New 2007 Prius Owner!

The wife and I just got a 2007 Prius last Saturday: black, grey interior, package #2, and several adds from Gulf States Toyota (plus my own addition of the all-weather mats). I would have liked to have bought a loaded out vehicle, but since the goal was to save money, the #2 package seemed like a better choice.

The story:

My job moved further away from me, so I had been making 60 mile round trips in lifted 2004 Discovery at 12 MPG highway. :blink: (We kept the Disco, but the wife drives it now only 10 miles daily).

After driving the Prius for five days, I've averaged 47.8 mpg with about 25% in town, and 75% highway. I had been averaging 45 mpg earlier in the week, but following another poster's advice found that driving 69 mph is a good number. On the highway at 69 the current consumption stays just around 52 mpg, so I'm sure the overall average will continue to go up (I had been going 75). The vehicle doesn't seem underpowered. As a matter of fact, the Beetle convertible we traded in on the Prius had the non-turbo engine, and that thing couldn't get out of it's own way, so perhaps it's about perspective. Speaking of perspective, it was nice to put in $17 of gas instead of $55, and to know that it would get me 2-3X further. High summer gas prices? BRING IT! :lol:

As for comfort, I'm quite impressed. The front seats are surprisingly well designed and comfortable. I'm 6' 1" and don't feel cramped at all. I have much more shoulder room and leg room than in the Discovery. More importantly, the room in the back seats seems huge - maybe because the car doesn't look that big from the outside. My parents drive an Accord, and I think I actually have a bit more room in the rear of the Prius. Even with the driver's seat all the way back, I have four inches between my knees and the driver's seat. A coworker who rode with me to lunch the other day had no problem sitting back there even at 6' 4".

I love the Smart Key. So cool. So convenient. Between that and the backup camera, everyone that's seen it has been wowed. Speaking of backup camera, I don't think the car needed it, but it is cool. Now about that backup beep removal mod... I need to find some spare time to do that pronto!

I was worried at first about the difficulty of adjusting things like the A/C from the touch-screen until I realized you just do it all from the steering wheel. With it set on Auto A/C, I just bump the temp up and down. Easy! Same with the radio. My only complaint with the generic CD player stereo is that the quality of the sound leaves a bit to be desired. I'm sure I'll find a way to improve that at some point. It sounds like it just needs a more powerful amp.

I also have to say that I really like the gear selector lever. At less than a week it's already second nature, and dare I say, "fun".

My list of future mods: nice dark window tint, audio upgrade, and much later - black alloys.

And just for the record, yes the lighting of the steering wheel controls are not bright enough. I'm hoping that the window tint will make them easier to see in the city.

 

Thanks, I'll adjust the pressure!