hello everyone

Hi There,
I just found this part of PriusChat... I didn't realize there was a newbie board on here! Anyway, here's a bit about me. I'm 41 and I live in Pennsylvania, and I work as a graphic designer doing web design and designing art for printed garments. I'm an environmentalist (freecycle, reuse or recycle everyhing, compost, vegan, etc), so I've wanted a Prius for a long time now. I started looking at them back in 2007, but my stubborn 1995 Mazda Protege refused to die. It had 203,000 miles on it when finally, a few weeks ago, someone turned in front of me at an intersection, totalling the car. I was pleased to find that a used Prius was now within my grasp, since in 2007 there were only a few used ones around and they were almost as expensive as new ones. After a few weeks of looking (and negotiating with car dealers) I finally settled on the very first car I test drove, a tan 2005 with 45,000 miles on it.

After driving it for a week and a half, I can say for sure that it's the best car I've ever owned, even though the legroom is a bit tight for my 6'5" frame. I've been averaging 46mpg, and I'm seeing that I could easily do better with better driving habits.

Anyway, it's great to be part of this board... you seem like a great bunch of people and I can't wait to learn more from you!

thanks!
-Ken

 

Thanks, Tony! I've already noticed how the first 10 minutes I drive, the mileage stinks until the engine warms up... can't wait to see how it is in April!

 

Yeah, it's funny, I've found myself driving under the speed limit more so that I can coast, and treating the gas pedal like it's costing me money every time I touch it, because I can actually SEE it happening!

I drove the Prius on snow for the first time yesterday, and I was really impressed with how well it handled... I didn't slide or have the brakes lock up once. Other things I love:
-the smart key system, which I think is the best thing ever.
-the engine shutting down at stop lights... brilliant. How come nobody thought of that before?

(minor) things I'm going to have to get used to:
- the shifter being where it is. I keep accidentally turning on the wipers when I try to shift into drive (I learned to drive on a 1980 Monte Carlo... that's where the shifter was)
-the screen in the middle of the dash attracting my attention more than it should
-having to access the climate control system through the display (but having it set on auto makes adjusting it all the time unnecessary)