Quack Quack...!

Hey All!

My name's Iain, I'm 28, a mechanical designer of automation/robotics, and I live in Ontario, Canada.

After about 2 months of jumping between different dealerships, searching online and lying awake in bed at night for hours trying to think of what to do... My boyfriend Phil and I signed the papers tonight to take delivery of a 2010 Prius.

I'd better back up a step!

In late 2005, after 5 months of thinking about it, I made the plunge to order a Diesel smart fortwo cdi. At that time, they'd been in Canada for about a year - I'd held off on buying one for as long as I could, as I was driving at the time a perfectly reliable '98 Tercel that refused to have a problem that would give me an excuse to ditch it for the smart. I decided life was too short and bought it - even toured the factory in France where they're made. At 286 000 km, Mercedes tells me I have the highest mileage smart in Canada. I logged nearly 80 000 km the first year I had it; as a roller coaster enthusiast, trips to the US in the summer are the norm, and every weekend is an excuse to see how far out and back I can get to get some rides in!

Sadly, while the fuel consumption of the smart is exceptional (4.4 L/100 km, or about 53 US MPG lifetime average), and the driving experience second to none (handling like a go cart, paddle shifted automated manual transmission, full glass roof), the cost of repairs I've had to perform on the car have been astronimcal. I'm on my fourth turbocharger, third EGR valve, second intercooler assembly, alternator, muffler, and clutch actuator... side airbag deployed when I hit a pothole (common problem, it turns out), passenger door latch failed a month ago (strapped shut currently), front left spring on the suspension snapped a few weeks ago, and as of this past winter it will no longer start in temperatures below freezing. The car is terminal come October/November, when the temperatures really drop, and at a mileage far short of the 500 000 km goal I'd thought I'd hit in it when I bought it.

As much as I've loved the car, and the places I've gone with it, the people/community I've met and been involved with - it was time to go back to the reliability I knew with Toyota and the Prius was really the only choice. I love the technology (I've been studying the planetary gearbox setup non-stop), the styling, and the experience - I've always had a fascination with electric vehicles (built an electric go cart when I was 13) so naturally I gravitated toward the sounds and overall geekiness of the Prius, and of course the low fuel consumption potential. I love chauferring and going on trips with friends and it'll be great to be able to have more than one person tag along now!

We're expecting to take delivery the third week of September (in about a week and a half). I'm not sure how the packages align between US/Canada (I noticed the difference in nomenclature with the roman numerals), but we'll be getting the "Premium Package w. Solar Panels".

Phil is big into video games and I'm a huge space nut; his favourite game is Mass Effect, and since the Prius really does feel like a space ship, we've decided to name ours Normandy.

Looking forward to the ride - and hopefully, hitting 500 000 km in the Prius!

Cheers,

-Iain

 

Oh dear, haha Minebuster is awful! It's not in good shape anymore...

Wonderland's a fantastic park for flat rides (which I do love), but the US is where it's at for major coasters. I'm about 5 hours from Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio) which is more-or-less the mecca for for coasters. I've traveled to virtually every park on the Eastern side of the US, but now that we'll be driving such a reliable car, a trip out West is likely to happen, too. California has a ton of great parks I've been dying to visit for years.

Let me tell you - driving the smart in the states is a bit of a gamble - there's zero support for the cdi (Diesel) and there are tons of horror stories on our smart car forums about people getting stranded and having very, very expensive tows back to Canada!

-Iain

 

Big factor for me is the liftback design. My first car was a used '85 Corolla liftback and I loved the versatility of that shape. Yeah - I'll certainly enjoy not having to reshuffle and completely rethink how to pack -shoehorning enough stuff for camping on a long weekend into the smart is possible, but it's a hell of a challenge.

About the FE at speed - 4.3 at those speeds is fantastic. I notice in the smart that consumption spikes sharply above 100 km/h. Cruising at 60-80 km/h in 6th gear on a summer day on back roads yeilds 3.5 L/100 km pen-on-paper tank averages... but 401 at 110 km/h or higher is always up around ~5 or so. I have a feeling my tank averages in the Prius are going to be far more normalized!

-Iain

 

Looks like I won't be getting the car for another week, unfortunately. We couldn't get Blizzard Pearl, so settled on our second choice, Winter Grey Metalic with the Misty Grey interior. It's coming from Ottawa. The two-tone dash/armrest etc. really shows off with that colour, so I think we'll really like it as well!

Insurance is really frustrating. I was paying about $2400/a with the smart - and knew that was pretty high, but it's a stupidly expensive vehicle to operate for what it is. It looks like I'm going to be stuck around $2k/a for the Pruis as well... is that inline with what you guys are paying? I'm 28 and have a clean driving record.

Thanks

-Iain

 

I leave work in a couple of hours to go pick up the Prius - excited!

My excitement is clouded a bit though by the sadness of "abandoning" the smart. Sure have been on a lot of trips in the past ~5 years with it, and have enjoyed proving to myself and others that you don't need a big car to go places and have fun... 288 000 km is about where it'll be at for the next while.

-Iain

 

We drive about 60 000 km a year, so I'm eager to see how the Prius will stand up against the smart. The mileage should be similar (hopefully better - I think the Prius will do better at high speed for fuel consumption than the cdi), but repairs I'm hoping will be negligible.

What a machine. Lots of surprises still. Didn't know the Bluetooth system is voice activated, didn't know the footwell illumination stays on while driving (adore it!)... averaged 4.1 L/100 km (57 mi/US gal) over the ~150 km we put on it last night before heading home.

I was still feeling bad at the dealership about switching vehicles - even knowing the smart won't start when the temperature drops, so I had to do something - but after last night and "feeling it out" I'm sure we made the right move. It will get easier as time goes on. My friends keep reminding me "You're not getting rid of your smart - you're just retiring it from daily service!".

-Iain

PS - "warp stealth" (I think that's what you guys call hovering the HSI in the leftmost triangle of the "Hybrid Eco Area") is very difficult to hold