My Prius - One week of ownership and lessons learned so far

Someone definitely did their homework!

Sure beats one of those "I made a huge mistake" threads that pop up every so often.

SCH-I535

 

Glad you're happy with the car. That's sometimes more important than anything else.

 

Glad you are enjoying your car. Did you seriously consider all the cars you test drove, of was the vehicle search a good excuse to test drive anything that interested you? (In which case you should have added Corvette and a few others to the list.)

 

The last time I had to leave my Prius at the dealership I was given a Matrix as a rental. I can tell you I honestly felt The Prius a superior machine, vehicle and driving experience on almost all fronts. Once you get used to the smoothness and quietness of a hybrid, a singularly ICE driven vehicle can seem almost heathen.

I would also say, The Prius isn't technically classified as a compact, Toyota is rather proud of the fact that The Prius is classified a Mid-Size.

My previous vehicle was Honda Fit. Which was a really nice compact hatch-back.

I would say, I bought The Prius knowing about some peoples issues with "visibility". The rear window visibility is not great in a Prius, especially compared to The Honda Fit which was excellent. But, in my opinion the visibility isn't nearly as bad as I had heard.

Some things that really help in that area, are that I'm NOT opposed to using those convex blind spot mirrors. I put blind spot mirrors on both driver side mirror and passenger. Couple that with adjusting your mirrors properly and I seldom if ever have any issues with visibility. If you have a family and are constantly using the back-seat, then this option may not work. But I also keep the rear headrests folded forward and only put them upright when I have passengers in the back. I know this won't work, wouldn't be a viable option for many people.

Honda had headrests in the rear of The Fit that fit into the seat backs themselves. I wish Toyota would adopt a similar rear seat headrest design for The Prius. If upright (normal) the headrests now simply act as huge blind spot producing obstacles to rearward visibility. If you can afford to keep the headrests forward? It really helps direct rear visibility. I suppose you could also simply remove the headrests, but I don't like the idea of storing them, and/or not being "ready" if I suddenly have to pick up or transport passengers.

Good Luck with your new Prius.

 

Isn't the Volt actually an electric car with a built-in generator, not a hybrid?

 

Glad you like your new Prius! I have owned mine about six weeks now and can relate to some of your thoughts.

I test drove a GTI, Beetle convertible, and Mini (regular and S) before I ended up with my Prius last month. I've been driving German cars for ten years before the Prius but, being a seasoned German car owner, I know how finnicky they can be, especially in terms of minor electrical issues. I never had any major mechanical issues with German cars, but even the seemingly simplest repair was always $$$$ to fix. I really liked how the GTI and Beetle handled, but wasn't sure it would be worth the tradeoff for fuel and maintenance down the road.

I thought I would love the Mini, but I felt like the non-S version was a complete waste of time. It seemed to really lack power and took a surprising amount of effort to motor around, considering how small it is. I thought both the regular and the S were both pretty rough rides, too. The dealer told me it was the sport suspension, but my A4 had sport suspension (s-line) and it was nowhere near as rough as the Minis. I also remember my '99 new beetle being a very smooth ride compared to the minis, and I think they might be on the same chassis. Maybe the beetle weighed more? Also, though I know a lot of people LOVE how customizable the Minis are, I thought having to pay extra for what I thought were standard features these days (like a car alarm/blinking theft deterrent light) was kind of off-putting. One thing I thought was interesting about the minis is they have a Japanese engine (the spec sheets listed country of origin/manufacture for the various parts). Do BMWs have Japanese engines these days, too?

I can't say the visibility in the Prius has bothered me, since I'm coming from a convertible with giant, blind spot C-pillars from the top. If anything, I think the blind spot for me is near the driver's side A-pillar. I think the split on the liftback is kind of nice in terms of blocking headlights, though I have an auto-dimming mirror that could be helping with my perception of that as well.

 

How closely did you look at the Mazda 3? Did it really just come down to payments? I'm intrigued by all the techno stuff that comes with it for cheaper than a loaded Prius. Just test drove one today and it was pretty sporty and fun.

And I also like hatch backs/wagons for their utility, but after driving the Prius the Mazda3 almost seems TOO small. Granted it is a compact.

Other than that the subarus have caught my eye... But I do like the Prius!

 

I too hope the BSM comes to the Prius. I really love that feature.

As for the 3 I've been mulling over how flimsy the cargo area was, even in the 2.5 s Grand Touring. I really do use the cargo for some heavier loads (like furniture), and that piece of felt covered cardboard that covers the spare tire just doesn't feel like it's going to hold up over the next 10 years. Makes sense if you just wanted some occasional luggage handling ability that it would work for you, but I like how the Prius has a thick piece of plastic that can take some weight.

Anyway thanks for your thoughts! One more question if you don't mind - have you been using your dynamic cruise control any more since you made the original post? I really like the idea of it and I'm on the freeway quite a bit.

 

It's genuinely an electric car in that it can apply its full power through its traction motor (with no danger of the ICE kicking in from a heavy application of the accelerator pedal.
In certain modes at certain speeds it *does* link the engine to the wheels through a power split arrangement. Mostly its use of the ICE can be described as "serial hybrid".

 

Interesting. So if the battery is low and the ICE is on to provide charge and going up hill the ICE may aid in propulsion? Are there any mpg improvement driving methods when the ICE is basically supplying the power as with the Prius?

 

I love the interaction between ICE and battery. After nearly 8 years after driving, it has become a second nature to squeeze efficiency of both fuels/propulsion systems.

It is something you cannot get from a single propulsion vehicle like a regular gas car or a BEV.

 

I believe that's a Federal regulation which requires cruise control to disengage at low speeds.

 

I've had my 2013 Prius for a couple of months now and your post rings true with me as well. I find it a very comfortable ride, a very enjoyable experience which I'm glad I purchased.

Unlike you I find the HUD indispensable. Since it can show the power/hybrid gauge, I can switch the eyebrow display to show the 5 minute usage summary. I get more info which helps me to get the best mileage.

Plus, when navigating the HUD will show the turn and distance of the next turn so I don't have to take my eyes off the road. Big safety feature.

I just went through my first snowy day so I had a chance to evaluate the handling. I'm coming from a 4WD Highlander so I have a bit of experience with tough weather driving. The Prius handled surprisingly well. The rear end swing was very controllable and the traction control engaged at the proper time although a lot more often than it did on my Highlander. The B transmission mode was very helpful in regulating the speed on slippery downhill runs.

Braking is close to a standard car braking so it wasn't hard to modulate the pressure to avoid skidding. I didn't have any trouble at all with the regen braking feel when I first got the Prius and that continued during the snowy weather.

The split rear hatch is a bit disconcerting still. I still haven't figured out which window to look out. But the steep slope of the hatch does accumulate a lot of snow so I was on the wiper a lot. It's pretty puny so rear visibility was a bit limited sometimes. I do miss heated side mirrors to clear off the snow.

 

There's no federal law that prohibits cruise control speeds below 25 mph. BMW has it as does Jeep to name but two. Toyota chose the less expensive method and opted not to allow the system to stop and go while engaged.

Maybe GenIV will be updated to include it.