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My first week with a Prius - Impressons

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by TomDac, Mar 9, 2012.

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  1. TomDac

    TomDac Junior Member

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    Location:
    Hayward, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Got my Prius because of the new job that is a 65 mile commute to Modesto, CA from Hayward, CA. All reverse commute, so not much stop-n-go traffic. I take 580E to 205 to 120 to 99S and it takes about an hour and 10 minutes each way.

    I chose the model 5 with the tech package because I thought the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control would be very beneficial on my commute.

    So, here I am a week later and here are my impressions:

    The Prius is very comfortable for me. I'm a big guy at 6'2, 275 lbs and this car fits me nicely. Good headroom... Leg room is good. I like the telescoping and tilt steering wheel. Lumbar adjustment on the driver seat is good also.

    The radar cruise control is FANTASTIC! Just love it. I get on 580 and set it and then never touch the gas or brake pedals until I get off 99 in Modesto! AWESOME. I normally set the cruise on 72 MPH and just steer while listening to either XM or my ipod thru the car's stereo. The stereo is miles better than my M3's Harmon-Kardon system, which IMHO is the worst sounding stock stereo system I've ever heard.

    This week I've averaged 48 MPG. Last night on the way home, i set the CC on 70 and drafted behind a semi almost the entire way.. we were going about 65 the whole time and my MPG was 54.8! WOW. Very cool.

    I've tried playing with the LKA and not sure that I'd ever really use it.. Maybe at night it works better, but since i'm going east in the morning and the car is facing the sun, and then also facing the sun going home, the LKA loses the lane markers quite often and I really couldn't trust it to keep me in the lane.

    Seat heater buttons are placed in a very unsafe location. Toyota needs to fix this and I'm sure they will in future Prius cars.

    I realize that you have to be stopped to punch in a destination in the Nav system (just like our 2011 Highlander) but I wasn't aware that you could set a destination with voice commands while driving.. Tried that and it works nicely.

    Didn't know the CD player could also play a DVD. Was reading the manual and I took a DVD out to the car and stuck it in there and it started showing the movie on the Nav screen! COOL. Of course the car has to be in park with the E-brake on... Not sure when I'd ever use this, but its cool to see a movie being played on that screen.

    So far, there's been nothing about the Prius that I don't like, other than the location of the seat heater buttons...

    Love the gadgetry... love the color and of course I LOVE the MPGs. :)
     
    #1 TomDac, Mar 9, 2012
    1 person likes this.
  2. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Congrats--enjoy.

    Just curious--will the sound system also play DVDs containing MP3s? My previous car (also a BMW) did, and with a few double layer DVDs w/ 8GB each, it was very convenient. Doesn't work in my 2010 (only plays CDs).
     
    #2 stream, Mar 9, 2012
  3. TomDac

    TomDac Junior Member

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    The manual says that if you're playing a DVD, you will only hear the audio portion of it when driving and that you had to be in Park with the e-brake on to see the video, so I would say that the answer to your question would be "yes". :)
     
    #3 TomDac, Mar 9, 2012
  4. shrktank

    shrktank New Member

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    Model:
    Three
    Glad you are enjoying it. I have had mine for about 3 weeks now and love it! I save about a gallon a day with my commute, which here in Mo. is about $3.6 a day.

    I do not have the fancy cruise control, but after reading your post I wish I did.

    BTW: I was born and raised in Hayward! Went to La Vista JR and Tennyson High. Grew up by the South Hayward BART station as a youth and my wife and I ended up buying a house down around the Hayward Airport.

    We moved about 16 years ago to Missouri. When people here ask my why I moved from California, I just give them a one word answer: California!

    Still love the Bay Area, Monterey, Yosemite and Wine Country, but I do not miss the politics or people too much



     
    #4 shrktank, Mar 9, 2012
  5. Eoin

    Eoin Active Member

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    I always worry when using regular cruise control about my foot placement and braking. If your foot is not on the gas pedal, where do you put it? Get too relaxed and your foot will not be able to reach the brake fast enough in an emergency.
     
    #5 Eoin, Mar 9, 2012
  6. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Good to know--thanx for the quick response. My lease is up in a few months, so... :D
     
    #6 stream, Mar 9, 2012
  7. Bodgerx

    Bodgerx Junior Member

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    Isn't there a foot rest in the Prius?!

    GT-I9000 ?
     
    #7 Bodgerx, Mar 9, 2012
  8. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    If you place it on the floor near the brake, the reaction time shouldn't be significantly different than going from gas to brake. However, this is even less of an issue in a car with DRCC as it'll brake hard in case of an emergency, buying you time to hit the brake.
     
    #8 32kcolors, Mar 9, 2012
  9. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    That's for left foot. You don't want to put your right foot there in such an awkward position.
     
    #9 32kcolors, Mar 9, 2012
  10. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Interesting, JBL GreenEdge sounds better than the sound system in M3.
     
    #10 usbseawolf2000, Mar 9, 2012
  11. TomDac

    TomDac Junior Member

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    It's a known fact that the e46 M3 sound system is rubbish. For $60K, one would think that it would be better.
     
    #11 TomDac, Mar 9, 2012
  12. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    Model:
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    Interesting that you mention the seat heater button placement in your Prius. When would someone actually use seat heat in sunny near central California?:smow:

    I agree that it's not the best place to stick those switches, but then again, we haven't been cold enough up here in southern Maine to really try them out yet! The fact that they have to be turned off manually is a bit strange. It would make more sense to me if by pressing Park and then the power button, that the seat heat would turn off.

    Also agree that the JBL system is a surprisingly good OEM sound system for a car in this price range.

    You have a long commute, nearly all highway, so your Prius is basically the perfect car for the mission. Enjoy it!
     
    #12 B. Roberts, Mar 9, 2012
  13. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    Why are the seat heater buttons in an unsafe location? The positioning was changed for the 2012 model year previously they were orientated vertically (L top, R bottom) now they are oriented horizontally but in the same general location.


    Posted from my iPhone via the Tapatalk app.
     
    #13 dustoff003, Mar 9, 2012
  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Because they're small (cramming two buttons in a space meant for one button) and it's down low. Our Camry's heated seats were nice big buttons (take the buttons to the left of the steering wheel and flip them horizontally. That's one button for the driver and another fullsize button for the passenger).

    Worse is that only the heated seat icon is illuminated. The L and R are not illuminated.
     
    #14 Tideland Prius, Mar 9, 2012
  15. ArkiePrius

    ArkiePrius Junior Member

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    TomDac, I have had my new Prius 4 around 3 weeks now and I also didn't know it would play DVDs until the other night I decided to try it. At first all I had was the soundtrack, no picture, so out comes the manuals and I finally figure out you had to be in Park , with the parking brake engaged as well. I think that is one of the things I love best about this car, I think I have figured out everything, and then some other really cool feature will pop up from nowhere. Good review on your part.
     
    #15 ArkiePrius, Mar 9, 2012
  16. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    Poor location yes, in my opinion that does not make them unsafe. It is for a seat heater not an ejection seat or a self destruct mechanism. A timer or another way of resetting the button would be a good idea as mentioned above, so that when you power down the car the seat heaters turn off.


    Posted from my iPhone via the Tapatalk app.
     
    #16 dustoff003, Mar 9, 2012
  17. TomDac

    TomDac Junior Member

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    Five
    IMHO bending down and potentially taking your eyes off the road to find that switch is dangerous.
     
    #17 TomDac, Mar 9, 2012
  18. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Because they want you to take your back out from reaching for it so you'll maximize your benefit from the seat heater in soothing your aching back.
     
    #18 32kcolors, Mar 9, 2012
  19. smokiejoe

    smokiejoe Member

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    Yes, I think the Seat Heater Buttons are in a weird location, but I found that I just left the Drivers Seat Heater on all Winter, and hardly touched the button at all. Of course it might be a little colder here in PA than in Sunny Cali.
     
    #19 smokiejoe, Mar 10, 2012
  20. samsprius1

    samsprius1 Active Member

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    This car cruises nice at 70! great around town too, I find myself really liking the PWR mode so I'm happy with mid40sMPG. Very rarely use my cruise control,But I don't drive a 150 miles a day! Just renewed my SiriusXM For another year! One question, What tires are they putting on the Five now?My Toyo proxes still look new,Run 36lbs all around!Nice color,Enjoy!
     
    #20 samsprius1, Mar 10, 2012
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