New Prius Prime Owner (2020 LE)

I'm sure I will! However, it's resting in the garage until I install my paint protection film. ***Future Post Ahead!***

 

***Note: After a 2 day 3M Scotchgard Pro PPF install, I drove my Prime to work for the first time since purchasing. The 2 day PPF install was a huge undertaking - I ordered the kit and installed it myself. In retrospect, think the job would have been best left to the professionals! I found out from the past 2 days of the install, how intricate and feature-rich the front end is - which made the installation so laborious and painstaking.***

My first impressions of the Prime! As for my experience with the Prius, I've only driven a 2010 Prius before - my mother-in-law in Japan used to own one. The ride of the Prime (I believe the current Prius has the same chassis and suspension?) is much better in comparison with the 2010 model/generation. In fact the ride is excellent. The rear multi-link setup in the back is a huge upgrade. It is very compliant and the car handles well in turns. While I can feel the extra weight of the batteries in the rear, the spring/dampers out back are likely tuned for the additional weight, so the ride is very smooth.

The power is lackluster at best but the delivery is smooth. I can sense (through feel, not sound) when the engine comes on, but it is very subtle. I drove in ECO mode the entire way to work. I might drive in NORMAL mode on the way home to see the difference in fuel economy as well as the accelerator pedal input vs. car response. When I drive in ECO mode in the Prime (as well as other cars with an ECO mode), I feel like I'm in a sense "working out" to drive the car, which is not exactly fun. I'm not sure how to describe it - my body is anticipating the car to accelerate at a certain rate when depressing the accelerator, and yet since it is in ECO mode, the car reaction is dampened.

As for efficiency, I believe I was able to get into the low to mid 60's in MPG and had a score of 88-89! The traffic, while not bumper-to-bumper, was the usual stop and go in Los Angeles. I was intentionally and actively anticipating the vehicles to limit unnecessary acceleration and braking/regeneration. Use of any HVAC or seat heaters wasn't necessary so that helped a lot. I'll need to take a photo of my score next time!

I'm thoroughly impressed with the car. The fuel efficiency is virtually 2nd to none in the industry. It seems that the Hyundai Ionic is the current MPG king. The car, for the price, has typical Toyota build quality has a tremendous amount of technology. I'm also pleased that this model year has Apple CarPlay , a middle rear seat, and relocated heater buttons, etc.

I'm waiting for our electricity utility to move us to an EV favorable rate before I plug-in and drive in EV mode. I'm excited to challenge myself to see how many miles I can extract out of the car. I wonder if I can stretch it to 30 miles? Nonetheless, my commute to work is approximately 20 miles each way. I don't plan on charging at work at this moment so I know I'll only be able to drive one leg to or back in EV mode.

This is my first real drive and I'm extremely satisfied with this car. More in the future!

Thanks for reading!
Jay

 

Thanks @jerrymildred for the thoughtful post! I read up on some threads on EV ranges and I'm happy to see reports of achieving 30+ miles during EV mode. Apparently, the battery performance really is dependent on ambient temperatures. I'm going to charge up the car this evening and see how it does tomorrow.

Report: 47.2 miles, 67.8 MPG. Battery Depleted. Truly amazing!

P.S. - My kids love the Prime! So far, we're on a great start!

 

If you're asking about CarPlay, then yes it does have it!

Congratulations! Great combo! IMO, the LE is the one to get due to the low cost, less glare-prone screen (sorry XLE and Limited owners ), and CD player (don't laugh, you'll never know when you'll need it )! Looking forward to your impressions! @Matt1984