Joining the Prius family tomorrow morning (pre-owned 2010)

After a few weeks of researching, test-driving, and wrangling with the decision whether to buy or not, I went ahead and purchased a new-to-me 2010 Blizzard Pearl Prius which I will pick up tomorrow morning. It was listed at the Hyundai dealer as a Prius I, but I think it is a package II?? How do I tell? Paid ~$15.5k before taxes and DMV fees - I'm sure I could've done better on the price, but really wasn't in the mood to haggle for a few bucks and I thought it was a fair price for a 1-owner car with only 17,800 miles (!!) on the odometer. Carfax checks out fine and car is in excellent shape as expected from previous low usage, with only 2 minor scratches and 1 very minor ding by rear wheel arch. Test drive revealed quiet, solid ride with no rattles or shakes - I was a little concerned about that being the first model year of the Gen III.

I commute about 70 miles/day, and I'll be coming from a '04 Civic that averaged 33 mpg combined. So a nice savings in gas expenditures, but the main reason I want to move into a Prius is to take advantage of the HOV lane exception (Clean Pass NY). If I can save an average of 15 minutes each way on my commute, I figure I can regain over 5 full days of my life back each year. With a young child at home now, that to me is priceless!!

Looking forward to the adventure of Prius ownership and getting valuable information from other owners on this site!

 

Yes, NY HOV still gives stickers to hybrids. Per NY DOT website:

Eligible Vehicle Criteria: ​

• Vehicles which are certified to the California Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle ​

(SULEV) standard and achieve a United State Environmental Protection Agency ​

(USEPA) highway fuel economy rating of 45 miles per gallon or more; or​

• Pre-model year 2005 hybrid vehicles which are certified to the California Ultra ​

Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standard and achieve a USEPA highway fuel ​

economy rating of 45 miles per gallon or more. ​

​

I don't know how long this will last since the HOV is getting rather congested, but I *assume* any vehicle with a sticker will be grandfathered in should any changes be made.

Now I'm just (im)patiently waiting for the bank to open so I can get my certified check. Then it's off to the dealer to pick up the car!

 

First day of ownership and I'm impressed (with the fuel economy, at least). Trip from dealer to my office was 39.0 miles, at 55.1 MPG! Woot! Put on another 50.1 miles coming home and running errands, and that segment netted 49.2 MPG. Really looking forward to learning how to reasonably squeeze the most out of this car.

However, other than the fuel economy, there is really nothing exciting about driving this car. But having the car "pay back" its cost in gas $ savings is exciting enough. There'll be time for another "fun car" when I hit my mid-life crisis...which should be soon...

 

Yes, it is a 2. While shopping I noticed a lot of pre-owned Prius were advertised as "Prius I", when they obviously were not. (i.e. navigation screen or cruise control stalks can be seen in vehicle pictures)

 

First fill up (albeit small one after only 284.8 miles) netted 54.1 MPG hand calcaulated (54.2 mpg showed on the trip odo). Gonna really work on improving on that a little bit and try for the high 50's. Can't wait until this crazy heat wave is over so I don't have to run the A/C constantly! (I gladly sacrifice MPGs in the name of comfort - I hate the heat!!!)

 

I was able to achieve pretty good MPG numbers during the week because I have been commuting the same route to/from work every day for 14 years, so I know all the nuances of both the roads and rush hour traffic. Makes is easy to practice fuel efficient driving techniques. Completely different on the weekend, towing the family around to various places, and blasting the A/C while the car idles for 20 minutes while I run into the store solo because my son is sleeping in the back... Still, I'm at about 52mpg so far for my current tank, so I'm not complaining.

My wife was fairly adamant against me getting the Prius, since we already own 2 cars and she barely drives hers, but today she was asking me all sorts about questions about the HSI. She's coming around...