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85 mile commute + local driving - Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by RichardLUK, Jun 30, 2014.

  1. RichardLUK

    RichardLUK New Member

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    Thanks Tony
    I ended up going for the T-Spirit + Leather interior + protection pack(rear bumper parking beepers);
    The half leather seats as standard on the T-S looked fine but I didn't fancy that velour type stuff on the doors/centre armrest

    Realise the model is at the tail of its lifecycle - but there is a sweet spot when you px on the old car miles vs. value, and rumours I saw the 2015 Prius model will be late (and my guess is more expensive and/or less features as standard) so not waiting for it.


    The Auris hybrid didn't quite do it for me - nice styled car etc, but the dash is still 'ordinary car dials' and I couldn't get over the fact I would be buying effectively a £12k car model for £20k to have hybrid in it;

    Prius 'is what it is' if that makes sense.
     
  2. RichardLUK

    RichardLUK New Member

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    Picked up the new car today; Silver T-Sprit with leather seats.

    Interestingly it appears the default setup for reversing is one beep - although I'm not even sure as I write this that there is any sound when engaging reverse.

    Once its done the weekly commute it will be interesting to see real world day to day mpg.
     
  3. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    Good stuff Richard. Looking forward to hearing how it goes for you, it's a lot different than the Audi. One thing you'll notice is how light it feels compared to the A5. It'll take some time to get used to driving it to get the best mpgs too. Plenty of info on here though.

    Enjoy
     
  4. RichardLUK

    RichardLUK New Member

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    cheers,
    yes - much lighter feel to the steering, more room inside (which is odd because the Prius is smaller in all dimensions except height)

    seems to hold onto its momentum more than the old A5 - need to get the hang of that to get back into my usual mode of avoiding brakes where possible on the motorway
     
    Tony D likes this.
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats, all the best!(y)
     
  6. kbeck

    kbeck Active Member

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    You've just run into the Prius's "it's not really a hydraulic automatic, we just try to make it feel like that" characteristic. In a straight non-hybrid car, coming off the gas gives you engine braking; more with a manual shift car and less with a standard automatic. In the Prius, when you come off the gas, the gas engine, if it wasn't already stopped, does stop; then, what braking exists is strictly a function of the software running the electric motors in the drive train. In real terms, at speed, the car decelerates slower than a non-hybrid. Air resistance is present, but the car's got a slippery shape, so not a ton of help there. :)

    Where this throws one off is in attempting to stay a fixed distance from the car in front of one. Speeding up is normal; slowing down is not, and it took me a couple of months before I got used to it and stopped the gas-brake-gas routine on the interstates around here.

    KBeck
     
  7. RichardLUK

    RichardLUK New Member

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    Didn't last long I'm afraid;

    Granted the car is usable, and excellent economy, and had no problems on a couple of holiday runs to/across the Yorkshire moors & South Wales, but after 9 months & 12.5k miles ownership - well - I'm bored with it :(

    Just became a boring drive and found myself not enjoying the commute in the cabin & being bullied on the road
    (sometimes it seems Prius is a flag for other road users to 'need' to hassle/pull out in-front and generally make driving a non fun experience)

    All is not lost though - the change from Diesel to Petrol/Hybrid was the right decision and I do enjoy the CVT/Hybrid drive - so on to a Lexus IS300h;

    Same drive train but tuned more for performance than economy and a nicer feel inside.
    Sure, the costs will swing back the other way again somewhat (and don't even talk about the capital expense !) - but the Prius was just the wrong side of the sweet spot for me and/or too possibly too much of a change all in one go. I need to enjoy my driving.
     
    #27 RichardLUK, May 3, 2015
    Last edited: May 3, 2015
    Tony D likes this.