Looking into the PRIUS...

the gap is the CD unit which house the 6 disc CD changer which is optional.
It gets better MPG off the freeway because you stop more and use more electric power.
You will get used to not to look at the screen as often...
go with the 2008 because for you to find a 2007 touring the chance is close to ZERO.


spend a good few hours or days reading the posts in the forum and you will get most of the asnwers to your questions...I just got mine a week ago and I spent a good fortune of time reading this forum which made me decided to get a prius...

once you get one you will know what addicting means....good luck and hope you can chip in on saving our earth!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crimanyPRUISsakes @ Sep 10 2007, 02:20 AM) [snapback]509948[/snapback]</div>

Here are the NHTSA crash test results for the 2007 Prius

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Cars/4047.html



Edmunds.com Prius safety page...

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/toyota/pri...218/safety.html



You can use this page to search Prius Chat for any other topics for which you may have questions...

http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&sit...s=priuschat.com



Good luck

 

Also check out the Consumer Reports Crash Tests Web site. Look at the Prius and a few other cars. You will want side air bags. Forever. On any car.

 

When you\'re ready to buy, PM me and I\'ll let you know who I bought mine from. Got a great deal and excellent service. They are located not far from you.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sea-horsea @ Sep 10 2007, 05:28 AM) [snapback]509949[/snapback]</div>

This statement is wrong, although the conclusion about city vs. highway is correct. If you don't count coasting downhill, the Prius gets its best mileage over flat roads driving in the mid 40s. Stop and go driving hurts mileage, and electric only driving hurts mileage. It's a common misconception that the Prius does better in stop and go. It doesn't, only other cars do a whole lot worse. As speed increases, wind drag increases exponentially. Highway driving gets lower MPGs because of the wind drag.

Here is another way to look at it:

First fact: All of the power in a Prius comes from burning gas. The electricity in the battery got there by burning gas. Even the electricity recaptured by regenerative braking is there from burning gas - it takes gas generated energy to get the Prius moving in the first place.

Second fact: The process of converting mechanical energy into electricity and then converting that electricity back into mechanical energy is less efficient than directly using the mechanical energy. Storing the electricity in a battery only makes it worse.

Third fact: The Prius would get better mileage without all of the hybrid components, but only if it were allowed to drive at one ideal speed without starting, stopping, passing, climbing hills, and all of those other unfortunate facets of real-world driving.

Conclusion: The Prius gets its best mileage while driving at a steady speed that is the best compromise between HSD efficiency and wind drag, which turns out to be around 45 mph. The mileage drops off as you go faster or slower. Faster and you take a hit from wind drag, which is exponentially related to speed. At slower speeds the HSD becomes less efficient with more energy routed through the electrical system.

Final thought: People think the Prius does best in stop and go driving. It doesn't. No car does. The Prius does better than most. It's like calling someone a giant because they are standing in a room full of dwarfs. Conventional cars really, really suck at stop and go driving. They are insanely inefficient in this mode. The Prius does better, but it's still inefficient when compared to steady driving.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crimanyPRUISsakes @ Sep 10 2007, 05:20 AM) [snapback]509948[/snapback]</div>

I seem to get the same mileage most days, around 50-point- something mpg on highway and in town.

On a trip along Keuka Lake yesterday, on SR 54A which has a 35 mph speed limit, I was able to do some pulse-and-glide, and got 75+ mpg. If you can drive at lower speeds, and do some hypermiling, you can get 75 mpg or even higher. It depends on what roads you drive and the traffic.

Harry

 

As with most cars it does better on the highway, but the city-highway difference is smaller.

The gap in your rental will not exist in a purchased car: it will be filled either by optional electronics or with blank plastic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crimanyPRUISsakes @ Sep 10 2007, 05:20 AM) [snapback]509948[/snapback]</div>

Tom pretty much covered from a great perspective.

In the city driving, the major MPG killer (excluding warm up period) is the brake. On the highway, the major MPG killer is the wind resistance (reads speed over 55 MPH). Depending on how hard/often you brake in the city or how fast you go on the highway, is going to be the real answer to your question.

You generally get lower on the highway because the gas you spend pushing the air can not be recovered. On the other hand, the energy to brake can be recaptured with the regen braking. If you hit the brake hard and activate the friction brake pads too often, your city MPG will be lower than the highway.

The above statement is possible because of the HSD without other inefficiency factors that Assist Mild hybrid also carries from the traditional cars.

 

cruise control @ 54 mph usually nets me all 60 mpg+ 5 min segments.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(crimanyPRUISsakes @ Sep 10 2007, 04:20 AM) [snapback]509948[/snapback]</div>

yes

Are you sure it's above the stereo controls? This sounds like the little storage box below the stereo (at least on my base model 2006).

I've had more problems with the wide pillars in front blocking my view of pedestrians or even cars approaching at the right (wrong) angle. This is particularly true at intersections that aren't square on. Also, I flipped the rear-view mirror upside down so it's higher and not blocking so much of my forward view. I'll probably flip it back rightside-up now that long winter nights are approaching (and my wife is driving more, who uses the dimming lever).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Sep 10 2007, 07:49 AM) [snapback]510008[/snapback]</div>

When I was first looking into buying a Prius, most people on this forum told me that I would probably be better off getting something other than a Prius because of the type of driving I do (stop and go doing a paper route). I almost listened. So instead, I decided to rent one for a few days and see how it performed doing my paper route.

Well, I now am almost at the end of my second year owning a Prius, and my mileage has consistenly been over 56 mpg. Once I got 65.7 mpg -- strictly stop and go. I get much better mileage when I am driving below 30.

So much for the experts.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Sep 10 2007, 08:49 AM) [snapback]510008[/snapback]</div>

I have to quibble with that, and maybe you're just simplifying for the current argument, but the best mileage is using pulse-and-glide, which can only be best done at speeds below 42mph. The pulse mode (done right) uses the best efficiency band of the engine (which causes moderate acceleration, not a constant speed), then you glide with no engine or battery use, slowly dropping your speed, until you need to speed up again. This is where the HSD controls really help - the engine is off automatically and not causing a drag, but it's not dangerous like putting a normal car into neutral and turning off the engine as you coast down the highway.

But really, the biggest killer of MPG, generally seen more in city driving, is the shorter trips. Anything less than 15 minutes isn't getting the full potential, since there's a pretty big hit for the first 5 minutes, particularly in colder climates (but the engine block heater can help out, as can blocking the grill for general cold-weather use).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kente777 @ Sep 10 2007, 01:41 PM) [snapback]510160[/snapback]</div>

Congrats on your mileage, can't knock that, but I bet if you did the same route without stopping you would get a boost in your mileage. Still, I don't understand the advice you got - it may not be the laboratory-setting perfect route for a Prius, but I'm sure it's a lot worse for a standard vehicle, and they'd be starting from a lower mpg to begin with. I've always thought that for postal and delivery vehicles hybrids make the most sense, particularly when I see something like a UPS truck idling outside a business.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Sep 10 2007, 02:41 PM) [snapback]510161[/snapback]</div>

Yes, I was talking about normal driving techniques. Pulse and glide provides gains because even the small engine in the Prius is still larger than what is necessary for steady, low speed driving. You'd get even better mileage if you dispensed with the pulse and glide, and instead replaced the engine and drive train with one optimized for only one speed. It wouldn't be at all practical, but it would give you better mileage. It would be much like track bicycles which have only one gear and no brakes.

Tom