v Trim 3 compared to a gen 1 prius

I've been driving my new Prius v for 10 days or so... I drove a 2002 Prius until 2009, and thought I'd share some of my observations:

I bought my original Prius for the fuel efficiency and the geek factor of the drive train. My new car really shows its geekness in a cool way.

Starting the car with a push button is great. I never thought the key start made much sense. I made it a game to see how short of a twist I would need. I really like the new HSI display. It makes it easier to know when I'm in EV mode.

I REALLY like the fact that cruise control now uses regen to maintain speed on down hills. I always wanted that on my old Prius! (Does the car light the brake lights when it does this?)

The driving experience is very similar to the gen 1. In 700 miles of mostly highway travel with perfect 50 degree weather, I'm getting about 50mpg. (I'm driving the speed limit +3 or so where possible,)

I've noticed that the regen "cutout" on bumps isn't as bad. With my old Prius, there were several spots on my commute that would always cause the regen to cutout while braking. On the v I have yet to notice this. I don't know if the suspension causes the wheels to keep better contact, and/or the control circuits are better.

Aloha,

John