First month

[pjelkins]

Hi, everyone.

I've been tooling around in my Silver '06 Prius for about a month now. I have about 750 miles on it. I'm very happy with it. I'm generally one who dislikes driving with a passion--esp. in NJ--but this car makes driving pleasant and entertaining.

First impressions:

1) I LOVE the Smart Key. Every time I use it it makes me smile.
2) Mileage has been good so far. I settled with the dealer at around 11 PM, so it only had a quarter tank when I left. They assured me they'd fill it up and detail it when I came back for my registration (and they did), but today was the first time I filled up from a full tank. My MFD had been putting me at around 51.5 for the entire 700+ miles (I'd never hit reset before today). Part of that included a 16 mile crawl on the NJ Turnpike where I was going 25-35 the whole way and averaged about 90 mpg. When I filled up today (about 20 miles after I dropped to 1 pip) , the tank took 8.35 gallons after 449 miles. With a normal tank, that would be 53.77 mpg, but it sounds like these numbers aren't very reliable given the bladder, etc. Still, I'm very happy with that mileage.
3) I've been reading all of the tire pressure threads, decided I might try raising the pressure some. The dealer had put them all at 36, so I raised the front ones to 38. It's been driving well, seems to handle a bit better than it had before. I'm thinking about going a little higher.
4) Why is R on the top? There must be a reason for that. For someone who's been driving a 5-speed for 20+ years, it's very counterintuitive. I disabled the backup beeping immediately, as it was driving me crazy. I haven't had any issues at all when starting in reverse. However, I do need to be very careful when I'm starting in drive, as I have to fight the urge to put it in first gear. I can live with that if it means not hearing the beeps.
5) I love all of the storage space. I was surprised that the car doesn't have a coin box. I ended up getting a cheap coin holder from Target, then decided to get EZ Pass, which hasn't arrived yet. I'm still figuring out what to do with all of the storage compartments.
6) I like the way the car drives. It doesn't handle as well as my Civic EX coupe did, but it's a much larger car. I guess I'll have to get used to that. It seems to drive well in the rain. We'll see about the snow.
7) I was briefly parked on the shoulder of a highway a couple of weeks ago and got passed by a large truck going about 55. I was amazed at how much I got bounced around. I hope that doesn't happen while I'm moving.

Overall, I'm very happy that I bought this car. I wanted a red one in the worst way, but there weren't any around. Such is life.

This is a great site!


Pete

[efusco]

Nice first post, clearly you've been doing your homework and you're now enjoying the fruits of your labors.

Congrats and enjoy.

[tmgrl3]

Sounds like you're hooked, pje!! Good summary....PriusChat has been a wonderful new home to me as well....

terri

[PA]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pje65 @ Oct 6 2006, 08:47 PM) [snapback]329240[/snapback]</div>

4) Why is R on the top? There must be a reason for that. For someone who's been driving a 5-speed for 20+ years, it's very counterintuitive.
[/b]

Congratulations! I'm only a month further along than you, so I know the feeling!

Yes, I thought the same thing about the shifter; it takes some getting used to. I finally realized that the shifter is placed there so that you can manipulate it without taking your hands off the wheel (much like you can flick the wiper controls). It is a much more natural motion to push it down with your fingers than to push it up; pushing up is a bit more awkward. My guess is that since D and B are the only gears you'd generally want to switch between while in motion, they're on the bottom where it is more ergonomically convenient. Then R is on top where it won't get in the way (and you really have to want to select it). There may be a better explanation but this is what makes sense to me. Enjoy!

[Beryl Octet]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PA @ Oct 6 2006, 10:55 PM) [snapback]329294[/snapback]</div>

Congratulations! I'm only a month further along than you, so I know the feeling!

Yes, I thought the same thing about the shifter; it takes some getting used to. I finally realized that the shifter is placed there so that you can manipulate it without taking your hands off the wheel (much like you can flick the wiper controls). It is a much more natural motion to push it down with your fingers than to push it up; pushing up is a bit more awkward. My guess is that since D and B are the only gears you'd generally want to switch between while in motion, they're on the bottom where it is more ergonomically convenient. Then R is on top where it won't get in the way (and you really have to want to select it). There may be a better explanation but this is what makes sense to me. Enjoy!
[/b]

I always thought the R on top was because if you had a console-shifted automatic, it would be something like PRNDL from front to back. What I can't figure out is why they gave Park it's own button.

[pjelkins]

<<My guess is that since D and B are the only gears you'd generally want to switch between while in motion, they're on the bottom where it is more ergonomically convenient.>>

Hi, PA.

I guess that explanation is as good as any. It's definitely an adjustment though. I still have to sit there and consciously give myself reminders ("The enemy's gate is down.") when I'm going into D. I'm sure I won't have to do that for much longer.

Pete