Greetings From a New 2014 PiP Owner - My Analysis vs. Volt and Questions

Hello Priuschat,

I never thought I'd see the day I'd own a Prius. I will admit I used to be an donkey driver towards "efficient" vehicles on the roads.. BUT NOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE.. and now I know the struggle of trying to save MPG!! : ) being on the other side of it now, on the 405 and stuck in the traffic jams of LA with people tailgating you, cutting you off and not letting you merge into lanes -- I noticed this is a common theme in some of my background reading on this forum. I've already learned an incredible amount of useful information from basic research on here.

Anyways, it is nice to join this community. I recently landed a job forcing me to commute from Chatsworth to Playa Vista (405 freeway) (32 miles round trip) (average time 1hr-1.20hr). I knew it was time to ditch my daily 2005 Porsche Cayenne V6 that averages 12mpg and takes 22gallons to fill up.. my weekend car is an F82 M4 so I still get my fun out of it when I can. The first two weeks of my commute, my brother let me borrow his 2013 Volt with the HOV stickers. Although the HOV lane didn't help much, it still helped and on some days it did noticeably save me some time.. other days not so much. I knew I needed to find a car with HOV stickers on it and preferably a used one with low miles since CA wasn't issuing out anymore HOV stickers. Electric cars with white stickers just aren't feasible at this point in time and theres no point to buy commuter cars brand new in my opinion.

After a good amount of research, I knew the car for me would be a PiP. Nothing against the Volt, but I would never buy a Chevy for the long haul. The car was nice but not my cup of tea for several reasons which I won't get into. I was able to drive anywhere from 40-45 miles all EV and 20-25 miles on gas in my round trip commute with the Volt. It didn't make sense for me to charge the car at work due to the $5 dollar fee per charge for 80% battery on a drive back that is all up hill. Doing the math, I would need to fill up the car every 10 days (give or take) for 250 mile range gas extender engine with my commute for $22-25 bucks (same size tank as Prius I think).

Toyotas last forever it seems like and having previously owned a couple Toyota vehicles I knew what I was seeking. I found a 2014 PiP, original owner, clean car fax, 19,000 miles, all service records and still under basic warranties for a great price! The car was exceptionally clean, minus a scrape on the front bumper but thats nothing. I gave my new baby a full detail, from clay, to compound to polish and seal using Menzerna products and my PC; a full interior cleaning and conditioning of the carpet (seats were exceptionally clean) but now the car is to my cleanliness standard. Boy I love this car; idk if I'm biased because this thing is mine but it feels nice to be back in a Toyota (used to own an IS350). The car is much quieter on the inside IMO compared to the Volt; the visibility is much better as well; I will admit the Volt has a nicer interior layout but I couldn't stand that cheap looking/sensitive head unit area; the Prius is much more driver friendly; The PiP has a better reverse camera; of course this is subjective to me.

After being a gear head for much of my life, it's refreshing to strive to increase my MPG. Everyday on my commute I try to beat my previous record. The highest overall MPG I've attained driving to work (mostly downhill from the Valley to Playa Vista) was 90 miles (today actually) using the pulse and glide technique, eco mode, no AC needed, no DRL lights on etc. On my way home the best average I've gotten is 44mpg (tied it today) (with my EV range still being ~4 ish miles after leaving the gym in Marina Del Ray). I toggle between EV and HV modes, saving EV for the bumper to bumper traffic, light cruising speeds, downhills, and street driving. In all, today with a 70 mile commute, I averaged 59mpg. Since owning the car I've averaged about 53-55mpg.. I know its not like the top people here but MAN AM I HAPPY WITH THIS.


Questions:

1. Is the tank 10.6 gallons like google search states or 8.4 gallons (ish) like what the gas meter states? I've taken this thing down to 10 miles left on the gas range and it took 8.5 gallons to fill or less. I know on my IS350 I would get the range to 0 but still had another gallon or so of gas left in the tank.. I wouldn't risk this just wanted to know.

2. I really like how the 15" Black OEM Prius (regular) hybrid wheels look compared to these ugly PiP wheels. Anyone here running these wheels on their PiP? Are the offsets compatible or will the calipers touch the wheel?

3. I've done my research on HID kits here. Seems like there is a spread of information. I understand many recommend changing the projector for an HID compatible one... MY IS350 didn't have HID's stock so I've ran aftermarket kits before. I've had HIDextra and another brand that went bankrupt. The HIDextra was good enough and cheap. I never had issues with my conversion.. but maybe I was too dumb to notice a difference.. At this stage of my life I want something that will get the job done and not need replacing for a while. What kits, if any, are some of you running and how long have you had them for? I'm debating between the Kesun (amazon one) and the TRS ones..

Thanks for reading my post!