First tank on our new to us 2012 v

First post here. I've wanted a Prius for a long time as my sister and her family have owned 3 of them over the years and loved them all. It was tough for me to get out of our much loved (but not very reliable) 2002 WRX Wagon, though! That thing is a hoot and a half to drive, especially since we live in the Ozark Mts, where the roads are twisty and women are sturdy. But it's not great on fuel (22city/25 hiway) and it drinks premium. We've had 11 years of fun with it and it's got 136k on the clock, so time to move along and finally get the Prius. We did not trade it, though. We will sell it outright.

Shopping for a Prius over the last few weeks has been an education. I had not been paying close attention to them for the last few years. I knew there was a wagon version, but not much more. I'd driven my sister's a few times years ago, so knew it was nice car, but didn't realize the v was so much different. We had been set on the normal hatch back (HB) version as the one to buy, but the more we looked and the more we drove new and used ones, we decided the v was the one for us, even with the mpg difference. We have 2 German Shepherd's that we take with us most everywhere, and it was clear they'd fit better in the v.

So we finally found a truly great deal on a 2012 v3 with 30k on it. Lifetime power train warranty and the balance of the factory warranties. It's really pristine, in the blizzard white color. Took our first road trip in it today, about 250 miles around Table Rock Lake, MO basically. First part was early in the day on fairly flat roads for our area, so no AC. 2nd part was on very curvy and hilly roads with the AC running. Drove mostly 5mph over the posted limit and tried not to push it very hard up the hills. Used the B mode for steep down hills.

Filled up when we got back home and hand calculated it at 44.8mpg, which I'm very happy with. Computer said about 47mpg, but I never trust those on any of our vehicles, so it was not a surprise it was a bit optimistic. Hoping this Toyota proves to be as reliable as my other Toyota's have over the years, and that the mileage numbers continue to impress. Very happy to be part of the Prius family at this point.

 

Thanks. I have filters on my list of things to stock up on. I'll have to check out the pre-filters too. I have read about not blocking the intake and cleaning it regularly, so I'm aware of the issue. I'm a gear head that believes in doing it right, so I'll get on it for sure.

Forgot to mention that the v actually surprised me with how well it handled our very twisty roads, as far as steering, road holding and body roll. I was pushing it pretty much as hard through some very twisty roads as I do my WRX (at least with the wife in the car with me ), and there was no drama at all. Easy to maintain the same speeds. The steering on the v is a bit more twitchy than the WRX, but not hard to get used to. I'm 100% sure if I was pushing it really hard, the difference would start to show up. The WRX has much stickier tires and is built with curvy roads in mind. But I'm quite happy with the v's handling at this point. Actually, happier than I expected to be.

 

Thanks. We are sure hoping this knocks back the fuel bill. Our other 2 vehicles are gas guzzlers (3/4 ton suburban, Nissan Armada) so we need a little relief.

 

First "around town" fill up yesterday. 288.5 miles, 6.2 gallons = 46.5mpg. That was with with 100 or so miles of it on 70mph interstate, the rest stop and go, majority of it with AC on. Very pleased with those numbers, better than I'd thought we do. The computer showed an average of 46.3mpg, so it was surprisingly close also. Not that I'll ever trust it to be accurate and will always hand figure it, but it's nice to know it can be close.

Fuel gauge was right on the money, too. Showed we had half a tank left. Only filled up because I need to make a longer trip down into the Boston Mts today, and I hate worrying about fuel.

 

Yeah, my first tank was about the same on the optimistic side.

 

Thanks, I'll read that when I get back from fishing. Time to get on the lake!

Do you really haul that camper in your avatar with your prius? I'm putting a hitch on mine but only to haul a small trailer and light motorcycle to our club grounds. How do you like your hitch?

 

Hope that keeps working for you. Way to stretch the envelope. I fully intend to keep my total load under the v's listed max, so this makes me feel better about it.

I won't be hauling a camper, though. Our camper hauls our vehicle behind it, a 3/4 ton Yukon XL:

 

3rd tank was at 48.7mpg, hand calculated. Mixed driving on that tank again, but only 30-40 miles at 70mph interstate speeds. I remain very impressed with it. It's still getting better mileage than I expected. Comptuer showed 51.2, so off a fair bit this time.

Don't worry, I'll tire of posting the results soon. I know, I know. Damn newbie. ;-)

 

Thanks. We're both working hard to keep it out of the Power range as much as we can. It'll be interesting to see how much that changes over time as we just drive it instead of watching the display as much.