08 Spectra Blue Mica has arrived

Today I picked up the first 08 Prius Spectra Blue Mica in the Pacific Northwest. And it was well worth the effort.
This is the Base model with Package 2 and a value package which offers carpeted floor mats. I traded in an 07 Corolla S and managed to work a high-trade in value (private sale value) by paying $600 over invoice. Without the trade-in, I could have done $200 over invoice. As it is, I'm very happy as the car exceeded my expectations.

The pictures do not do it justice. The Spectra Blue is very beautiful and goes well with the gray interior. Having driven two 2007 Prius package 2, I swear the 08 feels tighter as if it already has a stiffening plate. I have not driven a Prius with the Stiffening plate. In my test drives of 07 Prius', I felt there was a need to stiffen the suspension. With the 08, I did not. As I kept my speed around 45 on a circular on-ramp, I did not feel my body leaning. It felt stable. Almost makes me think to of staying with the stock Goodyear Integrity tires... Oh, the dealer used helium gas to fill up the tires, nice benefit. I kept the tire pressure stock just to get a baseline mpg measure, more on that below.

My short term memory is not great (caveat), the seats feel more supportive as if they have a stiffer foam material. My commute was comfortable. Road noise was hardly noticeable, especially with the stereo on. The base stereo (not the upgrade JBL) sounded clear even when raising the volume up in the low 30s. The stereo is much better than available in the 07 Civic Hybrid. All my favorite stations sounded good. I also took advantage of the radio controls built into the steering wheel, helps minimize fingerprints from touching the LCD screen.

Click on the thumbnail images to see the larger image hosted at Imageshack. The gallery here was off-line. These pictures were taken about 7:30pm, the sun was starting to set in Seattle.









My greatest surprise is the last picture below. I average 52.2 mpg in my first 48 miles!!!
This is with no modifications, keeping the stock tire pressure. The lessons I have learned from here have helped tremendously. 48 miles is a small sample, driving from NorthEnd of Seattle on the highway to Bellevue and back across the highway to Richmond Beach in heavy stop-and-go traffic. Then driving around Richmond Beach which is very hilly. I couldn't be happier starting out over 50mpg.




If you are on the fence in buying a 07 versus an 08 Prius. I highly recommend you go for the 08. It feels improved (not surprising that small, subtle changes have been made in a year).

 

Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

Regarding keeping the color clean, I went from having a Black Corolla S. So, keeping the Spectra Blue clean should be no worst... using a hose regularly to keep dirt-leaves from staying on too long.

Regarding the car being delivered nice and clean, funny this is the only part I could find fault.
The car was delivered very clean though I am going back to have them buff out one small scratch. The detailers from the two Toyota dealers (this year and last) are not as thorough as I have experienced with other dealers (such as Acura). This is nitpicky - the Prius windows had water streaks, sticker for the Red Team (service team) was left on the rear-view mirror, water spots and lint in other areas... in comparison the Acura had looked like it had gone through a full detail. They're not spending as much time getting the cars ready. Again, this is the difference between excellent and very good. The good news is the Toyota dealer wants an excellent score on all points for the customer survey. And they are glad to help if it changes the scoring... I will negotiate them throwing in the labor to install the rear bumper protector (the black rubber one from the Matrix).

Regarding comparisons with 2007 model, I visited many dealers and test drove twice a base and a touring version. Again my short term memory is suspect and I was overwhelmed by the Blue Spectra color. I wanted it as soon as I saw it was coming, helped me from buying another Black or Seaside Blue.
When I go visit the dealer, I'll try to find a 2007 to do more visual comparisons.

My commute is about 25 miles in heavy Seattle traffic. I usually arrive (to work and to home) feeling fatigued, perhaps the Sport bucket seats on the Corolla S (2007 model) were too stiff and I'm getting too old. The Prius also puts me at ease staying right around and even below (this is new territory for me... usually have a heavy foot) the speed limit. Put it this way, with the 07 Corolla S and Automatic trans, I average 29 miles per gallon. After reading the threads here and inflating the Corolla's tires to 40psi, I averaged 34 mpg. I had a hard time staying below the speed limit with the Corolla (yeah, the Sport model is much nicer, sportier than the LE and CE models). With the Prius, I don't care about sporty. I want comfort and mpg's.