2014 Prius Four - Initial Impressions

I put this together for a friend and thought I'd post it here. It's just some initial impressions compared to the 1999 Montana van is replaced.

The Prius is really growing on me. I was worried it was going to be harder to get in/out of than the van was, but that hasn’t been a problem at all. The only problem there is it was a little easier for me to get in the van after my wife drove and adjusted the seat for her. I have to remember to move the seat back before I get in and I’m not used to that yet. I didn’t drive the van all that much unless we were on a road trip, so it wasn’t a big deal. Now I drive the Prius all the time, so I just need to get back in the habit.

I do miss the sliding doors on the van because I can’t open the driver’s side rear door on the Prius in the garage where our water softener is located. It’s a minor inconvenience right now because we take our granddaughter with us and I have to buckle her in her booster seat. She’s old enough to do it herself, but the mechanism is too close to her seat and set really low in the seat. Sometimes it’s even too hard for me. A lot of cars have longer mechanisms that extend well above the seat cushion, but I like the clean look of the Prius. She won’t be in the booster seat that much longer and she starts school on Wednesday, so it’s not a big deal.

The Prius hauls all the groceries we buy during our monthly shopping trips out to the commissary at Luke AFB, and I don’t even have to lower the rear seats. That alone justifies the Prius hatchback design over the others with trunks and tells me I made the right choice there, at least for us.

So far I like the seat comfort. We bought the Prius Four because power adjustable heated seats are standard. People who buy the Two and Three models often complain about the lack of adjustment in the standard cloth seats where only the seatback moves via a lever in set increments. The ability to adjust the angle of the seat cushion and seatback to varying angles and adjust lumbar support makes all the difference IMHO. It’s also nice on long trips to vary things for the driver who can’t move positions as much as the passenger can. Obviously, we don’t need heated seats here, but they are useful when traveling. I suffer lower back pain and I use the heat to soothe the pain at times. The heat is also nice in the mornings in the winter, even here, but more so where it’s colder. Why they located the On/off switches where they did is beyond me though. Not a big deal for us since we don’t use them often, but......

I’m still trying to figure out mileage. I did my first fill-up last week and pumped 8.8 gallons for 473.8 miles and only $3.399/$30. That’s 53.8 mpg, but the computer said only 46.0, so I’m trying to figure out what’s real. Obviously, the math supports the 53.8, but I’m wondering about the actual number of gallons being consumed. We all know stopping when the pump shuts off doesn’t “fill” the tank. However, if I refill the same way each time, the math should be pretty accurate. Since it was the first fill-up, I’ll see what happens for the second when I’ll have done both fill-ups at the same station, Costco. It could be that the dealer filled it more than I did, so I might have shorted it by 1-1.5 gallons and that would account for the difference. Still, I’d be pleased with the 46.0 if that turns out to be more accurate. I did get over 72 mpg driving home from Costco, but that was with the A/C off and using electric only between 83rd Ave and my house because of the speed bumps. Right now the computer is showing 48 mpg for the 100 miles we’ve driven since I filled up and that is pretty close to what our typical driving will be.

I did over-inflate the tires from 35/33 to 40/38 and I’m leaving the wheel covers on for the trip. People here say they inflate their tires right up to the max on the sidewall (44 for the Goodyear’s I have), but I didn’t go quite that far. They also say the covers add 1-2 mpg because they smooth out the airflow. Between the tires and covers, that should be 2-4 mpg.

Believe it or not, but I like driving the Prius over the van. It handles better, tracks better, parks a lot easier, is about as quiet inside and the JBL audio w/SiriusXM is way better. It rides a little stiffer with the higher pressure, more like my old Grand Prix than the van, but I prefer that kind of ride. It’s one reason why I’ve never considered a Cadillac or Lincoln, the ride is just too soft for my tastes, and I’ve driven a few Lincoln Town Cars in my time.

Anyway, I even like the navigation system now that I’m finally getting used to the differences between it and my Garmin. Mind you, the Garmin is better, but the Prius will get me where I want to go and displays almost all the same information, just in a slightly different way. The only thing missing is the speed limit data I get with the Garmin. Initially I thought I was going to really dislike it because I was under the impression I couldn’t do much without using voice commands while driving. Well, that turns out not to be the case, I just can’t use the keyboard to type. And, I really, really like how the instructions fill the cabin so I don’t miss anything, even with the radio pretty loud, and how nice the voice is compared to the Garmin’s. I’ve been using it around the area just to get a feel for it, but the true test will start Tuesday, Aug 26, when we head out on our road trip, though I’m trying to get my to agree to leave Monday. That way we can spend the night at our neighbor’s cabin west of Flagstaff and save 130 miles/2.5 hours on Tuesday getting to our first stop in Rifle CO. It will be a good test through the mountains north of Phoenix and some two-lane highway where passing might be needed.

 

To be sure, there are some nits. Even though it’s relatively comfortable, the cabin is more confining, like my Grand Prix cabin was. It’s not necessarily a bad thing for us, but we’ll see on our trip. I do miss my after-market console in the van where I could just throw things like my phone and iPod. While I don’t use my phone much, I hate having to dig it out of my pocket, so I’m looking for an alternate location. I’ll be taking the Garmin with us and it’s going to go on the left side of the dash with the audio Off, assuming the power cord will reach the outlet without getting in the way. I have a bean bag for the phone that I might set next to it, we’ll see. I know there are a lot of options for vent holders, etc., but I don’t want to spend money if I don’t need to. With the satellite radio, I won’t need the iPod, so that’s not a big deal. Even if I did, it plugs into a USB outlet inside the console with controls on the steering wheel.

I’m not a fan of the cup holders either, but they’re functional, just not what I’ve been used to in the van, so it will take some time to get used to them. They do seem to be a little better than some and I’m not sure how I’d redo them anyway in the relatively small cabin.

There are also no air vents in the back, something my wife will complain about when she sits in the back. It’s got nothing to do with the temperature in the back, just the lack of noticeable air flow, so I’ll buy her a portable personal fan. She’s claustrophobic, so having an air vent would help with that feeling. I got car sick as a kid and that would have helped. Come to think of it, my daughter still gets car sick and she should think using one of the personal fans she has.

Anyway, the biggest difference might end up being the design of the driver’s side floor. In the van, we sit more upright and higher off the floor, so my feet can be flat with my legs at a 90-degree bend. However, the Prius is more like a sports car where the seat is lower, so I can’t quite sit the same way. I already wear slippers on long drives, so I’ll just have to see how I’ll be able to rest my legs/feet compared to the van. Along this same line, like many others, I wish the steering wheel had a slightly lower setting and about 1”-2” longer telescoping function to make seating more like in a sports car.

I still need to fashion a hood for the navigation display. I’ve completely gotten used to the location of the speedometer and other displays, but sun glare might create a problem seeing the map. I can see it well enough, but a hood would make it that much better, especially for a quick glance.

I’m ambivalent about the added features, like Entune. Entune provides an interface for apps like Pandora and iHeart radio so they will play through the audio system. Trouble is they use your phone’s data plan. That’s also how it gets weather, traffic and stock market data. It doesn’t cost extra and allows you to get the data without fiddling with your phone, but I’m pretty sure I’d exceed my data limit if I used Pandora or iHeart Radio a lot on a trip. Still, if I didn’t want to pay for SiriusXM, it might be cheaper to pay the extra when traveling.

There’s a lot of chatter about the 12v battery, it and the starter system in the Prius are different, so I might end up buying a small charger, like the PowerAll PBJS12000R or Jumbl (not sure what the difference is), that will start a car as well as charge phones, etc. I’m sure I won’t need a jump-start any time soon, but it would be nice to recharge the phone and tablets without having to use the AC Inverter, especially if it’s being used to recharge my dSLR camera battery.

As of now, the only things I miss on my van are the nice wheels I had on it and the positive comments I got from the younger crowd.

 

Thank you. At 6'1", I might sit further back than you do, so I haven't had a problem with the console. I generally drive with just my elbow on the console and my hand holding the bottom of the steering wheel. My other arm is on the armrest of the windowsill and that hand also holds the wheel, sometimes at 10 & 4, other times at 8 & 4. My cup sits in the covered holder and my wife uses the open one. We use cups with an open-style handle and I'm still able to grab mine with my right hand while driving. Like I said, I'm not fond of the layout, but I'm not sure how else to do it given the design.

 

I do use BT for phone calls, Dave, but I'm on a fairly strict diet for kidney disease and have to eat at relatively specific times each day. I use the alarms on the clock app to remind me and for some reason the alarm often doesn't shut off when the phone is in my pocket even though I press the buttons. I also use Gas Buddy, though I may stop now that I have a Prius once I find out how accurate gas prices are using the Prius. Also, my wife answers any texts I get. I could be wrong, but I don't think that kind of stuff can be done via BT.

Oh, and thanks for the kind words.

 

I don't know if they're smarter, but they sure make some people dumber.

 

I admit I haven't done much experimenting just driving around town, it just seemed different when I thought about it the other day. Maybe I just didn't try enough. Is your seat all the way down, both front and back?