Test drive suggestions ?

In a couple of hours I'm going to go for my PiP test drive. My Prius experience is mostly with an 07 - I have driven a rental fleet 10 once or twice.

Does anybody have suggestions for thing to look for or do? I don't expect to have a long test drive, but want to fully and fairly evaluate the car.



Thanks

Erik

 

The car I ordered is a basic. I hadn't thought about manually toggling HV mode to try both modes. Kinda obvious, really

 

Well. I'm sitting waiting for the trade in appraisal on my 07.


It turns out the dealer didn't charge "my" basic do I drove their advanced instead.

Waaaay to many buttons on that thing. I'm sure I could get used to it, but on a test drive it was a bit much.

We tried toggling all the modes to see how it all worked.
I think we got the high points.


We sat in the basic when we got back - I really do think I like the simpler interface. I suppose that high res screen on the advanced is nice though

 

The one we test drove was an orphaned one, I think.

No pictures- too busy trying to pay attention while juggling small kids.


The dealer is Toyota of Acton in Littleton MA

 

Yep. They also had some other members of their team helping today. Another salesman (sorry, didn't catch his name) had actually taken the Advanced PiP home the night before. As he had plugged it in at home and only used half the charge to get to work we had a little charge to work with.

They said they had a charging station in the "back" and were still working with a utility for a front-side charging station. I think they're trying to get the local utility to pay for and put it in. I mean come on -- run a stinking 20A 240V circuit already and slap a Leviton on it!

They dealership shows three PiPs in stock - the white orphan I drove, the sea glass I ordered and an advanced clearwater blue.

I chose this dealership because they seemed to be Prius aware - they even had Wayne Gerdes (CleanMPG) over a while back to do a Prius hypermiling clinic.. So, if they manage to screw up basic stuff like plugging in cars I fear for the initial rollout in more basic dealerships...

 

Well, I've cancelled my PiP order.

Test drive was a bit hectic, but on reflection, about half the confusion was due to my tight schedule and dragging the kids along.

Ultimately, I didn't get the PiP because I didn't need to replace a current car. I'd already replaced my 12 year old subaru with a LEAF this year. So, between the uncertainty of claiming the 2500 tax credit combined with the relatively small change in utility (07 prius to a PiP) made this a chance to pass on.

Of course, now I'll be queued up to take the next big thing in a few years!