Newbie

The Prius is perfect for this sort of stop and go driving. The transmission and brakes will last much, much longer than an ordinary car under similar circumstances. The Prius is not available with a front bench seat, but its controls are easy to use and should work for a postal person. Battery life in taxi use has been more than 200,000 miles. Ground clearance is similar to most front-wheel-drive autos, maybe a bit better than some, however it's not a truck or SUV. We have had good luck with ours in snow, although we traded the OEM tires for better all-season tires.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jim O @ Nov 8 2007, 06:58 PM) [snapback]536954[/snapback]</div>

1. Not that I know of, unless somebody has done something aftermarket.

2. Yes and yes.

3. Yes. the car sits rather low, and will probably not do well in deep snow.

4. Absolutely.

5. 100K warranty. Taxi fleets (also plenty of abuse) are past 200K with no problems. The present known record is 322K.


Except for 1 and 3, this would be an ideal vehicle.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jim O @ Nov 8 2007, 06:58 PM) [snapback]536954[/snapback]</div>

1. Bench not available. right hand drive is sold in other countries.
2. Breaking will not only be able to handle it, they will perform better, and last longer than in a regular vehicle due to the regenerative breaking.
3. Not bad in the snow, I have replaced the original tires with the Michelin Hydroedge tires which are better tires.
4. Drive train would not only last, it has proven itself to go well over 250,000 miles in taxi cabs......

Prius would be good for what you need it for i think. Even if it gets bad mileage, you should be getting well over 30, 35 or 40 or so probably. Its also a very safe car. if you have worries, buy a used one. Even one or two years old should give you years of service, assuming no prior damage.

Good luck, and if you do get one, let us know and we can all help answer questions, and help with mileage and maintenance issues. B)

 

If you move the front passengers seat fully forward and remove the head rest, you can lay the the back of the seat down so that it is flat. However, there is no way you can drive the Prius from the passengers side.

 

One worry I would have would be ground clearance ... sometimes that's an issue on rural roads with a lot of gravel on them. Also, if the roads are muddy that's sometimes not the best for the Hybrid Synergy Drive system. Again, I am saying this w/o knowing the exact driving conditions she'd face.

Overall it would be good otherwise b/c of the long brake life and the type of driving she'd be doing.

 

I would think it's possible to order a right-hand drive version, though the US-specifications could make it complicated. I'd think it's worth asking a Toyota dealer.

 

Here is the thread where Timm explains how he uses the Prius for mail delivery in Wisconsin:

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=2...hl=mail+carrier

 

I hope this is obvious: she must test drive one before you buy. She might find the controls unuseable from the passenger's side, and some people cannot tolerate the seats (they're not very adjustable).

My aunt delivered mail in northern Wisconsin for years and considered an AWD Subaru ideal for it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jim O @ Nov 8 2007, 09:06 PM) [snapback]537035[/snapback]</div>

How about buy a used one instead of a brand new one? That will make you feel less bad.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jim O @ Nov 9 2007, 07:54 AM) [snapback]537184[/snapback]</div>

That's why we often say, "the search tool is a wonderful thing"
. . . and welcome!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jim O @ Nov 9 2007, 06:39 PM) [snapback]537505[/snapback]</div>

Good evening Jim O, I bit the bullet in Feb with 3.9% for 4 yrs. Spent hours beating information out of this site and ebay. I drive a 73+ mile 'J' route with 19 miles of dirt or mud. I sit comfortably in the passenger seat, seatbelted in, and steer left-handed. Had a Jeep with Brights controls---too massive for the job--no good place for my left foot. Made my own right side controls for gas and brake--removable too. Got tired of 13mpg in my 2000 RHD Jeep. Average mpg 45 with 25000 miles on the odometer. Be glad to share.

 

I'm a long time reader of PriusChat who's wife is also a rural mail carrier who drives a high mileage right hand drive jeep that gets about 15 mpg on a warm day. With gas approaching $4.00/gal in our beautiful little valley at the end of the supply routes, the reimbursement she gets from the Post Office seems mighty small. She drove a left-hand drive CR-V for many years but the the miles and the calendar made the stretching required by the wrong-sided controls too much.

We would love to find a right-hand drive Prius for the mail route. Timm's thread has shown us that the Prius can handle the snow, mud, and high water that a rural route can throw at a car, but it also looked downright dangerous to control the car while sitting in the passenger seat.

Does anyone out there in PriusChat land know what it would take to import a right hand drive Prius into the United States. When I asked this questions a couple of dealers, they said no way! (with a slightly fearful look in their eyes) The US customs site implies that a right hand drive car would have to be crash tested even if its left hand drive cousin is legally being imported. All that is legal now is the Jeeps, a Saturn station wagon, a few old trashed Suburus and the 96-97 Honda Accord wagon. Can any import-export wizard suggest a route around this legal restriction?


Also, it seems that the Prius is much more of a fly-by-wire rather than a fly-by-mechanical linkage vehicle so swapping the controls from one side to the other might be a bit easier than other cars.

Thank you
Bruce