at 1300 miles

I took my first long high speed (well some of it was) trip in my 2 month old Prius V. My overwhelming impression was how easy it was to drive, nothing particular I had to learn other than to leave a little bit of extra room for it to get up to speed. Compared to the CRV 4-cyl I had been driving, I'd say the entire trip was easier. Everything worked from the Navigation to the bluetooth to just about everything.

300+ miles in 6 hours up and another 300+ 8 hours back. Ran into a 20 mile traffic-stopped backup and navigated my way to an escape route which was likewise overwhelmed. Took me 2 hours to go 12 miles of creepy crawly 100-yards-per-stoplight local roads. But at least I was doing it on battery most of the time and the overall MPG for the trip at 35-40F degrees was still over 40.5 per fuelly. Considering lots of this was at 75 and I wasn't doing any special high MPG driving (but rather running on cruise control when I could) I was pleased. Got gas lots less often and in much smaller/cheaper amounts than the CRV ever did. And being able to run till you get to cheap gas helps ($3.029 is nice when at the other end of the trip it was $3.389).

Anyone know if asymmetric mirrors are available for the Prius? They allow you to have a section of regular rear view mirrors and a section that covers the blind spot. Had em on my Porsche (as you can imagine the left-rear and right-rear portions of the top on a roadster really create huge blind spots, much worse than any we experience with a Prius) and they worked with power and heated mirror options just fine.

My passenger used my Droid's Google maps with traffic overlay while I keep the nav screen on where we were and we compared traffic density of various routes to try to escape the backup. Dark red versus light red. Couldn't have done that with the nav alone and still driven.

He is a big fellow (college lineman sized) and on the trip back we moved the front passenger seat all the way forward and he sat in the righthand back seat and had gobs of legroom and reclined the seatback to where he was comfortable. The front was OK, this was just better.

My total impression was how normal the Viius was to drive for a newbie to the world of hybrids. I was really expecting much more of an acceleration difference and had read of people feeling buffeted by the wind. Not my experience at all, lots of 18 wheelers and lots of traffic and I never felt a thing. Since most of the time I make this same run it is in a heavier 270HP sedan, the lack of a bigger difference surprised/pleased me.

After the trip, as I was cleaning up, I discovered that, over time, 4 items had migrated from the rear footwell to under the front seat. Considering that one was a package of 2 week old food, I'm sure the cockpit smells better now!

 

I really can't quantify any extra room to accelerate perhaps because I was conscious of needing it and thus it didn't become an issue. Thus I allowed for the time/space needed. But pass an 18 wheeler at 75 and merge back in front quick enough not to get run over by the looney who wants to do 80 ... sure. And I drive in eco mode, not pwr which gives a more immediate response. Only had that on one time since I bought the car and it was a jackrabbit.

Comfortable in the sense of plush? No. But comfortable in the sense that I (69 years old) drove 8 straight hours (well 2 stops of no more than 10 minutes) and was fully functional and comfortable when I emerged.

Quietest? No. But lots quieter than my CRV when accelerating and less tire noise (different tires). I've been in current gen RAV-4s and Venzas and I sense they may be quieter. Amount of sound deadening material is my guess.

I have no use for moonroofs, had them on other cars and used them perhaps 5 minutes over the last 10 years. I owned several Porsche convertibles ... roof down all the time. Matter of personal preference.

Do I want the weight/complexity/failure-points of power seats? No. I drive my car, wife drives hers. I can adjust seats if I need to and do during a long trip no matter the car.

Didn't consider a hybrid until the V version came out. Wasn't looking for a sedan. I go 50 miles to COSTCO with 5 freezer boxes plus boxes for stuff I buy there and most hybrids sacrifice trunk space.

All personal needs and preferences. I posted not to persuade but to express my surprise at how normal the experience was, I wasn't expecting that.

But I sense you are looking for things the Prius isn't about. Good luck in your search.