I may be a new Prius owner in August

Well yesterday I got my first drive in a 2010 Prius. Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG was doing a multi-state drive between Chicago and New York for a review on the new Prius. On his way back from New York I met up with him in Erie Pa. to check out the car and get some time behind the wheel.

Well it was interesting to say the least. Being an owner of Turbo Volvo's since 1981 this was a whole new experience. Two completely different animals as they say when driving for mpg's.

I've been into mpg's since about mid 1990's when I started modifying my cars for better mileage due to extended drives
of 1170 miles each way to Fl. It really wasn't the cost of the fuel but the time spent on that last fill up. 17 hours into a drive having to stop 100-125 miles from your destination to get fuel is not something you are looking forward to.

Modded my 740 Turbo wagon to go from 325-340 miles per tank to 410-425 miles per tank highway mileage. Aero and drive-train changes were implemented to achieve the better fuel mileage.
My dedicated highway car a 97 960 went from 525 to 600 miles per tank with some aero mods to the undercarriage.

My daily driver retired from highway duty a 87 wagon is now 23 years old with 370K miles on the clock. Age related electrical and fluid leak problems keep popping up and are becoming nerve racking.

Plus 20-21 mpg's due to short trips of 3-4 miles between home and work isn't helping my mpg's. I figure I can go from filling up every 16-17 days to no more than once a month. The Prius will cut my fuel usage to 40% of what I'm using now.

I was looking at the Honda Civic Hybrid and the TDI. The Prius wasn't in the mix due to the look. I just wasn't thrilled with the look of the front end. (This from a Volvo owner)

Up until the 2010 Prius III came out my interest was waining to say the least on the Prius. After saying something to Wayne about my doubts with the Prius and I was moving towards the HCHII he said you need to drive this car (2010).

So yesterday with some prodding and an open invitation from Wayne I drove up to Erie to meet up with him on his way back from New York. It was a prime opportunity to get sometime behind the wheel and talk to someone who really knows the car and is the premier expert on what kind of fuel mileage you can really get out of this car.

Raves is an understatement with Wayne's discussion with me on the new PIII. He was like a proud parent bragging about his new child.

BTW I felt bad when I dropped his tank average from 76.6 to 76.5 mpg during my drive.

Wayne told me to talk to people who own a 2010 and get their input on their experience with the car. So I joined Prius Chat to get a little more info and owner input on the 2010 Prius.

Since my 87 wagon is worth about $500-$750 and is EPA rated at 18 mpg I have to be a fool not to jump on the cash for clunkers.

Since I'm heading down to Florida for vacation next week I won't be getting serious with bugging dealers until I get back on the first of August. I wish the CFC program was running longer because I wanted to wait for the dealers to slow down a little to get some money off the sticker. $4500 off the sticker now is better than $750-$1,000 off sticker three to four months from now when the PIII cools off in sales and CFC program has ended.

I'm looking at the level III in silver with the dark interior. The real reason for the purchase of a Hybrid is lower everyday automobile operating cost. Plus I'm sick and tired of giving these idiots in the state and Federal Government my money. Every gallon of gas I don't put in a gas tank is fifty one cents I don't have to give them to waste.

 

It was so different compared to the gasoline car I was driving.
The brakes were the biggest difference I noticed. When I first stated out in the parking lot I found the brakes were much more touchy compared to my 960's. Once out on the road and running along at 35-55 mph they seemed some what closer to normal.
The biggest thing was in a non hybrid when getting off an exit you back off the throttle early and coast as long as you can. With the Prius, Wayne was on me pretty quickly to get on the regenerative braking to recharge the battery pack as much as possible.

Also playing with the throttle to use the EV as much as possible up to 15 mph was something new. I wasn't use to the throttle response or lack of it in ECO mode. It took me some time to get use to it.

There is definitely going to be a new learning curve with this car.

I'm looking at the III. One thing Wayne pointed out on the II he was evaluating was there isn't much perceived quality difference between the standard radio and the upgraded JBL unit in the III.
He liked the idea with the 2010 that the average guy or gal can jump in the car and get 50 mpg driving normally.