Bragging Rights !!!!!!!

I finally upgraded to the Prime from my 2005! The local dealer was still waiting to have the Advanced but asked if I wanted to come in and test drive the Plus/Premium they had. (And she very politely followed my request to only email and NOT call or text me, unlike another dealer that lost my business because they couldn't help themselves and called AND texted me within 5 mins of ending a chat). Since I haven't upgraded through several generations, I thought it would be good. Between the time I arrived and the time I finished asking lots of questions and test driving the Premium, the Advanced they were waiting for changed status to waiting arrival (or whatever it is) to at the dealer!!!! It was late on a Sunday but we fairly painlessly got the agreement done and I went back the next morning to finish everything and get my new car! They didn't even have a chance to charge it!
I originally was okay with any (non premium) color but was leaning toward the Titanium Glow. The one they had was Magnetic Gray. I struggled with it that night at the dealership (it was nighttime and I didn't actually get to see the Prime) but once it was mine the next morning, I love it. I think Prime is the perfect name for it and the front really resembles a Transformer

So my immediate first day reactions...

The rear window design is a HUGE improvement. There is so much more visibility than the 2005.

All the info in the front is narrower than the 2005 and designed so I don't see the reflection/glare in the window at night. The HUD is very cool.

Even though the car is longer, the design between the driver forward feels shorter which I like.

Love the power seat, heated steering wheel and seat warmers. I know it's not really new stuff but this is the highest trim level I've had.

There's a lot of information to learn with the Advanced if you are like me and have a huge car technology gap to fill. After I scrolled through the menus and made sure all the tech safety stuff was turned on, I noticed that there's a lot of beeping going on, lol!
I will have to sit in the car with my phone near wi-fi to go through everything with the manual in hand to really understand what's going on but if you aren't interested and just want to jump in and drive, you can.

I will have to turn off the on/off animation (saw the instructions here in another post)

How do I turn off the back up beep? I remember doing it on my 2005 but haven't seen anything here yet (or if I missed it, lemme know). Which brings me to...maybe there could be a thread for tips and trick for operating the new Prime. (again, maybe I just missed it and it already exists).

I have to buy a Qi iPhone case to take advantage of the charging dish.
My phone was paired with bluetooth at the dealer but didn't have time to set up the Entune Suite yet. Tried to use the USB cable plugged into the USB port just to charge but it just kept annoyingly buzz/vibrating the phone and not charging.

My dealer and financing guy (Karen and Paul at Northridge Toyota) were both really great and restored my faith in humanity.

Out with the old (silver in back), in with the new...

 

Yup. Single beep, but it's fine like that. If it really bothers you go back ASAP, perhaps phone first to set up an appointment as they may be busy. If it's livable for a little while phone anyway and make sure they will do it no charge on your first service.

Before doing this, DO check in the manual on settable things. Best to have them do all you might want at the same time.
Some you can do yourself using the touch screen, some you can't.

 

I did a bunch of research in advance, talked with the sales manager at Toyota of Pasadena to determine when the ship wold arrive ... he checked the ship manifest in advance ... a silver Prime was delivered Thursday night Nov 10 ... I purchased the next morning. I drive 85 miles per day from Pasadena to Orange County on the 605. The tech is more than I hoped for at this point - and takes some study, believe me - but so far I am extremely happy after 500 miles. I like the way it defaults to EV mode at start ... then when I get up to speed on the freeway I switch to Hybrid mode and give the computer a little work out. Thanks for starting the thread !

 

You should try Ev-Auto mode.

 

gorgeous!, congrats where all are you located?













Merged. Learn to use multi quote as we've been merging a lot of your and coast cruisers posts.

congrats and welcome! all the best. please keep us updated.

 

Low battery temps are actually good for battery power (to a point) while high temps aren't. If my Energi batt gets on the warm side (I have a scangauge to monitor), I get less EV mode power/acceleration and it drops into HV mode sooner/quicker. FWIW

 

Grats, going from the Gen 2 to the Prime, must feel like going from a regular ICE car to your Gen 2.

Maybe in another 3-5 years I can consider a Prime, so jealous of all those finally being able to own this Prius.

 

Yes.....for us non technophobes, this is a joyful car. Love the display.....learning curve at first, but everything is easily accessible. The information easily available amazes me. Well thought out. It's a study in precision. Solid, controlled, and silky smooth. Surprised at how happy I've been with this car. 600 miles now.

 

San Fernando Valley in SoCal. Northridge Toyota.

 

One more happy Prime Driver here!

Picked up my Titanium glow Plus yesterday morning in Sunnyvale, CA and am happily driving it up 101 to WA State. I have the feeling I might be the first Prime owner in WA state!!

Absolutely great buying experience at Toyota Sunnyvale! No issues with out-of-state buying and even a small additional discount...so don't get hung up on specific Toyota dealers sometimes touted by folks...there is a choice!

First impressions: I love this car! (more than I thought I would...) The mileage one gets is simply amazing...given the circumstances there was no time to have the car charged...I drove from Sunnyvale to Burlingame to visit friends and got a whopping 69 mpg average...continuing further through SF towards Santa Rosa, the avg mpg climbed to 71! I couldn't even believe it. This was in pretty heavy traffic with lots of stop-and-go through the city.

Visibility is great - no complaints, there. The ride is soooo smooth and quiet compared to the Gen3. Seats are very comfortable. Also had a chance to test the auto-high-beams...and am VERY pleased. they worked great last night and boy, did I need them...it was pouring like crazy and going through the redwood hills towards Eureka the visibility was awful with tons of water on the road. That said, the mpg decreased with the hilly, curvy roads and the amount of water on the wheels probably didn't help...Ended up with 60.1 Avg.

As for EV driving, I only had a very short experience since the battery once charged enough during a relatively short downhill to go into EV for 2 miles...and it felt....good

Will continue my journey north today...looking forward to the drive (hopefully with better weather!)

 

I find slow windy slightly hilly roads actually improve mileage, but rain does not. Lots of loss pushing all that water out of the way.

 

Could be perfect opportunity to check the Charge mode to enjoy some EV city driving later on the trip.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

How is the view through the rear window when it is raining? Does it make a difference having no wiper? Are people using the rear defroster for a better view?

 

So, on that long trip did you get a chance to charge your battery to 80% using the engine. That's a feature not available on the previous plug in's. I heard the MPG takes a hit while in that mode though.

 

I was just thinking the same thing Giora!

 

I haven't been using the wiper with my PHV now, curious about how Prime will be. Turns out, with a coating of Rain-X, the wiper isn't necessary for rain.

For snow, with a warm interior and the rear-defrost on, the melting (especially with the dual-wave curve) should keep it clear. With the PHV last night in heavy snow, I didn't need the wiper while driving.

 

How about the auto-braking ability? Can you just sit on the driver's seat in a stop and go traffic and not touching the brake at all?

 

I might be trying that out tonight. but I did use the cruise control and when people cut me off (in the slow lane going 72) the car knew they were going faster and kept its speed. When I caught up to someone it kept me far back.

I did have one time in the city where the braking alert came on for a carin the left turn lane when I was in the straight but it didn't engage.

Hopefully someone has more experience with stop and go traffic or if I have some tonight I'll update you on my findings.