Soon to be "new guy" questions

I think EV mode is default when going slow. Engine would only turn on if you floored it from light to light or the battery runs low. Either way, not sure how Pittsburgh roads are compared to NYC, but I wouldn't want to drive my Prius on the roads I need to go through, let alone a Prius C... Short wheelbase may make it a little bumpity, but that's relative...

 

Any car that doesn't run the engine at traffic lights is a good car for traffic jams. Welcome to PC mburke.

 

If that's the case, the Prius C is a great thing. Although, if lane splitting is allowed in PA, a motorcycle would be even better. At least for the spring-fall months.

 

The EV mode (or even just driving in regular mode but being conservative in your acceleration to not trigger the engine) is ok for traffic as long as you and the people behind you don't mind taking your time in accelerating and moving forward.

In LA traffic, the moment the car moves ahead in front of you, you better move along with it because if there's a space in front of you, someone else will cut in. So for me, it's a little harder to keep EV on the freeway.

 

^^ This.

Since the engine(s) shut off when you are stopped, the Prius C (and other Prius models) make great cars for in-town and heavy traffic driving. You will save a LOT of fuel from this alone. I live in a densely populated area of NJ, tons of lights, tons of slow moving traffic... my C has been a boon for me.

Another thing to consider is that Ev mode is only usable for short distances until the battery gets to a certain level, then the ICE will kick in whether you want it to or not. My C seems to force ICE once the battery gets down to 3 bars on the display. Someone else said here in another thread that while the Ev mode is great, always remember you have to pay that energy back by burning gas later on.

 

Pittsburgh! Hey I almost moved there!

As you know, Pittsburgh is very hilly so your mileage will see a lot of high and low extremes, versus a consistent average above 50mpg. Generally, short trips are bad for mileage but a 6-7 mile commute is long enough to average out at 50+mpg, depending on your driving style. And as others mentioned, traffic is good for mileage.

 

I love heavy traffic in my liftback, because I get anywhere from 60 to 85 mpg on my 20-mile commute in LA traffic. I'm sure the c is even better for these low speed due to the smaller engine.

 

Where are you in Pittsburgh?

 

I live about 15 minutes form monroeville! I work for CVS/Caremark out there! Nice to see someone local!

 

Sure is! Where did you get your C from? I'm still waiting for mine from North Hills toyota

 

Sounds like the perfect scenario for the PIP if you can afford one, and even more-so if you can plug in at work.

That said, I think the c is a good option otherwise for you.

 

Well first off tell your friend thanks for all he does!

I haven't test drove it either. But I know I WANT it. But i did get to drive my grandpas regular gen 3 Prius and I'm sure they have similar experiences. I don't know what dealer you went to. But A few in my area spitzer, rhoric, greensburg Toyota didn't seem willing to help me. that's when I contacted north Hills Toyota and they had a super-white level 3 coming in.

Good luck finding one! unless you are special ordering it.

 

I second what Wick1ert says, if you can afford a Plug in Prius liftback and can plug in at home (and even better if you can plug in at work), that would be an ideal car!

Stop and go traffic is less awful for a Prius than a conventional car. However, you won't get the stunning gas mileage shown on the sticker in true stop and go traffic. Slow and go traffic (where you could keep your speed ranging from 8 - 20 mph) would be ideal for the Prius family of cars, as this is the equivalent to "pulsing and gliding". You'll have to retrain yourself on how you drive, however.

For a normal prius, you don't want to use the EV mode, counter intuitive, but you will see a short term gain...until the battery state of charge declines, then a long term loss in mileage (as it will eventually cause the engine to kick on to recharge the battery, which is wasteful due to efficiencies in energy transfers).

The Plug-in Prius has (roughly) a 12 mile all EV range. If you could plug in at work, you may not burn a drop of gas on your commute!