My first Prius.... my first Toyota.

Part 1, The purchase decision:

Other members have asked me to do a brief write up on my new car. So here it is.

At the first of the year, I wanted a vehicle to replace a pickup truck that left my life a year ago. Once in a while I have to haul stuff around. I also own a large piece of land in a rural setting. I have two cargo trailers parked in front of my garage and don't have a vehicle to move them.

I started out with that as my primary focus. Number two on my list was reliability. Third was the cool factor. Now... cool to me isn't what it looks like on the outside. It's the experience in the cockpit. I want comfort and I want my geekiness tickled.

By the spring time I had moved from a pickup down to a van and then to a Honda Pilot as I did a bit of research. I passed up two deals because I just couldn't be sure as to what I wanted. In June, I knew that something was wrong with my decision process because I just couldn't make up my mind. So I reevaluated my priorities and goals. The assumption that I needed a big towing vehicle fell apart. 99.9 percent of my travel is just me and my dog with nothing else in the vehicle. I couldn't see myself in a large truck, moving a chunk of steel around with me every where I went.

So after writing down all my needs and desires, I decided to look at cars with hatchbacks. I soon decided I wanted a hybrid. Not because of good gas mileage but because of the cool factor. I put solar on my house back in 2001 not because it would save me money but because I could. If we don't support new technologies they won't happen. And solar is cool, right? So, I narrowed my choice down to the Rav4 or the Prius. After looking at the Rav4, I decided there wasn't really a lot more room in it than the prius. The load length of both cars are pretty close. And the Rav4 hybrid's load floor isn't very useable. The seats don't lay flat.

I test drove a Prius Four in Utah in mid June and really liked it. I nearly bought it. But I thought I'd do a bit more research. After all, I'd been oscillating on just what I wanted for months. I nearly memorized the different packages available on each trim level. I knew I wanted the basic TSS features. I also wanted all the comfort in a car. Every car I've ever owned was the base trim. This time around, this was my decision for me alone. I'm tired of being practical (even though a Prius is the epitome of practicality.) I really liked the options available on the four trim level but I got hung up on the fact that it didn't have a flat load level or a spare tire. I had to go back and write down my real reasons for those things and see if they were really that important.

By August, I was sure that I wanted to proceed, so I lined up an appointment with my "local" dealership in California while I was still in Utah visiting family.

I came home and bought it. If I need to move those trailers, I'll go rent a truck for a weekend.

 

Part 2:

I finally decided on the Four trim level with ATP and PCP. The car is pearl white and has the moon stone interior.

Stuff I don't like about the car:
- No spare tire.
- No flat load floor. I don't like to lift things and I was looking forward to being able to slide things in and out of the car. This isn't much of an issue. My trade in had a 12" lip. This is much easier.
- The sunshades don't extend to protect my eyes from the side. I'll carry my wrap around shades.
- No cute little cubby for sunglasses! Seriously, I'd forgotten to check this. I suppose it went on vacation with the spare tire. My bad.
- Road noise. On good driving surfaces the car is quieter than any other I've ever driven. On the California freeway system or that stretch across Nevada I seem so fond of, it will be tiresome.
- The windows can't be down if you go over twenty miles an hour. Holy smokes what a racket the wind makes. It's a good thing I got the moonroof after all!

Okay that's all minor stuff. Or at least it seems minor until I get a flat in some out of the way where there is no cell service. And that is pretty likely since I live in such a place.

I suppose I could go through all the stuff everyone is familiar with but I decided to focus on things that I've not found anywhere else.

So... let's start off with the stereo. I like music and I've never had a nice stereo in my cars. I also border on an audiophile so I was hesitant about the JBL system. For a while, I considered getting a Three touring and installing a Pioneer head unit with Apple CarPlay. But ... the toys won out. So JBL it is. JBL was big when I was a kid. They were famous for mating powerful amps with inefficient speaker systems. The net effect was an overdriven system with muddy highs, barely acceptable mid range, and blow a hole in your wall boomy bass. At least that is my opinion. This system was quite a surprise. The door and dash speakers seem quite efficient indeed and the mounting limitations don't seem to affect sound projection in a negative way. The highs and mid ranges are very clear and match the ability of my digital storage in terms of quality. I rip at high data rates but can still hear the limits of that technology. The bass is still boomy. I perform music from time to time and I know what it SHOULD sound like. It is NOT the way most people play loud music. And it can be turned up pretty loud. What music I do I listen to? Anything but Country and Western. These days it's just repackaged rock n roll anyway. If you catch a "vinyl" station, I'll like it. I also like symphonic classical works and a lot of the modern pop. I find the bass in the JBL acceptable as long as it isn't turned up to ear bleed levels. That speaker in the back just can't deliver. I think it is because of the narrow hole it goes in. It may have a lousy crossover too. I don't know. In any case, that is a nit because I don't listen to music that loud anymore. I need to keep what hearing I have left! I give the stereo a quite good grade. I like it and am happy with it.

The moonstone window reflection. I've read other posts of this problem here in the forum. I had my heart set on that color interior and came across those posts before my purchase. I made a point to test drive a Prius with a moonstone interior during the noon hour to see for myself how obnoxious this problem was to ME. Yes, the dash reflection does show up in the windscreen. But it is up high where tinted glass used to go. It isn't an issue. I found the reflections from the black dash to be more intrusive. The speaker grills and the frame around the head up display unit seem more obvious to me than anything from the moonstone colored part of the dash. But there is a reflection that is somewhat bothersome. And that is the reflection in the left and right window. It looks like the windows haven't been cleaned properly and the view through the side mirrors suffer some. This happens only during the noon hour in my case. It isn't a deal breaker for me since I think the beige interior would have the same issues and I was NOT going to get another car with a black interior. My last car had black. I was due for a change.

The "kitchen sink" in white. One of the reasons I liked the moonstone color scheme so much is that I think it is the one that goes best with the white plastic between the seats. My car came with the black appliqué. Boo hoo! The white still shows through in the cup holders and on the steering wheel, so it's no big deal. I think it looks sharp.

Engine noise. To listen to the gear heads on TV and Youtube, you'd think the ICE is the worst culprit of noise pollution out there. I can hardly hear it.

Ride comfort. I value this above handling. I know that you can have one or the other but not both. The Prius drives smoothly and level for the most part. Small bumps and expansion joints are handled quite well. I was not expecting the car's suspension to perform this well. Cornering is not as good as I had hoped but is better than I expected. The car does want to leave the road in curves taken at speeds above 30 MPH. There is a bit of roll and I just need to make sure that LDW is turned off and to lean into the curve. This isn't a surprise to me and overall, I love the ride. I haven't checked the tire pressure and I may need to add some air. Perhaps that may affect my ride some. In any case, I am very happy with the ride.

Entry/Exit ease. I was worried about this. I have some issues getting in and out of some cars. My trade in was terrible in this regard. My Prius cockpit is actually lower to the ground. If I raise the steering wheel and move the seat back before I get out, I have no issues getting in and out f the car. Now I'm very happy I got those powered seats!

Powered seats. Yes the specs tell you that you get adjustable seats that travel in more planes than you can envision on the fly. You get front to back, seat back recline, tip the front of the seat up or down, lumbar support, and raise the entire seat up and down. I love that last one. I'm tall so I like to ride a little (actually a lot) higher so that my knees don't run into the dash. Okay, I'm not that tall but I tend to set my seats and steering wheel at the extreme ends of the adjustable range. I'd be happy if the steering wheel would come out another three inches. Yes, I'm weird. I'm very happy with the power seats.

Carpet mats. These are fine. I don't know how long they will last but I figure carpet = quieter ride. I think that the cargo area mat is perfectly acceptable and I'll see how it wears and how hard it is to clean before I get a High Tech weather mat back there. I'll keep carpet in the cabin. I've seen a lot of complaints about the mats.

The 800 page user manual. Yes, lots of pages. Easy to read. I got through it in two or three hours. Most of what's in there, you already know. I'm thinking of putting the pdf version on my electronic devices and leave that guy at home. The smaller manuals will still travel in the car in those literature pockets on the backs of the seats. I can't think of anything else to use those for and I really need the space in the glove box for gloves... and my sunglasses.

I still haven't figured out how to get Lane Keep Assist to move my steering wheel. It's on. I cross the line and my steering doesn't seem to compensate. I'll need to check on that. I do want that feature to work.

All the other stuff that you find in reviews and here... I love that stuff. I've had the car three days and I've only put 150 miles or so on it. And that is a discussion better left to part 3.

 

Yup. They do like to rub it in. First they make it so you HAVE to use sunglasses and then they take away the sunglasses holder. It's no big deal. I put my sunglasses case in the door cubby. Not much else can fit there, so it will work fine. I've never had a moonroof before. I didn't know if I would like it since I am not a sun bunny with light skin. But I think it will be fun.

 

Part 3:

One of the features I absolutely love is the HUD. I haven't seen much about this feature so I'll lead off with that. This display appears right above the steering wheel and seems to be out above the hood. It's eery really. And absolutely freakin' gorgeous. I set up the display to mirror the hockey stick driving evaluation thingy that you can get in the center systems screen. It is bright, even in noon day sun, but not obnoxious in any way. I don't know where it is getting its information but it also pops up a speed limit sign right next to my current speed from time to time. Is it getting it from posted limit signs? It seems as though it pops one up when I pass them. Perhaps it gets it from navigation information. It doesn't matter. I get a picture of the speed limit sign right next to my current speed and it is a fantastic reminder to slow down. Yes, I tend to drive a bit faster than the speed limit. The really great thing about this display is it IS above the steering wheel. I absolutely can keep my eyes ON what's in front of me without moving my head around to look through the steering wheel as I had to do in other cars. And while we are on that issue, I find that glancing at the center display is much less distracting than peeking through my steering wheel for that information. The gear heads have it all wrong. It will also display the lane departure lines if you get to close to the painted lines on the highway. I drive mountain roads and I tend to cut corners a little. The other day it popped up an icon of a steaming cup of coffee and displayed a message in my warning display to take a break. Very clever.

I can't get cell service where I live so I've traveled with a disposable cell phone for years. I only need to make calls in emergencies and I find that I can get phone service for ten dollars a month or less. Recently I purchased an Alcatel Android phone at Walmart for $39.95. I can get continuous service for a year for $120. That gives me 1200 minutes and 1.2Gb of internet service. That is more than enough for my needs. I installed a 32Gb memory card and downloaded a third (30Gb) of my music. I bought a Qi charging thing that plugs into the charge port and fits under the battery cover. Now the phone can charge. I'm an Apple person but the Android system is quite capable and it will serve me well for my purposes. The Entune system paired easily and all of my contacts are available. I can also play my tunes if I feel like navigating through them all song by song. I may investigate how to create some playlists and see if that works through the bluetooth pairing.

Meanwhile, I've plugged in my old iPod into the USB port and hide it in the center console. The iPod interface of the Entune system gives me options to search through my music as I am accustomed. I can't do the song by song thing. So I often search by genre, composer, artist, and playlist. The car pauses my playback when I park and starts up where I left off when I get back in. This is more than expected out of the system and I am pleased. I do like to listen to audio books and I think I'll be borrowing cd's from my local library, burn them, and put them into play lists. I can borrow them and download them to my device but I have to use the library's custom app which requires interaction on my iPad/iPad.

Homelink. I hadn't thought about using this. I sort of like my handy dandy garage door remote. But there really isn't a cubby to put it. I tried to pair the Homelink with my garage door and my first go around didn't work by an attempt to copy my transmitter's signal. Back to the manual, I read about roving signal options on new door openers. Read The Fine Manual I used to always say. Okay not everyone says those exact words. I do. Call me squeaky clean. Just keep clear when I hit my thumb with a hammer. I opened my car door, pushed the button on my opener, and paired the first Homelink button. I decided it would be a good thing to do the second Homelink button too. After all two is better than one, right? After all, I only have one remote to control. I've since discovered that the first button no longer works. But the second one does. So pick your button and use that one. Attempting to program two buttons with the same code doesn't seem to work. Now my super duper retro garage door button case stays home in the keys drawer.

Mudguards. I've always liked mudguards. They do help in keeping mud and dust off the side of my car. I didn't get them on this car. My thinking was that if a dinky spare tire can drastically affect the gas mileage then putting four sails on the outside of the car might be a bad thing. It's a dry time of year and I have a quarter mile driveway that isn't paved. I do miss the mudguards. With just two trips in and out, I had all sorts of dust and ick on my new finish. I cleaned and waxed the car. I'm thinking that a nice slick surface won't attract the dust so much. I'll be glad when we get some rain here.

Center arm rests. The center arm rest in the back seat is wide and very cushy. The driver's center armrest is narrow and hard. I wonder why Toyota decided that was a good idea. I don't sit in the back seat. I don't think that anyone will ever sit back there.

For those of you wondering about charging all bars on the battery. I've seen several posts and videos where people don't seem to get their big battery fully charged. When I go down a big long hill, it gets fully charged long before I get to the bottom. I suppose the car needs to dump a lot of heat somewhere once it is charged.

I'm impressed with the size of the cockpit. I have more room than in my trade in. It too was a mid sized sedan and much larger on the outside. With the light interior I chose, I feel I'm traveling in spacious comfort.

 

I was wondering about adding sound deadening material. Did it help any? I sort of wish they hadn't put the cover on my kitchen sink. I think it would have looked just fine. I suppose that once I get the black one all scratched up, I can take it off, clean off the sticky tape goo, and have a nice clean white one. I also noticed that the seats were a bit more firm than what I'm used to. That will only be an issue for me once or twice a year when I do those 800 mile days.

 

Part 4.

I don't have a spare tire. Fine. I still have a huge block of foam under the cargo floor. What happened to all the extra storage options under the cargo floor available in previous generations of the Prius? Seriously, having some huge storage cubbies down there would be swell. This isn't a big issue but worth asking about. Was it to keep the road noise down? If that's the reason, I'm all for that. In all honesty, I have removed any extra flat surfaces in my home because they do tend to collect stuff I don't like to put away. So it is probably for the best that I don't have lots of hidden storage in the new car. It would be nice for long road trips, though.

So I left this last part for last because although mileage was important to me in this car, it wasn't my highest priority. Even so, I couldn't get a feel for how the car would perform on the rolling hills so prevalent where I live. I'm going to relate my mileage as reported by the on board calculators since it is a common frame of reference and I don't care to spend the time to do it any other way. Besides, I just spent my day detailing a rain spotted car. I didn't notice the issue until I got it home from the dealer. The dealer checklist was dated May something and it came up from Southern California. I was a bit perturbed by MY dealer for doing this to me but hey, I'd be waxing it in any case. I now know why it seemed to collect so much road dust on the side panels.

My drive home from the dealership is a little over 40 miles. The first 25 miles are flat. Not much traffic and on a two lane highway. I was getting 67 mpg for that part of the drive. I was not shocked. It is the overall trip that counts right? And to be fair, I should make that trip both ways. But this was the drive home and I had a good stick to measure it by. My 2009 Chevy Malibu four banger could do that stretch with 21 mpg according to its on board calculator. I felt the car did very well on average. It was rated at 31 mpg highway and I often achieved or slightly exceeded that for freeway miles.

The last 15 miles of my trip home start out with some low level rolling hills and the last 5 or so is a steep climb from sea level (the central valley) to 2200 feet. It's a narrow twisty little two lane road and some switchback turns require a very slow speed. Like 5 mph slow. I've driven it faster and managed to kiss the shoulder way too often. So I took it at a safe speed. When I pulled in the garage, my mpg rating for the trip was 49.5 mpg. I was elated. This is a nasty little drive and I more than doubled that of my previous car!

Yesterday, I drove to Oakhurst to get groceries. It was a 73 mile round trip. Yup. I do live in the boonies. The drive is lovely by the way. I live near Yosemite National Park. That's why I live here. The road is up and down, mostly a two lane state highway, and is a real mpg killer. I could get 27.5 mpg in the ole Chevy when I tried real hard. In the down hill stretches, it is worth noting that my battery got a full charge. The round trip gave me an onboard rating of 56.3 mpg. I do drive carefully and I did keep it in ECO mode. I didn't seem to notice any restrictions on my driving style in this mode. I may notice a difference on freeway driving since I do drive 3 miles over posted speed limits there. I'm very pleased with this result. Will I write everything down, put every tank on fuelly, and brag to all of my friends how well the car does? No. It's just a car. It's no extension to my personality. I shall continue to drive carefully to conserve as much as I can however. And yes, I have solar panels at my house. I do it because it's cool.

I hope I've adequately addressed the issues and benefits of things I couldn't find easily online. Overall, I'm pleased with the car.

 

There isn't much traffic and a car can coast just fine to a stop in many cases. When I traded in my Malibu with 71000 miles, the original brakes had almost no wear.

I was sort of hoping that the DRCC would hold the car to a speed limit. I will have to use braking to keep to the speed limit, so I'll learn to be very careful. Often and lightly, got it. Thanks.