Jadziasman bought a 2005 Toyota Prius - my initial impressions

[jadziasman]

Yes, friends. jadziasman emptied the piggy bank and bought a 2005 Toyota Prius. It has nearly every available option (except sun roof). I picked it up last Saturday at a Toyota dealership in Burns Harbor, Indiana.

The car is in excellent condition after 134,000 miles in 5.5 years.

I drove it back home from Illinois yesterday - a 300 mile trip. I used cruise most of the way at 67 mph and got 52 mpg - not too bad. The cruise is really precise - holds within +/-1 mph except for steep hills.

After three days of driving it I must say that it's really impressive how Toyota designed their hybrid drive system. I took my first roundtrip to work/home today and I can see how easy it could be to get 60 mpg if I plan a couple of routes and learn how early I should slow down before approaching stop signs and stop lights along the way. The motor generator charges the battery during coasting and deceleration. I'm still learning how that all works. The battery meter reads 3 to 4 bars most of the time and goes to the full 5 bars (I think it's 5 or 6 bars?) some of the time.

Driving impressions? It's not immediately responsive like a standard car. By that I mean if I depress the pedal slightly it seems like nothing happens. If I press the pedal more, the system will respond with feeble acceleration. I'm going to take it easy the first week or so to get used to the sounds it makes. I haven't even tried revving the engine yet - no need - no clutch!

Alas, I decided it was time to say goodbye to another old friend, the little red VX. It was a very reliable car and I enjoyed working on it - for the most part. I donated it to my brother.

[FrugalFloyd]

Congratulations! I've found it pretty easy to top 60 mph in a Prius on most drives, by holding top speeds down to 60 mph, and doing the P&G technique that's out on Youtube.

[jadziasman]

Thanks for the P&G reference on youtube. I'm not sure it will apply to me because I'm usually driving on roads with posted speeds of 45 mph or greater. I do the glide part at least. The less braking I need to do the better my mpg will get. The instantaneous display provides 15 minute intervals of estimated mpg and it seems really accurate if I've got the cruise engaged.

On that note:

Wouldn't it be nice to drive 60 mph on the Interstate and not fear death by collision or worse.

Driving at 68 mph in metro Detroit at 3 PM is about as slow as I can drive without feeling afraid. I haven't started driving behind/around semis yet but I will start looking for their protection if the maniacs around me increase their usage of all three lanes as passing lanes. I have noticed lately that some of these idiots are weaving and swerving past at least 90 mph in heavy traffic. I've been lucky so far but am fearing the day one of these nuts will cause a multi vehicle wreck and I will be one of the unfortunates they victimize.

The reason I use the Interstate in the afternoon at all is I must pick up my child from school and that's a 37 mile commute. I really have no choice in the afternoon to get to the school on time but I can use another route on the 27 mile commute to work. Now if I could just wake up early enough to leave early enough.