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New Prius v Three Owner - Now I am "Prius Plural"

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by managerman, Jul 30, 2012.

  1. managerman

    managerman Prius v Nerd

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2012
    228
    110
    0
    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    About 3.5 months ago I turned in my leased 2009 Infiniti G37xS Sport Sedan for a Prius C! I have not looked back since...I love my C! It has already saved me over 800.00 in fuel expenses compared to my Infiniti!! That is real money! I was so impressed with my C, I decided to look into replacing my 2011 Dodge Journey R/T with a Prius v! While the Dodge was a nice vehicle with good features for the price, it only averaged about 19 MPG, and My wife easily puts 15k-18k a year on the car she drives. We also have two dogs (one being a great dane!) so we needed the cargo room.

    My wife and I test drove a Prius v and liked it alot!! I ended up getting a Prius v Three in silver Metallic for her. I got a very good deal for the v and a great trade in for my Dodge....So... I am now a Prius Plural family!!

    Here are a few pictures of the siblings! More HERE.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    I have already done a few mods/changes to the V which I will post in the Accessories and Mods forum. Here is a quick rundown:

    1.) Change all internal lighting to LED
    2.) Change License plate bulbs to LED
    3.) Added Xenon Supply 4300K HID Kit
    4.) Added Homelink/Autodim/Compass Mirror LINK
    5.) Added Rear Bumper Protector
    6.) Added Foglights - (Now looks like Prius V Five!) LINK
    7.) Removed crappy wheel covers and added center wheel cap
    8.) Added weather strip to underside of hood
    9.) Added Scangauge II
    10.) Change parking lamps to LED

    I will add links to the above mods as I add threads in the Mods area. I photo documented all of them. I sure do appreciate all the other Prius Chat posts that helped me accomplish many of these changes!

    What I want to get next:

    1.) Tint...boy does it need it!
    2.) Leather arm rest replacement.
    3.) Sunshade
    4.) Maybe color matched mudflaps....maybe...
    5.) All weather mats before winter.

    Observations so far:

    1.) Car is 800 pounds heavier than the C so it is much slower from 0-10 on EV than the C...Not bad..but different.
    2.) Power Mode is great when you need it!
    3.) Very comfortable ride, much smoother than the C even with Tire pressures at 44/42.
    4.) Cargo Space is fantastic...same as the Dodge Journey!
    5.) Great MPG so far! almost 46MPG and that's with half the miles being Hwy.
    6.) Car has a lot more inertia (extra weight) It Glides way better than the C!
    7.) My C came with Turanza EL 400 02 tires max pressure 44psi, The V came with Turanza EL400 02 Ecopia tires max pressure 51 psi....have not tried over 44 yet...
    8.) The 6" screen is even harder to see during the day than in the C
    9.) I like the backup camera in the V...Will be adding one to the C soon.
    10.) Sliding rear seat is great! All kinds of room for my son and his teenage friends!
    11.) MPG in city driving is always over 50...

    I will add more as I come up with more!

    -M
     
    #1 managerman, Jul 30, 2012
    PearlV, [email protected] and Chazz8 like this.
  2. IceKream

    IceKream Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2012
    20
    9
    0
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I'm so jealous! I saw the c when we went to test drive the v, lift back and TCH. Ended up purchasing the v to replace a F250 pickup and am loving the car (especially the mpg) thus far. I've also been eying the c ever since for our second car. We currently have a '96 civic as our second car and it's still running great at 170K. Maybe by the time we need to replace it, there'll be some used c in the market.

    First thing I did with the v was tint and clear bra. Tint made a huge difference. Went with 35% all the way around. Wish I had gotten the back and rear darker even (maybe 20%?). So I highly recommend tint!

    How hard is it to add the fog lights and the Homelink/auto-dim mirror? How much time for each and what tools do you need? Could someone that is reasonably handy around the house, but not a car do this?

    I average about 52 MPG easily driving around town with half freeway miles after 1K miles. Your MPG may still be rising. However, our recent road trip to Seattle has lowered my average significantly since we only averaged about 39-40 MPG for that trip driving at 75-80 MPH.

    Thanks.
     
    #2 IceKream, Jul 30, 2012
  3. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2005
    29,110
    8,589
    201
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Congrats! Just as an FYI, it's a Prius v Three (Not Prius V III). Roman numerals were only used for describing packages for the Prius liftback in 2010. That's why the Prius v is lowercase, as not to confuse it with a Prius package V from 2010. And starting with 2011 all prius (liftback, v and c) use Two, Three, Four and Five to describe packages. I only post this so others may also see it and it gets the word out. :)
     
    #3 Paradox, Jul 30, 2012
    PearlV and managerman like this.
  4. managerman

    managerman Prius v Nerd

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2012
    228
    110
    0
    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    For me at least...they were all day projects...I think if I had to do them again it would only take a fraction of the time...The first time through is always more time consuming...No special tools required as long as you have a socket set, screwdrivers, a coat hanger, and a little bit of electrical knowledge....There are a few other posts in the mods forum that helped me understand enough to take on the the projects...I will be posting how I did both changes in the mods area later this week...Here are a couple of pics! of the completed projects....

    -M

    Homelink Mirror

    [​IMG]

    No Foglights!

    [​IMG]

    Foglights!
    [​IMG]
     
    #4 managerman, Jul 30, 2012
  5. IceKream

    IceKream Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2012
    20
    9
    0
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Thanks M. I'll be on the look out for your post in the mod area. Love your pictures!
     
    #5 IceKream, Jul 30, 2012
  6. AllenZ

    AllenZ Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2010
    640
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    0
    Location:
    Chicago
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Me interested. too. Please post a link here.
     
    #6 AllenZ, Jul 31, 2012
  7. Encalibur

    Encalibur New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2012
    26
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    0
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    N/A
    Awesome looking fog lights! Won't be hard to convince the missus to let that be the next project/add on.
     
    #7 Encalibur, Jul 31, 2012
  8. managerman

    managerman Prius v Nerd

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2012
    228
    110
    0
    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Added a few links!

    -M
     
    #8 managerman, Aug 17, 2012
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