my favorite part of the prius... and some other comments

well, yes, the mpg is great. buying less gas is fantastic.

but, my favorite part of the car is definitely the Smart key system! it's sort of like my old mercedes key, but much better. i love that i don't have to take the key out of my pocket to open the door and start the car. and i know it's only been 2 days of owning the car and using the system, but it had me at "smart" because i'm annoyed at my other car for needing keys that i have to take out to use.

some things i did:
1. checked out the little mini mechanical key part
2. reprogrammed the unlock so it unlocks all the doors instead of just the driver door
3. put on my old key fob b/c my dealer was too cheap to give me a toyota one

--
it's interesting to read some of the comments and complaints of the other threads in this forum. if you change the words "toyota prius," it's basically like every other car forum out there. materials are cheap feeling, keyfob is bad, leather is bad, audio is poor, etc... frankly, i don't agree with most of those comments.

first and foremost, i bought the car b/c it uses less gas.
second, i had to have 4 seats for the family.
that's it.

every other consideration is a distant tertiary one. i mean, i like cupholders but, i didn't have "must have 5 cupholders" on my checklist on whether or not to purchase a prius.

having said that, i find the interior to be perfectly acceptable. i find the cup holders and pockets to be adequate for my needs. i have cloth seats because i don't like leather anyway (originally from L.A. so i grew to detest leather car seats.) the sound of the audio is pretty good. blue tooth works fine w/ my wife's phone (i don't have a cellphone) and it was easily setup. the aux in is great and i've already burned several mp3 cds for the changer. rear seat space is great and i can carry 2 sets of golf clubs (the ivideo i saw showed up to 3 sets can be carried.) i find seating to be perfectly fine and adjusted the steering wheel to my satisfaction. trace touch is really nifty and having the controls on the steering wheel is well placed and easy to use. did i mention the Smart key system?

basically, for a $25,000 car, i find the car to have exceeded my expectations and i definitely give it a solid thumbs up.

the other cars i had considered included the honda insight, ford fusion hybrid and audi a5.

--
ok, ok, i do have a few negatives. wish i could've gotten a moonroof w/out the solar thing. i don't like the feel of the steering wheel material (but, my wife likes it) and haven't decided yet whether or not to put on a wheelskinz cover. license plate only uses the top 2 screws. those gray plastic fillers where the foglights go and the blank buttons b/c i don't have all the options are kind of sad. had no idea toyota accessories cost so much (i'd love to get the turn signal light side mirrors and the aluminum rear bumper cover.) not too crazy about the centralized display but, i guess i'll get used to it.

but, really, all those things are very very minor if they're even valid.

i intend to just drive, save gas, and enjoy the car. eace:

Keyless entry is great and bluetooth also (this is my first car with bluetooth). The big flaw I found is no auto-lights. It should be required by law when cars have electronic gages. It is easy to forget to turn on the lights since you can see everything on the dashboard. All the cars I've owned in the last 10 years had this feature and I already drove the Prius three times at night with the lights turned off.

At least on my model II, I get auto lights by keeping the lights ON - 30 seconds after turning the car off, the headlights go out. When I start the car again, the lights go on.

That could be a solution but there are problems:

When the lights are on:

the electronic display will be dimmer
the nav screen switches to dark background
the tail lights can be confused with brake lights during the day
the battery is used more, MPG may be lower.

Yes--instructions are in the first chapter of owners manual. I believe you press & hold the unlock & lock buttons on the fob simultaneously for 5 seconds until you hear 2 beeps (must be done with car power off).

I've only had my IV since Tuesday evening, and I too am very, very pleased. I had been worried after reading all the complaints here at PriusChat, but I find most of them are non-issues for me. The leather seats seem fine, I can see the display fine even with 54 year old eyes and polarized sunglasses, and rear visibility seems okay as well -- better than the Corolla the dealership loaned me.

Cup holders are less than great. Only one of them, the one inside the console, will accommodate my travel mug with handle. But in the grand scheme of things, this is a minor issue.

All in all, the car has so far exceeded my expectations. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Starships don't have keys.

Somehow, that thought comes to mind every time I enter the car. In fact, I sometimes go out of my way to NOT use the fob. (Prius III, so to open the rear hatch, I open the driver door, then push the unlock button.)

In 5 or 6 years, I guess all cars above $20,000 will have keyless entry/start like that, but for now... Woot! :rockon:

EDIT: And I, too, am satisfied with the fit and finish of the car, as well as its overall looks. Not sure where some people are coming from with "it's ugly" or "thing XYZ is cheap". Not to mention that it's like a video game every time I drive the car.