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2011 III - first Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by unkprius, Jan 7, 2011.

  1. unkprius

    unkprius Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2010
    152
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Brought it home last Friday and have had it for a week, just some spurious thoughts:

    Lowest mileage 49.8, highest 62.0.

    Seats are fine for cloth, the lumbar support in the '11 maybe is different than '10? This lumbar pushes like crazy on my lower back, and even though old car had adjustable lumbar, at max it never was as much a back poker as the Prius. I like it.

    My choices were a tossup between new '11 Sonata(had a '06 Elantra no troubles), Fusion and Prius. Prius looks have to take getting used to over normal cars, but it does grow on you.

    Final decision to buy Prius was not for mileage, but for getting the feeling of actually buying something different for the money. Not just a replacement vehicle where after the first trip home from dealer, you parked it in the garage, figured out how the radio worked, set the stations, then got out and locked it and that was that.

    All the other choices were indeed just a replacement, good ones to be sure, and much nicer than my old reliable Elantra, but still just a variation of every vehicle previous. The Prius definitely is different, still getting used to it, referring back to manual, still oopsing the gearshift/buttons while parking and similar. Cycling through displays while driving.

    Prius is very fun to drive, feels nimble in normal driving, rides firm but supple(love that term) and is about as quiet as the Sonata, Fusion was quieter though. Had test driven a '10 Prius a few months ago and it seemed to have more wind noise than the new one.

    Only nitpick, and I knew this going in, is the age-old complaint of steering wheel too far away when seat is set at maximum comfort zone from pedals. Though many a tall person is fine with it, I'd strongly urge anyone over 6' to make sure they are at peace with final adjustment of seat before purchase. Just one more inch of travel out....

    Otherwise I am totally happy with the car. Still pondering cancelling the expensive six year Toyota b2b extended warranty I purchased, but I do like to sleep at night, and there are so many computer thingys in it, and my luck isn't that good, so very probably will keep it.

    Getting fog lights, locking lug nuts, possibly side molding and lower silver strip for doors.

    (edit:)
    1. Change spurious to 'assorted'.....
    2. And seriously, if lumbar were any more aggressive it would be uncomfortable (to me).
     
    #1 unkprius, Jan 7, 2011
  2. stream

    stream Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2008
    2,977
    452
    14
    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Congrats--enjoy.
     
    #2 stream, Jan 7, 2011
  3. BlizzP10

    BlizzP10 New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2010
    61
    4
    0
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You definitely put some thought into this purchase (and your comments). Congrats on the new car. I'm still trying to figure out why your thoughts are spurious. :confused: Maybe that word is used differently in Texas?
     
    #3 BlizzP10, Jan 7, 2011
  4. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2009
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    Location:
    Alaska
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride!
     
    #4 spiderman, Jan 7, 2011
  5. priushippie

    priushippie New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2009
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    Location:
    Pennsyltucky
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Welcome to the gang!
     
    #5 priushippie, Jan 7, 2011
  6. Sporin

    Sporin Prius Noob

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2010
    576
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    Location:
    Vermont, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    WElcome!

    I very nearly got an '11 Sonata but the wife lobbied hard for the Prius and I'm glad she did, we love ours. Only getting a 40mpg per tank average so far though, you warm state guys are lucky.
     
    #6 Sporin, Jan 7, 2011
  7. erikl

    erikl New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2010
    36
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    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Interesting, so the lumbar is more pronounced in the 2011's? Lumbar in the 2010 cloths is *awful* . As in, there is none.
     
    #7 erikl, Jan 7, 2011
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2004
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    Location:
    Fort Lee, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Many owners do find it fun to drive.
     
    #8 usbseawolf2000, Jan 7, 2011
  9. newtoprius2010

    newtoprius2010 New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2011
    54
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    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I debated about the extended warranty but that can be purchased anytime before the 3 years are up. I didn't want to tag on another expense at this time. Though the dealer seemed annoyed when I didn't buy it. I will probably purchase the maintenance plan sometime later.

    We debated between the Camry hybrid but Prius won (husband wanted something else..not another camry or accord :) )
     
    #9 newtoprius2010, Jan 7, 2011
  10. chado1000

    chado1000 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2010
    16
    0
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Not sure if you know this or not but the steering wheel is telescoping, as in not only will it go up and down but in and out. At least thats how it is in my Prius III. I would think that would help with it being to far away for the tall people.
     
    #10 chado1000, Jan 7, 2011
  11. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    :welcome:

    Congrats and welcome aboard!
     
    #11 ETC(SS), Jan 7, 2011
  12. Judgeless

    Judgeless Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2009
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    Location:
    Cleveland, OH
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Get rid of the warranty. I have close to 50,000 miles on my 2010 Prius with zero repairs. Consumer report just rated the 2010 Prius and it received perfect ratings in everything except the brakes because of a software recall that has been fixed in all new Prius cars.

    I had a 2000 Toyota 4Runner that I drove for 10 years and 305,000 miles. Nothing broke on the car that would be covered by a warranty until I was over 200,000 miles. Total cost of repairs over that life of the vehicle was less than $1,000.

    Save yourself $1,000+ and get out of the warranty. Toyota makes the most reliable cars in the world. The technology has not changed that much over the last 3 generations of Prius’s. They all have a great track record.
     
    #12 Judgeless, Jan 7, 2011
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
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    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
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    Congrats and welcome to PriusChat!
     
    #13 Tideland Prius, Jan 7, 2011
  14. Sporin

    Sporin Prius Noob

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2010
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    Location:
    Vermont, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    They tried to sell us the extended warranty as well but even wrapping it into my 0% financing I wasn't willing to drop another 2 grand that day.

    I figured if the car was problematic (and statistics say they rarely are) then I have 3/36 to shop around and get the best deal on the genuine Toyota extended.

    We let the finance guy go through all his screens of sales pitches (warranty, service contract, paint/fabric protection, blah, blah, blah) then politely told him we'd pass on all of it. He seemed visibly shocked, but he was polite about it. :D
     
    #14 Sporin, Jan 8, 2011
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