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First Impressions new Prius Two Eco

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by John Kuhn, Sep 3, 2017.

  1. John Kuhn

    John Kuhn Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2017
    45
    47
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    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Picked up my new car last Friday, and already have 135 miles on it.
    The fuel economy is stunning, and way exceeds expectations, which says a lot since my previous car was a VW diesel. According to the dash readout, my average so far is right at 70 mpg. I live in a perfect area for it, mostly rural two lane with 45-55 mph speed limits and not a ton of traffic, so easy to pull away from an intersection and not have to hammer it. I'm sure the readout is optimistic, but even if it's 10% optimistic I'm still doing significantly better than EPA combined rating of 56 mpg.
    I'm impressed how much it runs in the EV mode, engine appears to turn off for all the downhills, or when you slow down for a town.
    There was a thread talking about seat comfort recently, and the jury's out till we take a long trip, but so far the seats feel just fine.
    I really like how quiet it runs, even when the engine almost imperceptibly turns on and off. Just a little bit of drone in a harder acceleration.
    Headlights are impressive.
    The automatic climate control seems to work well.
    One reason I chose the Eco is for the extra cargo space afforded by the tire repair kit instead of spare tire.
    All in all, a terrific car for the money! I only paid $22,656 plus tax/title, and that included shifter panel applique, rubber floor mat and cargo liner package, and $395 premium for the hypersonic red!
     
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  2. jrt6

    jrt6 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2017
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    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I just drove mine cross country from Houston to California. Its definitely a good road trip car, didn't have any complaints with the seats. Going through the mountains killed my MPG (albeit still good) to the mid-high 40s.

    I love the LED headlights, the last car I had used HIDs. I drove my brother's accord with halogens once and when you get used to LED/HID its hard to go back. I'd even argue that the LED lights in the Prius lit up the road better than the HIDs in my previous car. The auto high beam is nice too.

    A little trick i've figured out too, if you're driving along, let off the accelerator completely and then slowly ease back onto it (enough to maintain speed) and it'll make the car switch to EV and stay in EV until the battery gets down to 2-3 bars. I've seen it do this as low as 2 bars on a very flat road and the gas engine kicked on right as it hit 1 bar.
     
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  3. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2016
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    Location:
    Cornwall
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Welcome to the Prius and Prius Chat. The car is ideal for your needs and for many others too. Such a shame that some folks resent the very idea of Prius, including most of the motoring press who seem to go out of their way to knock it back and never really understood it in the first place. Happy driving. :):):);)

    Congratulations! You seem to have got the hang of your Prius in no time at all and that's real good advice to pass on to others. \/ ll \/ ll \/
    (There's no emoji for applause)!
     
    #3 RCO, Sep 4, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 5, 2017
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  4. IAPrius

    IAPrius Active Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2016
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    140
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    Location:
    West Des Moines, IA
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    The Prius excels at the 55mph backroads - I consistently find my gas mileage is best in those areas.
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    nice write up o/p, congrats!(y)
     
  6. John Kuhn

    John Kuhn Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2017
    45
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    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Thanks for the positive feedback!

    Just got back from our trip to Wyoming. Logged 4 tanks of gas, and checked indicator error on each one relative to hand calculated. Error ranged from as low as 0.5 up to 3.6. When I divided the 1933 miles traveled by the 35 gallons consumed, I got an actual 55.2 mpg, vs indicated 57.9 mpg (used trip A to measure each tank and trip B to measure the whole trip). For 70 mph cruising, I'm very pleased with the mileage, probably at least 5 mpg better than I would have gotten on my '14 VW Sportwagen TDI. Winds seemed to be unfavorable more than favorable.

    Other observations:
    • I still think ride and noise level are as good as my VW was.
    • The car felt like it was working harder (more rpm) going up long grades or when passing compared to my TDI, mainly noticeable at higher elevation. It wasn't a problem, just an observation. The old turbodiesel is kind of the opposite end of the spectrum. 1800 rpm @ 75 mph in 6th gear, and the grades are effortless, torque in reserve and no need to downshift. Sure is nice not having to look for the diesel pump with the non-truck sized nozzle, though!
    • I'd say the VW seat has the edge for long distance comfort, but I'm not sure why. Just felt like I squirmed around a little more in my Prius, but no sore back or anything. I'm 6' tall, have the seat as far back and as high as it will go, leg and head room are excellent. I can stretch my legs completely and probably still 2-3" of space above my head even with the seat all the way up. Not sure why they didn't position the seats higher.
    • Still getting used to the cruise control location down low on right side. Really love the radar controlled cruise, though, keeps a nice safe distance.
    • Did an odometer check relative to GPS, and with the stock new Toyo tires the odometer appears to record fewer miles than actual. Left the pressure how the dealer set it (38 psi all round). My measurement had 345 gps miles showing 342 odometer miles, which means I get to add almost 1% or 0.5 mpg to my already great mileage! :D Didn't get a check on the speedometer accuracy.
    • Climate control system is outstanding. Outside temps varied from 50 degrees to 90 degrees, and I left the setting on Eco automatic 74 degrees and it was always perfect.
    • Radio and CD player very intuitive and easier to use than my old VW.
    • One odd thing: One night it rained, and when I opened the hatch to load luggage, the beaded water ran off the glass and down a sort of trough alongside the hatch opening, over the bumper, and completely soaked my shoe! Must have been standing in just the wrong place.
    • Tracks nicely in crosswind, and wind noise is pretty low at all times.
    Anyway, all in all, I'm super happy with my purchase!
     
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  7. John Kuhn

    John Kuhn Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2017
    45
    47
    0
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Update for fuel economy local driving:
    Since I returned from Wyoming, I've gone through a tank of fuel, over 600 miles, of local driving. I live in a rural area, and some of the roads are winding with 35 or 45 mph speed limits, so gives opportunities for big mpg numbers. When traffic permits of course I avoid hard acceleration and hard braking. And sure enough, when I filled it yesterday, the calculated average was 67.9 mpg!! The trip meter for the display read 71.4 mpg, which is about 6% optimistic, but that's in line with the average 5% or so error cumulative so far. My diesel Sportwagen would have gotten 50-51 mpg in similar conditions, so this improvement is really outstanding, and exceeds expectations!