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Russell's Prius Pages... August 2, 2005 I know it's an odd reccommendation but one of the best things I can say about this car is, it's just a car. Sure, it's a hybrid. It's got all this drive by wire, computerized stuff going on it all the time. But day in day out, the really important thing is, it's a pleasant, fuel efficient way to navigate between points A and B. As far as observations a few months into my ownership, well, aside from the gushy stuff, nothing. And that's good. We've cut down our family fuel expenditure by a ridiuclous amount. We have a Jeep Liberty and the Prius. The Liberty goes with my wife to work five days a week, the Prius does everything else. It's nice to be able to go on driving trips again with my wife. We love to travel by car and Pennsylvania is still new to us so there is always something to see. So our destination is an hour or two away. No big deal We hop in the car and go. There's a freedom to that you don't get in a lot of other cars (unless someone else is making payments on your gas card). It gives us time to spend together doing something we love and we didn't have sacrifice comfort for it. June 11, 2005 Another week has passed and nothing of note really happened. I put a couple of hundred miles per week on the car and it performs, well, as one would expect a car to perform, just with better gas mileage. And I think that's the real obvious secret you don't see mentioned much about the Prius. It is, in the end, a car. That's the marvel, the triumph of the Prius. It;s an excellent vehicle. That it happens to be fairly radical new technology that uses energy so efficiently is important but it misses the main mission of the product. The Prius is, first and foremost, an excellent car. Overall, going into my third month of ownership, I'm still very satisfied with the Prius. Its' mileage is excellent. It's a fun car to drive and it's comfortable. June 6, 2005 Well, we did over five hundred miles in the new Prius over the last 36 hours. My wife and I picked a friend at BWI, then took straight to Manhattan for the evening, then, yesterday (Sunday, June 5) went back home to Lancaster. The golf cart got 51.6 MPG the whole time and performed most adrmiably. I got a little scared getting stuck in midtown traffic on Saturday. A typically hot and sticky New York day where the AC was working overtime. The battery level was down to two purple bars while sitting there. I had no problems mind you, just the anxiety of knowing the batteries were low. Be that as it may, the Prius was a joy in New York. Its' size made parking and driving simple and while some of the roads in New York were tough on the car (and its' inhabitants) I know this is equally true of many other vehicles. One thing of note, we saw of bunch of Prii while there. And I do mean a bunch. Clearly the Prius has proven itself to be a good car for New York, and why not? At one point, parking in Greenwich Village for dinner, we counted two other Prii in the single block stroll to the restaurant (Benny's Burrito, not bad either). Three Prii in one block. I think things are catching on. May 15, 2005 Today marks the conclusion of my third week of ownership of the 2005 Prius, now designated, "The Golf Cart" (or more likely, the dirty golf cart attesting to the near constant appearance of any white vehicle even if Toyota does have the hubris to refer to this particular white as "Super White"). I wanted to wait a few weeks into ownership to set down my initial impressions rather than write something, as I was sorely tempted, right away. I've just made the appointment for my 1,000 mile service (this Friday, May 20th) so I think now is good time.  Specifics. Mileage. No, unless you modify the vehicle or have some extremely Zen-like driving attitudes you won't get the 55 average MPG the EPA sticker claims. That said, I've been driving like shit and I get a strong 44 for the last two tanks. And I've done this purposely to see what the car would do when I wasn't trying to slipstream behind every SUV and tractor on the freeway (which, by the way, works extremely well). I live in downtown Lancaster Pennsylvania. It's a five to ten minute drive to the freeway (depending on traffic) so the heart of my driving is stop and go. Accelerate and brake. In one sense, this plays to the strengths of Prius and it's Synergy Drive. For most vehicles, this is the worst place to try to get mileage. All in all, mileage-wise, given the manner in which I've had occasion to drive the vehicle, I'm ecstatic about the mileage. At 44 MPG on the low end I know I could get fifty easily but why? I can now drive around like a proverbial banshee and still save a prodigious amount of fuel. Or drive even somewhat sanely and do even better. I think for now I'll be avoiding the high mileage tricks and just enjoying the vehicle. Comfort and convenience. The 2005 Prius is large. It's not a small car, it's in the mid-size category and the interior is, by any estimation, spacious. Even with the front seats adjusted fully towards the back of the vehicle I've had a six foot four inch individual in the back seat (and another friend) with no problems. The seats are firmly comfortable. The hatchback and folding rear seats mean I can carry very large items in this car with no problem. It compares favorably in every way with our Jeep Liberty, a comparison which, by its size, weight, mileage and price, should have much more room than the Prius. Most amenities are within easy grasp. I'm not a huge fan of the center console. It's difficult to open while driving (I probably should not be doing that anyway). I wish the car had an ashtray. 
I've taken the car on four trips in the four-hour range, each time I exited the vehicle not feeling as though I had spent the last few hours in "the rack". The legroom is ample. One extremely trivial thing, I hate the little "nub" that the floor mats mount on. I'm constantly dragging my foot across it and of course, since it's a new vehicle, I figure one of these times I'll be breaking it off thus sending my floor mats on an endless journey around the floor of the vehicle. The cup holders are not adjustable but they are well designed if a little bit "floppy" with some beverages. I like the fact that they disappear when not being used and very sturdy. The upper seat belt has a height adjustment that is nifty. I'll include the audio/video system in "comfort" since it is hardly a necessity. I have "package 2" which means I have the basic Prius plus SmartKey, Anti-theft system and self-dimming rear view mirror. No audio upgrade (more on the other stuff below). It's a basic Toyota system. Six speakers, tweeters in the front above the dash (in the pillars on each side of the windshield), six inch woofers in the lower front door and something in the back. How would I know what is back there? I'm always driving. Overall it sounds good. It's not the loudest thing in the world and I would bet money they have intentionally tuned the amplifier gains down to preserve the longevity of the speakers. Single disc in-dash CD with AM/FM radio. The controls are split between the MID and the in-dash unit itself. This can be a confusing at times but neither unit is out of reach. The steering wheel controls are great though I am not all that enamored with their location. This is one area where my wife's Jeep excels. The steering wheels controls on her Liberty are really more ergonomic in my opinion. Still, it's nice to be able to fully control the audio system without taking your hands off the wheel even if to does mean some "full octave" reaches. SmartKey is the best thing since cars themselves. No question about it. While it's not an enormous or vital thing it's one of the most convenient and subtle improvements on a vehicle I've ever seen. So far, I've never inserted the key in the dash to operate the vehicle. I love the fact the key can sit in my brief case (or in my pocket) and the car senses it. I never have to fumble for the key. This is especially convenient when your hands are full, let's say coming out of a store. All one need do is stand by the door, wait one to two seconds for the beep and voila! The door opens. SmartKey is great. The anti-theft system is nice for two reasons. So far, it's never falsed on me yet and so far, no one has stolen the vehicle. A more elaborate or effective anti-theft system I could less about.  Finally the highlight, at least visually, of the interior of the Prius is the MID or "Multi Information Display" as Toyota rather haltingly refers to it. This six inch LCD, touch screen, display panel is centrally mounted in the dash, well within easy reach of the driver. You control the climate controls through the MID. You control the balance, fader, bass and treble of the audio system with it (as well as your station presets for the radio). It also displays the mileage computer information. While some have derided the little animation detailing where power is going to and from, I've rather found it informative. At least early on it's objective and direct feedback on how to alter one's driving habits if one wishes higher mileage. Or, perhaps more to the case point, just how detrimental some driving habits are to mileage. I like it. It's simple. Easy to use. And while full, mid-day sunlight can wash out the display, I've only had this occur briefly once or twice. It's not a problem in general.  It's the little things. Visibility. Front visibility is good though it takes some getting used to not being able to see the front projection of the vehicle. The slope of the hood makes it appear there is nothing in front of the driver but we all know, that is not the case. Rear visibility, while adequate, is just that and no more. I may be more of a stickler on that than most. In fact, I'm pretty sure I am. I diligently check my mirrors and what not whereas I know people who can cross entire states and not look "back" once. Be that as it may, the pillars of the Prius make for, to a favorable face on it, a very "focused" view to the rear. It's not bad mind you and I'm surely more used to my previous Volvo and my wife's Jeep but the Toyota's field of view to the rear is a bit narrow for my tastes. So far though, it's not proved to be more than a very trivial annoyance. Overall bad. Since my wife rarely deigns to wear her seat belt, I'm often left with the annoying blinking passenger seat belt warning light. It really should turn itself off after 30 minutes or so. While the overall acceleration of the vehicle is fantastic (due to the Synergy Drive train) there have been a few instances where I've "punched it" and there was a slight delay before anything happened. Not a good feeling especially when one is used to a gas vehicle. That said, given the overall superior performance, a couple of glitches I can live with. Other than these things, I have not found a bad thing about this vehicle. No problems with construction, no "bugs". Nothing badly made or poorly engineered. Nothing broken. Sure, you should be to say that about any new vehicle. Exactly, you should be able to, but many new car owners can't say it. Overall good. The best way to say it, I love this car. And I'm a car hater. I love motorcycles. Cars have never been something I've yearned to own and enjoy. They were tools, a means to an end, no more. I've come to really enjoy this vehicle. Cruising silently through the tree-covered streets of downtown Lancaster to my home is blissful. I love the idea that gas is not a major expense and now we can consider taking long road trips in a comfortable car (not that the Jeep wasn't comfortable but it sure isn't cheap to drive). I would highly recommend this vehicle to anyone considering a new car purchase. I did a lot of research and while I was initially attracted to the Honda Insight with it's higher mileage rating but the overall more flexible utility of the Prius really won me over. That and Toyota's (thus far) well earned reputation for building a quality vehicle and providing strong service after the sale. The cool factor. If there is something cooler than silently blasting out of your parking spot then I'm not sure what it is (at least with regard to cars). If there is something cooler than the large round "Power" button on the dash used to start the vehicle, I sure haven't seen it in another car. And for coolly weird, the joystick "gearshift" is as disconcerting initially as it cool later on. No clunky gears, no linkage, just flip it into gear and go. The Prius has cool factor in spades. Say whatever you want about hybrid vehicles, the Prius has everything I've seen in its' price class smoked for cool. Add to which, the ongoing cost of this cool is not being penalized for driving your car. The Prius certainly doesn't make me cooler but I certainly do enjoy its little features and idiosyncrasies. What are you waiting for? Go get on a Prius waiting list. Russell Frost Lancaster, Penna |