New Prius Owner Checking IN!

[Mystery Squid]

Evening!

Just drove home my 2004 Prius, and she's starting to grow on me... I think I represent one of the more extreme change-overs. I traded in my 2001 Ford F150 extended cab Lariat for this thing. Hesitantly mind you, drove the dealership/salesmen absolutely nuts(I got up and started to walk out no less than three times). It was a beautiful truck, full leather, seats that were wider than your shoulders you could easily sleep in, sort of like first class seats on a commercial airliner. Anyway, after adding up my gas usage on a monthly basis, I could no longer rationalize it. I maybe used it twice over the past year to haul something or other that truly required a bed, namely my bike to a few trackdays, and some odds and ends that certainly did not require an obscene amount of space. So basically, it was realistically useless unless I had some construction or landscaping business, or something amongst those lines.

Gas prices were pretty much the driver, but I was also drawn to the TONS of great reviews of the thing, plus, I LOVED the styling (the older models (2002 I think), IMO, were just AWFUL. Furthermore, I sort of feel good knowing how environmentally friendly she is. So, I came across a local dealer that had a few left-overs, and went for it, and got it. Dealership had 4 used ones available yesterday morning, as of tonight, they're all gone... Guess I got lucky!

Anyway, in my first 50 or so miles of driving, here's some first impressions from someone that's never owned a Toyota before, and who hasn't owned a non-gas guzzling vehicle under six cylinders in about 10 years!:

1. How quickly I got the hang of it. I was even doing better than the cruise control on various roads. I suspect this is because I'm an avid sportbiker, thus I'm much more familiar with using throttle and road topography for de-acceleration/neutral cruising than most. Of course, the display helped immensely, and IMO, super simple to understand.

2. The quality of the plastic and cloth. I was really surprised by this, it's by no means "chintsy", a very pleasant surprise, I wonder if all Toyota's are like this?

3. The interior room.

4. Steering wheel controls are awesome, something I've always looked forward to.

5. The suspension seemed a little tight to me. Although considering that for the past year I've been driving a truck with huge "squishy" tires, it may just be me.

6. The plastic. Again, I'm really pleasantly surprised by this!

7. It has PLENTY of "ummph"! I've heard people say here and there it struggles with hills/off ramps, but such was not the case. Maybe on long extended inclines, but my house is off of a very, very, steep hill, and it just zoomed right up, and I was up to 70 on the freeway in no time. IMO, it's not sluggish at all (unless, of course you baby it for efficiency).

8. Weird noises. I'm sure this will take some getting used to, such as when it shuts down at traffic lights...

9. Smaller steering wheel. Gives it sort of that "Formula 1" feel... lol!

That's it for now, tomorrow will be my first REAL commute (I drive 30 miles each way to work). I think it's starting to grow on me....

Anyway, talk to y'all later!

Joe

[Desdemona]

Hi Joe,

I was in the same situation as you. I had a 2002 Tundra that I absolutely loved, but I only used it to haul things 2 or 3 times per year. I started out several months ago joking about buying a Prius to cut my gas expenditures. Then I looked at them online & discovered all the cool gadgets for a very reasonable price.

As I mentioned, my last vehicle was a Toyota. I will never buy anything but a Toyota or Lexus again! In my experience, all Toyotas (at least the more recent models) have quality interiors. The Prius does have more plastic in it than other Toyota vehicles, but they had to do that to keep it lightweight.

I was also surprised by the "oomph" of the car after driving a truck for so long. The only time I have had a problem with an incline is when I have had to start a steep one from a stop or low speed. Otherwise, no problem!

You also get used to the small steering wheel & the odd noises. I love when the car goes into "stealth mode" & I can stand right next to it outside & not know it is running!

I haven't had my car for very long, but I absolutely love it!!!! I'm sure you will too.

Good luck & have fun with your new baby!!

[Tideland Prius]

Congrats to you both on the newly acquired Priuses! Welcome to PriusChat.

[Mystery Squid]

Thanks!

And to top it off, many reviews I read said the realistic average MPG was in the mid 40's, well on my 30 mile commute this morning, I averaged 58.2...

[Danny]

Welcome to both of you! There's tons of information on this site to digest, but the first stop would be the article in the Knowledge Base that efusco wrote on how to maximize your mpgs.

Enjoy PriusChat!

[bookrats]

Thanks for posting -- I find it really intersting to read how people who are used to trucks (or other large vehicles) find the Prius (both the plusses and the cons).

Glad it's mostly been plusses!

[yoda]

Trans-Am to 2005 Prius Changeover here...

If your experience is like mine - you wont miss the old vehicle at all.

Welcome to Prius Ownership.

8)

Yoda

[Chrisus]

As a SOON to be owner, I have a question about the speedometer. I have seen pics on Johns website showing the speedometer in greenish and white. How do you change the color?

[yoda]

I don't think you can change the color of the speedometer - that display looks like LED's to me, but I'm not sure.

You CAN, however, change the color scheme of the center screen that has all the cool information on it.....

Yoda

[Tideland Prius]

LCD you mean