Existential Prius Driving Lesson #1

reading about the Prius experience and actually liviing through it is soooo different. i think you will be pleased when you get your Prius. for me, it was much better than i expected to be and i had pretty high expectations.

 

Heh! It only gets worse my friend. I am about to make payment number 12 on my car, yep coming up on a year, I spent so many hours here during the 5 month wait.......

Once it came it It was like being 16 again (I am only 29 so it wasn't to long ago) in that I started looking for any excuse to take a drive....... hell we put 24K miles on it already, that 100K mile warranty was well worth it (and I only paid $800 for it not the $1,900 the dealer quoted me, thanks PC).

Sorry I can't be of more help to point things out on the site but I haven't been here in ages, just dropped by while waiting on "paint to dry"

Enjoy your new car.

 

I've had mine for a little over a month now and can't believe how much fun I'm having driving it and reading these posts. I drove new BMWs for the past thirteen years (still work for them) and found that I was pushing my luck ... driving much too fast. I'm glad I made the decision to drop out of the race and learn a new style of driving. My mpg has been between 39 (first tank)
and 46. This tank is at 50.5 with 1.5 sqares to go.

 

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Thank you all soooo much for everything and for all your help in the future.

David

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Former NY'er also ( Riverdale, Bklyn, Queens, the Village, and No Jersey for 18 yrs ) You will love this if you commute into the City.

You will be able to Pulse&Glide at just about any speed from ~ 25 up to 80 mph. You will be amazed sometimes how with 'feathering' the pedal that you can go for nearly 2-3 miles on no fuel.

I live on the Outer Banks now and commute 75 mi each way to SE VA ( not nearly as bad as the 30 miles from Wayne past Giant Stad to Hudson St ). Now for the last 2+ miles decelerating off the Hwy then through our neighborhood I am either coasting or running on EV at ~22 mph on our local streets. The instantaneous 'bio-feedback' device is pinned to 100 mpg ( actually Infinity ). That's cool.

Beware: If your commute is short you may have to make adjustments to extend the driving time of your trips. Short trips kill FE for all vehicles, especially in cold weather.

Any help I can give you please ask. For the clients that take delivery from me the process should take at least an hour. If it doesnt you are being 'shorted' lets say. There are enough tricks and special features that a proper delivery needs an hour plus another 30 min if the Navi is involved.

 

It's funny. I did exactly the same thing just before landing my baby. I followed Priuses too see how the drove. I was 'appaled' too see so many driving them in a none FE way and happy when i saw one pulse and gliding.

I think you are all set to get a prius. Understaning that this car likes to be handled differently then a normal car (it loves to glide!) and that letting off the gas completly just for half a second tells the car that it's OK to try EV mode or glide.

It will take time to learn to drive it well. I started around 43 mpg and is mow up to 46.7 and still climbing. I just learned this weekend how bad short trips can be my gas milage went from 47.9 and 46.7 for the tank (with ~120miles) in a few trips :-(

Still, it's also an awsome coach car. It has a limousine feeling I really like.
I hope you are getting the leather and the blutooth, GPS etc. Everything is so well integrated and you get used to it quickly.

I wonder if Toyota and others are aware how many poeple go form 60k+ cars to a 33k car. It just seems like the are missing a market here. A 45k+ FE lexus hybrid seems like it would be a hit. And lexus has never really been about power it's a Mercedes not a BMW and proudly states how quiet it is. That to me seems perfect for a hybrid (and no the rx400h was tempting but simply not GREEN enough and didn't make enough of a statement).

 

Nice post, David. And thanks for the PC compliment. It's what we try to do.

If you're clued-in enough to recognize what you did in that Prius's behavior, I don't think there's much more advice you need, technique-wise.

I always advise "waiters" like you to borrow an Owner's Manual from the dealer and read it cover-to-cover. It'll appropriately heighten your Prius awareness while waiting, even if it's a little frustrating not being able to put your hand on a particular button or feature they're describing while reading.

As for the first thousand miles, my advice is to pay attention to protecting/enhancing the exterior of your car BEFORE it suffers any kind of paint/body damage. Nothing worse than looking at a fresh bunch of paint chips on your lower hood and saying, "damn, if I'd just considered a vinyl bra---or clear-coat---before now!".

Front-end protection---strips on the sides---mud flaps---and Zaino (new convert ) or some quality wax or polish. You sound like the kind of person who'll want to invest a little in the car and have it reward you.

 

I had this discussion on Edmunds where most posters are 'skeptical' to say the least. The main thrust of their 'analysis' is how does Toyota expect the typical Camry/Corolla buyer at $15-20K to step up to $28-30000 for a hybrid.

The demographics suggest that this is not the profile of the Prius buyer. Toyota in addition to doing a fantastic job on the vehicle itself has placed it perfectly where in fact it has no competition... and priced it fairly for the value and the intended market.

 

Their questioning is appropriate IMO, but I'm in the minority by income at PC. I'm one who's stuck with half fixed-income and by rights should be more in the "high-end Corolla/Camry CE" demographic. But three times in five years I've stretched
for new Priuses, juggling my purchases and sales to take advantage of great deals and circumstances (one new Prius for $18K, the new one with the tax credit; selling two Priuses at inflated prices to facilitate the next buy) simply because I believe in the car and think I earned the "right" to own it after 35 years of toil.

I do agree that Toyota hit a "sweet spot" niche, although it does in fact compete with the HCH (my foolish next-door neighbor opted for one, against my advice/attempts at education).

My argument has been that, even now, Toyota can "afford" to make a slightly downscale version of the Prius---at, say, $18K---and make it accessible to almost 50% more than the existing demographic.

 

The closest to a synopsis is at the site of john1701a,com. He's been compiling his data and explanations since '02, and is a member here.