From no frills to bells & whistles. Now what?

all. I just made what feels like a giant leap. I am a longtime Toyota lover. I just gave up my 2010 Corolla for a 2014 Prius. I loved that Corolla and meant to keep it forever. It was pretty no frills which was actually the appeal-- five speed, do it yourself windows and locks, just a very good, efficient car that got me from Point A to Point B. I specifically sought out such a simple car with as few gizmos and whatnots as possible just because that's the level of my tech savvy. Pretty much none.

But. Of course, there's a but. My business has really taken off and I am spending a lot more time in my car, not just Point A to Point B, but conducting a lot of business on the go and just general mobile busywork. Not that the Corolla wasn't a comfortable ride, but my car has become more like a mobile office and general hauler, and it had just gotten so that I could really benefit from the convenience of a lot of the fancy-pants options like push button doors instead of having to go around and unlock each one manually, one-handed driving, no-handed phone, that sort of thing. So I made the jump straight to Prius, and I feel like I'm in over my head. I'm so not tech savvy. I just picked it up yesterday. It's pretty nifty. Will I ever really figure out all this techno stuff? I have spent the last couple of days browsing this forum. It seems like y'all have covered everything, but sometimes even just reading some of this stuff seems overwhelming. I really can't emphasize my lack of tech savvy enough. A lot of friends and family have Priuses? Prii? Pri__? and every single person surveyed loved theirs and would buy one again. Sold.

So hi! And yay Prius! Cross fingers that I get the hang of this thing. I have been stomping for the clutch all day long. Old habits die hard. What happens when I forget to hit the parking button ("parking button" is such a foreign concept to me) and/or forget to turn it off and jump out? I am almost certain that that is going to happen. This thing is like learning to drive all over again. I can drive everything from tractor trailers to motorcycles, ha, but this feels out of my league with its fancy-pants push button touchy screen stuff.

 

Oh! Because that post wasn't long enough rolleyes, I meant to add that I drove for maximum mileage and was able to average 40 mpg in my plain old gas powered Corolla. Any way to use that as a gauge as to what I can expect out of the Prius? I have been obsessively reading the driving recommendations here, but I wondered what I could realistically expect if I am hyper vigilant. Because I will be. That mileage thing becomes like a game to me. A weird, obsessive game. Most of my driving is a combo of long stretches of open road and then some in town driving, no major hills which probably had a lot to do with me being able to maintain the 40 mpg average in the Corolla.

 

Thanks, all! I can't wait to pimp it out with the required accessories-- NPR, Coexist, and Greenpeace stickers, and a "Tree hugger on board" sign. Do I have to stop showering?

Totally poking fun at hippie stereotypes there. I do think I'm going to love the thing, though. The dealer synced up the car with my phone yesterday. I thought nothing else of it until my car rang today. Like, really, the car rang. That was... unexpected, ha.

Thanks so much for the welcomes and points to info. It is so nice to know that I can find out just about anything I need to know. Which is probably going to be a lot. At least I did not start a "my car is ringing; what does that mean?" thread.

 

Well, then. It's been a month. This Prius is way more technically advanced than I'm capable of comprehending because I'm just not that tech savvy to begin with. Still, I. Love. This. Car. I was not sure I would because I'm more of a no or low frills kind of gal, and I was a little intimidated by all the computer wizardry and digital stuff, but I. Love. This. Car. I still tend to stomp for a clutch and reach for a shifter just because old habits die hard, and I still reach behind the seats to try to lock and unlock the back doors, but I'm getting there. It wasn't as difficult as I'd initially imagined trying to learn all the fancy-pants onboard gadgets and gizmos. I still don't understand all the displays regarding usage (5 minute what, now? graphs?), but I'm working on it. From the "stuff I never knew I wanted until I had it" files-- bluetoothing my phone with my car. My music and everything all in one place. It is still alarming when the car rings, though. The car rings. LOL still funny, a ringing car.

It has so much more room inside than it seems like it should. We hauled home a good-sized load of lumber in it last night. Along with the dog crates and some motorcycle gear. It's like a small truck. A small truck that I'm maintaining around 54 MPG with. Boom. We have an old '72 Chevy truck that is a fantastic workhorse and will haul about anything, but with the difference in mileage, I sure do think we're going to enjoy the Prius for hauling smaller loads. And in a/c because the truck doesn't have that. This must be what hitting the lottery feels like.

We are planning a three week cross country Prius-camping trip next year. I may live blog it because that seems like what you do these days. I. Love. This. Car. So, so glad I went Prius. It seems like the opposite of the kind of car I would like or find useful, especially considering how much time I spend on the road working and hauling and running around, but it is absolutely perfect. I'm thinking of adding a gun rack and some TruckNutz™ to go with some Coexist, Obama, and NPR stickers just to mess with some of the people who feel compelled to express their strong opinions over the type of car I drive. Thanks? It's just a car, people! Not a social or political statement!