New to Forum/Driving

:welcome: if you work hard at it, i'm sure you will become a very good driver. the C should be a very good and safe car for you. it sounds like you have more sense than your father or your friends. all the best! keep us updated on your progress.

 

Welcome. Driving gets much easier with practice, so don't worry - you'll get there with time.

The Prius c would make an excellent first car. As for the Prius being a gay car, that's just stupid. The Prius is a *smart* car.

Tom

 

To be honest, Christian... Driving is almost like driving in video game, except with more serious consequences. Of course, being a Californian, you should have Driver's ed courses and a learner's permit, you will more than likely learn on a gas car.

Driving a hybrid, however, a few things you should know, and obviously, read up more and check out some of the videos out there...

1) Prius car - You can drive as a regular gas car. But by doing so, you won't get good gas milage.
2) Listen to the instructors on driving. Ease on to the gas, don't keep 'pressing' on the gas once you get to a speed you need to.
3) Look ahead at all times, start judging distance. If traffic slows down, Let off on the gas (You should be doing that on occasion as well with the hybrid) and let the car slow down by itself, but always keep in mind to lightly press the brake.
4) Highway driving - Especially in California - Learn to coast as you get closer to your exit. Unlike some of the cars you will be tested on, the Prius (All types) will have a bit less drag than others. You can literally coast at cruising speed without putting power into the engine, let the car's regenerative brakes do the slowing down for you as well when you are exiting, then lightly apply brakes.
5) NEVER - EVER - RIDE THE BRAKES. This is true with any car, not just with the Prius. Riding the brakes or doing 'Run up, brake to slow down behind other car' - It's a bad habit a lot of people have. Doing that wears at the brakes and doesn't do the tires too well if you are forced to hard brake either. Hence my earlier recommendations - look ahead... Let off the gas, brake lightly when necessary.

Now as far as calling the Prius gay... That's fine. While the car is no muscle car, the one thing your friends will later regret is probably the following:
1) The muscle car they get will end up costing them more in the long run when gas prices go up.
2) While they are working harder to pay for their car expenses, your insurance will probably be a little lower than theirs due to a few factors, noting that while a brand new car will be expensive to insure (Even with your parent's help) and your relatively young age. Your friends at the same age as you, will have a higher premium than you with a muscle car because of one simple fact, base profiling based on age and vehicle. People with muscle cars at a young age will tend to be dinged with a higher premium due to the belief that they are a higher risk factor, therefore you will have to pay more, which means they will have to look at a cheaper car to get a lesser premium.
3) Older, cheaper cars - Not as 'cool' in some cases, especially if your friends want to listen to their music, as cheaper, older cars won't necessarily support bluetooth for their iPhone or Android phone for streaming music, or be able to do hands-free calling.

But hey, they have the muscle car they want. Just hope they enjoy smogging the older car (As it is required for older cars to get smogged once every 2 years)

Being practical at a young age may not seem glamorous, but in some cases, you find that you might not have nearly as many problems in the long run.

 

I started my daughter driving on very empty roads just off the 'Loneliest Road in America' so she could learn the controls before needing to learn to cope with traffic, I suspect you do not get that luxury.

Start learning now to be aware of emergency vehicles, Police, Fire, Ambulances, Tow Trucks. These are the least predictable vehicles on the road and you need to be alert to their 'bad' driving.

Your friends will like driving with you better if you step up to the nicer Prius c Two seats. And Cruise Control is very nice. The wipers are better, that's a safety feature in my book, I was raised in Seattle.

 

Very important though... And from my own example... Play car based games, while I wouldn't say GTA as I am sure your parents won't appreciate that. There are some car type simulators. Hone some of your 'instincts' and get use to the fact that your harping to your mom's driving should be on the same level for you.

After a while, a lot of it will be old hat for you, but one thing that has rarely been harped after Driver's Ed is 'Defensive Driving'. Assume most people out there are idiots and going to do something stupid. Yes, I know that seems insulting, but the simple fact is, in all driving, someone is not going to pay attention, and in the long run, it's up to you and your instincts to keep yourself safe, regardless of your car.

And Cruise control is good for situations like this as well, even for your mother on the highway. While it may not be the dynamic cruise control on the Prius v 5 ATP, it will help smooth out some of her MPG instead of manually trying to do it and she can always turn it off when she has to slow down, reset and gradually crawl it up to get more MPG, you can do that yourself as well.

 

I never felt comfortable driving until my first, and only, accident.

 

It's a great first choice for a car, it's safe, affordable and very practical for someone your age.

It's also great if you live in a city with horrible traffic, it's well suited for it.