almost new Prius owner from Virginia

5. Read the Manual, then drive the car, then read the manual again, you'll probably have it all figured out in a few months. Enjoy the toys and the gas mileage. I have the model 2 and after 25k no problems at all. I bought mine for the mileage and I'm tired of giving more money that I have to to those folks in the middle east.

 

bought the pip after two pri because i've been desperate to drive an alternative fuel vehicle since i first heard about them and it seemed like the next logical alternative after 8 years of thrilling and trouble free prius ownership. all the best with your new vehicle and welcome to priuschat!

 

...welcome aboard Don we have a lot of Virginians with Prii as you probably noticed.
One factor for PiP is $2500 Fed tax credit, but state of VA does not give PiP tax incentives like our neighbors (MD~$2000, PA=$1000, WV=$7500!! tax discounts). There was an electric plan from Dominion that gave some low cost recharge power in the overnite hours.

 

1) Hands down because of Hybrid Synergy Drive. would not buy a Prius shaped car with a conventional gas only drivetrain. don't need the v's extra size, c to small for me (I'm 6'2").
wanted a car that's a bit on the smaller side, yet has pretty decent seating for me. At 6'2", can be dicey trying to fit into many smaller cars. Hatchback utility is a plus as 'if' I wanted to take my drums out (with large hardware case) need to have a large midsize trunk or hatchback, compact trunks do not work.

2) have 2011 Prius Three w/o navigation. Three got JBL sound and bluetooth handsfree phone. Did not want to fiddle with or pay for aftermarket sound system put into my new or fairly new car (don't want 'Joe's' stereo shop yanking off my door panels ... are they going to warranty if they crack or break a panel? Door panel costs about $1,000 at Toyota.

JBL audio has an amplifier under front passenger seat, 8 speakers which I'd imagine are higher quality than base audio speakers. I was playing that tune 'moves like jagger' , maroon 5 lately and it goes off pretty well. I've heard the base nonJBL system back to back with my car, same CD and it does not compare. I wouldn't like it. voice recongnition could be better. Often it doesn't understand. I've seen 'advanced voice recog' advertised which I suppose is better.

3) Major likes - Very practical, pretty darn comfortable, Great fuel economy, it does average 50 mpg. 48 or 9 tanks are common in Winter, 52 or 3 in Summer.

Minor dislikes - Fabric seats. I've got a set of $30 covers (cause need them for now), but fabric seats don't make a heck of a lot of sense.... if one's clothes are dirty, are they going to wipe them while wearing them to get them clean? 'Bout all can do with fabric seats. Softex / leather seats are way to go in a car. Why else does every luxury car have leather / synth leather seats?

Driver's seat is pretty darn good, but base seat could use more lumbar support, your Five would have power lumbar support. Not a luxury car seat, but I've felt much worse.

The steering wheel could telescope a little closer to me. Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports, two massive car sources both note the liftback Prius does not telescope 'nearly' far enough. I'd like to see about 1" more telecope range. Nothing crazy like 2 or 3" more, just another inch.

I'm getting a little bit of rattle under light throttle load, but it is very subtle. Not too worried about it. Doesn't seem like any mechanical problem. Hopefully doesn't get worse over time. Been happening for maybe couple months. Seems to have come on about at 7 or 8k miles.

This subtle, but the steering wheel is also, I find, slightly askew laterally to the left. It is subtle and need an eagle eye to see it. I'd also like to see the steering wheel face more vertical, facing me so my wrists are not quite as bent holding it at 10 and 2 o'clock especially.

The overall exterior look of the car is ok. Wouldn't say I love the look. I've been warming up to midsize sedans lately (i.e. '13 Accord sedan). The steeply sloped windshield does cut down on forward view a little and makes it a bit harder to get in / out of car. But, it creates a smooth airflow for lower drag.

The car could be a little more fun to drive. It's not great at cornering, but it is secure and stable. I'd like a bit more power, some more total load capacity and little bit quieter on rough pavement. But, I'll tell ya, on smooth freeway pavement, it has a great, floating on air kind of feeling sometimes. The ride can be a bit bumpy on bumpy pavement in the city.

I don't hate the floating bridge console, but it is sort of an obstruction. I use a Garmin Nuvi and it sucks a bit to reach down to plug into 12V outlet. Switching seat heaters down there would be pretty lame. I'd say it was a sort of bad move for them to do the floating bridge. It will be gone in next gen. don't have USB, but I think it's under the armrest.

4) Plugin? Not available, out my $$ range, not to keen on giving up cargo tray under floorboard and not cool with giving up the spare donut tire.

5) Five model is first Prius I rented. Been a long time. I recall it had a pretty bumpy ride on bumpy expansion joints on hwy 85 near Sunnyvale, CA. I wouldn't want Five because tires are a good bit more expensive. I would have taken a nice OEM set of 16" and 205/55-16 LRR tires anyday which would have hit the sweet spot for me on this size and class of car.

 

Hey Don.
Congrats on your decision. Like many, if you make the good decision to buy one, then you should love it. It seems those that don't, are the ones that don't give them a chance!
I was one of them, said no way I'd drive that weird looking thing. But in my search to replace a Corolla, I couldn't ignore the mpg, kept going back to Prius. I bought a '12 Three and absolutely love it!
Pros - mpg, size, utility, different than the other cars
Cons - seats in the Three are pretty flat.

Good luck!

 

Just curious what that means - seats are flat. You mean the bottom cushion? Seatback / not enough lumbar support?

I like the softish, forgiving bottom side bolsters. I hate hard bottom side bolsters that just press hard into my hipbones, blech.

In my opinion, it is just about always better to have a power adjustable seat which 4 and 5 get. Too little or too much seat bottom tilt can be very annoying and if it doesn't fall right on a mechanically adjustable seat, even one with height adjuster, you're sort of screwed. The Volt is just like this for me - no power seat available. seat scoots back plenty far but seat bottom does not have enough tilt for thigh support.

 

Simply got the prius because it:
1. got the best FE.
2. had the room for 4.
3. was a Toyota.

 

After a year, finally put a dense piece of foam on driver's door armrest. I knew about the low, hard door armrest before purchasing and how to doll it up with foam. It would be better if the door (and center console) armrest were padded and better placed.

 

The cloth seats seem to have very little bolsters on the bottom and the back compared to even my last Corolla S and Sienna. I like a sporty seat that sucks me in and keeps me in one place, nice and comfortable. Now they aren't terrible but for me personally, it took a few weeks to find the best setup where I didn't hurt at the end of a 2-hr commute.