Thank You Dianne! - First Thoughts / Comments

Hi everyone! I made an appointment to pick up my Clearwater Blue PIP this past Friday at Carson Toyota. Sorry about my NEWB post.

I am excited by my Prius, but I have not read the manual yet, nor do I profess to know any specifics about the workings of the car. The thoughts below are just my overall thoughts and first impressions. I promise, this will not be techincal.

When I arrived, my car was freshly detailed, and waiting for me in the drive off area. Nathan greeted me, unlocked the car and let me get right in.

Buying my car from Dianne was the BEST car purchase I have EVER made! What a breeze! Her communication has been amazing and she has always been true to her word.

I was off the lot in about two hours with a good tour from Nathan (Dianne was on to her next appointment!)

I can't waith to get my PriusChat schwag!
Nathan said they will be sent to me.

I passed on extended warranty and financed through Toyota.

I went with the standard package, and did not upgrade to leather through Dianne (even though the pics look awesome.) I think the seats are super comfortable as they are. The custom Prius Plug in Floor Mats are great, I just wish the rear seats had the logo as well.

So, a couple of thoughts:

Clearwater Blue is awesome! It looks great day and night, offering a nice tint change in the evening that looks slightly darker.

Speaking of tint, these windows need it asap. I am going to get it done, next week.

Are the steering wheel controls supposed to illuminate?

I notice the PIP is pretty noisy when stopped. Possibly when the AC kicks on? I will try to capture this on video to see if this is just the Hybrid kicking on. It is much louder than my 2002 Prius. Is this the external noise maker? Does the car even have one?

Whats up with the Reverse beeping! The Prius is not a trash truck!!!

Voice commands seem pretty sketchy so far. Trying to voice command for a destination is almost impossible.

My first plug in charge was just under 2 hours I got 9.5 miles going about 50mph, moving up to 65 on the freeway for the last couple of miles.

I cannot confirm or deny that a 25ft. 15amp extension cord can be used to connect to your charger.

I wish I got a back bumper cover. With the rear carpet mats, it takes two hands to put the plu back because the flap cannot fold back and I was banging the heavy plug on the bumper while replacing the charge cord. I almost wish the rear mat was foldable.

Can someone explain why you put the car in Reverse by pushing forward, and Drive by pulling backwards?

Searching for fuel prices is a great feature...not that I will need it too often!

Having 36 multi-source presets is different and will take getting used to, but I like being able to mix SAT, AM, and FM.

Searching by SAT channel is frustrating...or maybe I do not know how to do it correctly.

I like how Siri talks through the car speakers. It would be awesome if you could trigger Siri through a Voice Command.

The BT and iPod audio auto starts playing your music and podcasts which is kind of strange, but I guess convenient. The BT audio through the iPhone4 is great.

I would have preferred the USB cable to be located under the dash next to the power adapter so I could mount the iphone wired without running the cable through the cupholders. I bought a suction mount which I mounted on the right side of the console. I will send pictures in a couple of days.

HD Radio quality is great, but there can be significant volume jumps when the reception switches to and from HD.

I put the kids in the back seat three across with one carseat, and they were happy as can be - I just wish the car allowed me to roll the windows up and down from the driver's seat with the window lock on.

The keyless locking and unlocking by touching the door handle is awesome and works great.

I love how the temperature readout displays the current settings nice and large on the display. The display also alerts you when the power door is not closed all the way.

I love how you can click on the album cover to view the tracks and other podcasts, that is a great feature.

Traffic detours seem pretty cool, I was alreted to to of them on my trip, I just wish it told me what my alternatives were before I press detour. Maybe a View Detour option?

I especially like the navigation display of the freeway signs that display when I am nearing an interchange.

I wish you could cancel Navigation using voice commands...unless I missed that.

Well, I guess that is it. I must say it was kind of fun watching all the other Prius drivers catch up to me to check out the car. The Blue definately stands out and draws attention.

Sorry about the long post!

Randy