very beneficial. I still don't know if it would pencil out but it would be a lot closer I am sure.

 

Mine does take oil. Not so bad, but does. About a qrt in about 5-7 000 miles. I think it's too much for a new engine. Toyota knows better, as wife's Lexus RX300 does not take or burn oil at all.
Keep in mind, ICE wise there is no difference between engines. From pulleys to the flywheel. Then is starts getting different on hybrids due to torque dampener on flywheel.
I'll give Ron credit on what he said. For rings to be set in, car must be driven hard from the get go. And I was not the one to break her in, I bought her used.