"new" Alexandria Prius owner, with observations...

Hello, fellow Prius People!!

Looks like this particular forum area is a little cold to the touch....a mite stale, one might say....been about 3 months since last activity. Oh well, not to worry - whether this post is read by anyone is not a big concern.

I just wanted to give a big shout-out to everyone on the inter-web who also owns, operates, and loves their Prius! At 44 years of age, I have owned many cars/trucks/lawnmowers etc over the decades; but nothing quite like the Prius.

I went from what I thought was an adequate, purposeful vehicle that was meeting my needs - except for fuel economy and environmental impact - a 2003 Honda CR-V, and never thought a Prius would match it for its role as "all-purpose vehicle". Well, the CR-V has been replaced by a very capable car.

1. economy - average 25 mpg "real world" CR-V, average 51 mpg "real world" with my Prius
2. eco-impact: lower emissions than CR-V, which was already an LEV anyway....now I drive a PZEV!
3. handling - a little better, since it is a lower COG vehicle
4. roominess - I see at least the same amount of legroom as a driver, comfort is right up there...and the great thing, it is identical to the CR-V in that it is a 4-door hatchback; of course the CR-V has a higher roofline so one could stack more stuff, but realistically the Prius holds its own - I am an elementary schoolteacher and in the process of moving things in/out of my room for the summer break I have been massively loading this car up and it holds a ton of stuff! I feel like Sanford & Son with this thing! It is unreal!
5. looks - ahh, yes.....in the eye of the beholder....after taking off the goofy plastic "trim rings" from my alloys, my wheels sure look cooler....I think the Prius has a certain techie/geek appeal that is 100% greater than the plain vanilla generic CR-V I one owned.

OK...that's enough....I'm still packing up my classroom!

Have a great summer break, school teachers!!!

Adam

 

Sue, glad to have stirred the NOVA site back up once more! Not a problem!

I actually bought mine at Koons Tyson's Toyota; I believe it was the first Sunday of May. At that time, which was right on the edge of renewed "Prius fever" due to the sudden spike in fuel prices; I lucked out - there were three or four new cars being test-driven that particular day and one 2007 used model in stock. I ended up testing the used car, it was a silver package 6 with 9,000 miles and the main reason I bought the car was because it was available for purchase!
I honestly had no plans to buy a Prius that day, in fact my wife and I had gone out to look for some new running/walking shoes at a shoe shop in Pimmit Hills. Before we left to go out, she thought maybe we should go take a look at a Prius on the way - I had recently checked out a friend's Prius, and new that if there was a way to trade in my Honda I would probably do so to get one.
I guess I can blame her for helping me find my car! The very next day is when that dealership began "running out" of Prii. Then the long backordering began. Anyway, that's my story of how I got my car.
I would rate the experience as very good with Koons Toyota, but then again, YMMV!

 

FWIW, I snapped a few pics of the car minus the goofy trim rings on the wheels. Now, who told Toyota that they looked good?

(That's just my 2 cents...)

Adam