New prius owner: first impressions

Hi everyone, I would like to introduce myself as a proud new prius owner after waiting for delivery for 4 long months. It's a silver 06 edition with black leather seats, and most of the other stuff: GPS, dynamic vehicle stability, ..., and the new IPA (intelligent park assist). The car replaces a 10 years old Saab 900, and complements a 1 year old Volvo XC70 D5 (diesel). During the purchase process, I collected a lot of useful info from this forum, therefore I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my first impressions with you.

First: these are the reasons why we decided upon the prius (more or less in order of importance):

1. Environment friendly. This the definetely the number one reason. I know that the prius is of course still not the ultimate answer, but I vote with my money for a decent effort to go in the right direction.

2. Technological innovations. Being technologically oriented myself, I like the innovations Toyota has introduced in this car.

3. Fuel efficiency. I guess this one speaks for itself, particularly for city driving!

4. Coolness. Imho, this is the coolest car that currently available.

5. Toyota offers 5 year full waranty in Belgium *and* 5 years free maintenance (expect tires). That's a good deal. Also, our nice Belgian government gives a 3500 Euro tax reduction on the prius.

Second: a few first impressions after driving it for a few days. On the positive side:

- Overall, the car definetely lives up to our (high) expectations. It's a lot of fun to drive, mainly because it is distinctly different (like the engine shutoff and the silent start you get from the electric motor). A very refreshing car in a lot of ways

- Extremely silent for city driving (even with the gasoline engine)

- Smooth but firm and assuring ride. The suspension on the 06 model has been reworked slightly, and it definetely feels stiffer than the 04 test car we drove. Of course, the European models are already slightly firmer than the US models anyway.

- Enough power for all normal situations. In the city, if you want you could surprise a lot of other drivers because of the quick start due to the electric motor and innovative transmission.

- I like the high quality touch screen. It's great for the GPS navigation

- Intelligent Park Assist: It's fun to demonstrate to friends, but not really necessary for us because we both have no problems with parking. And it's actually slow because you need to go trough a complete chain of steps. But the back camera view that is displayed on the screen is really great. It also works well in the dark.

An now on the negative side:

- The seats or nowhere even nearly as comfortable as in our Volvo or our prevous Saab. They are a shame, actually. Fortunately, this will never be our long distance car.

- The ergonomics are not up to the level of e.g. the Volvo. Toyota has some work here to do.

- The stick for the cruise control gets in the way of my right knee if I turn the steering wheel why using the brake pedal. Very ennoying.

- Why is there not "estimated distance to empty tank" available? At least, I could not find it. It's bizarre that this car is so computerised, and such a basic piece of information is missing. Also, I miss a trip-average fuel consumption indication.

Overall, we are very pleased with this car so far. My wife will use it to commute to her work, and we will both use it for shorter distances driving and city driving. It's perfect for these purposes, and this is why we purchased it. But I'm glad we also have the Volvo XC70 diesel for long distance driving on the highway. Believe me, the prius is no match at all here.

We purchased the car mainly because it is environment friendly, and it is the best signal a consumer can give towards a market that needs to change drastically. As a bonus, you get a refreshening car that is a lot of fun to drive and has a high entertainment factor (why not).

I actually never thought that I would once buy a Toyota and like even it! Congratulations for Toyota for leaving the beaten path and designing this car.