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Picked up a 2021 L Eco yesterday (Thoughts)

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by EconoModder, Jan 27, 2021.

  1. EconoModder

    EconoModder Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2015
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    Location:
    San Diego
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    Had a Prius C before, 2 Honda Insights (2000,2002) one manual, one automatic. Also owned a 2007 Civic Hybrid brand new at the time. Had 2 Nissan Leafs and a Fiat 500e.

    Now, 1st off, EV's are superior in every way to a hybrid UNTIL you have to charge them. Haha. In SoCal, electricity rates are so high that you are better off buying a standard Prius UNLESS someone else is paying for your charge (work?)

    But I digress. I didn't need this car, but since the Gen II came out in 2004, I was taken by its fugly yet purpose built aero shape. The Gen III looked good exterior wise, but I just couldn't do the dash (looked really retro 80's digital). FFWD to 2017 where I rented a 2016 Gen IV Prius and put 1400 miles on it and got 59.6mpg. I was HOOKED!

    Now, I've gotten some good numbers in my Inisght, higher than the Prius, but it also came at a cost. Extremely noisy and only a 2 seater and not that great in city driving for MPG, but great on the hwy.

    Anyway, so I've been putting off gettng a Prius for 17 years now and finally got one yesterday...a 2021 Prius L Eco. I wanted the Li-Ion pack as I worked briefly for GreenBean Battery and fielding the volume of calls on the Gen II and Gen III customers, and having a dead pack on my Insight, I wanted something that was less prone to needing replacement and had better specs. Just so happens the L Eco is also the cheapest and comes with the Li-Ion battery pack. =)

    So, here's my problem. As I already knew from renting one...this is not a car you are going to "find yourself" in. You will NOT feel connected to the road as a sportscar driver. Buying this car is a purchase you make with your head and not your heart. And that is prob what saddens me most that as a 46 year old man, I am really conceeding to my age. Don't get me wrong, I have a 2017 Civic Si and a Jeep Wrangler...but I'm too frugal at this point to enjoy driving them now when I know I have a Prius! Haha.

    Anyway, I fig'd I only live once, and I just couldn't forgive myself if I went thru life without experiencing the joy of owning a new Prius...so I went ahead and pulled the trigger yesterday. Wish me luck! =)
     
  2. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Whittier, CA
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Good Luck!
     
  3. MIkeDr

    MIkeDr Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2020
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    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    XLE AWD-e
    Same. We live in downtown Seattle, don’t drive much, and when we do, the roads are congested. Our condo building doesn’t have EV chargers yet. With the pandemic, mass transit got dicey, and Zipcar and Gig (the latter which introduced us to the Prius) were becoming too inconvenient. Very hard to justify a luxury or sporty vehicle for the type of driving we do.

    Ended up leasing a Prius. Actually sort of like it. I wish it had a 360 birds eye camera, and a height adjustable passenger seat (which few non-luxury Asian makes have for some reason), which is slightly problematic for my height challenged spouse. The Prius is car as appliance, and for what we realistically use a vehicle for, is just fine.
     
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  4. PriusRocinante

    PriusRocinante New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2021
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    Im 25 and just lost my 2014 Honda Civic in a hit and run. I ended up getting the 21 l eco and have felt a lot of the same feeling. So far my main complaints are the insane steering ratio it takes two good turns to park it feels like. I’m also not a fan of the lane keep system or more so can’t figure out how to keep it from trying to kill me. I really wish they replaced that button on the wheel with a boost or kers the car goes from launch but the engine can’t do anything exciting on its own. It’s not a fun driving experience but it is comfortable and the eco game is fun in the city
     

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  5. MIkeDr

    MIkeDr Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2020
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    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    XLE AWD-e
    I haven’t noticed the steering wheel ratio... I do love the turning radius. This is the 2nd car we’ve owned with active lane assistance, and I still don’t like it. I don’t mind the chirp if I cross the white lines without signaling, but don’t like being pushed into the center of the lane. Always turn it off.
     
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  6. PriusRocinante

    PriusRocinante New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2021
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    Yeah while I was waiting on my car I drove my moms 2020 Kia Soul with lane assistant and it was kinda dumb but it at least kept the car in the center. This Prius lane watch literally swerves from line to line nearly crashed me the instant I turned it on first time. I’ve messed some more in the settings and got it to just beep with no steering and that’s way better. I do have a question though in my civic it had a dynamic line on the backup camera and I’ve seen videos of Toyota’s doing the same thing is the L eco camera not able to do that or am I missing a setting to turn it on somewhere? Right now it’s just a static box that doesn’t help much
     
  7. MIkeDr

    MIkeDr Active Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    XLE AWD-e
    I believe that for whatever reason US Priuses don’t have dynamic lines, although I think the models in Australia and other places do. Which is weird.
     
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  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

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    Other Non-Hybrid
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    A quick search of your Civic shows it's 2.78 turns lock-to-lock. Anything 2.5-3.0 is pretty quick.

    I think the Prius is near 3.0 but I can't seem to find the specification.
     
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  9. PriusRocinante

    PriusRocinante New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2021
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    Huh... that’s interesting I wonder if it’s possible to have it enabled in the software somehow
     
  10. PriusRocinante

    PriusRocinante New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2021
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    The move I’ve driven it the more I get used to it but I definitely feel that .18 difference at low speeds
     
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  11. A5B1

    A5B1 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2016
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    Location:
    ft myers, fl
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    LE
    Good luck! I now have ,2500 miles on my 2020 LE and am averaging 60.1 mpg. My 2019 Ioniq, driven the same way gets 52 mpg.
     
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  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Calculated or display?
     
  13. robsnyder20

    robsnyder20 Active Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Welcome EconoModder to the prius ownership life. I think a lot of us feel the same way you do...wishing we had some awesome beast of a car, except when hitting the pump! The prius is a good solid car, but not an exciting one. The tech, while decent, is not super awesome like from other manufacturers but of course we can pump gas and just drive across country if we shall ever want. It gets awesome MPG even while in a hurry and floor it occasionally to "live a little" LOL. Coming from a 5 speed stick, it actually has decent acceleration when needing to...go. I think a lot of us made the decision to buy the car being a decent, reliable, efficient ride. Sure the priis cost a premium up front but hopefully most of us just enjoy trouble free miles and reliability. Coming from a car with much larger wheels, I am happy to have my 15" wheels back when swapping the tires. $400 out the door new Michelins on sale! Most of us put on a lot more miles than the average folks so we have to decide on a vehicle that fits our needs and saves us money in the long run! Lowering emissions and saving the planet doesn't hurt too!
     
  14. Mambo Dave

    Mambo Dave Active Member

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    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco

    Completely understand. I'm in the same boat. This was a business and financial decision. It does well enough in a straight line, but has gross limitations in the cornering.

    The car payment is better than my truck was, already, so the fuel savings this 2019 has given me are the quality-of-life improvements that I use to make life better. I've bought a floor lamp and a smart-trainer with that money. :)

    I've got 20k miles on the 2019, averaging about 41.5 MPG
     
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  15. MikeV

    MikeV Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2020
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    Location:
    philadelphia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    how is the 2021 l eco doing?