Hey, How do you like that Prius?

I'll take that over the morons that have youtube videos of themselves screaming obsenities as they drive by a Prius. I just do not understand why there is such hatred towards this car.

My co-worker got a Prius last month and he says peopel are always looking at it in parking lots.

 

I'm experiencing the same thing. Lot's of questions, lots of looks, I've never owned a car that got this much attention. I enjoy it.

 

Lol I did that when I saw a new insight parked in my company parking lot.

 

Just yesterday I was at the ATM and noticed a young couple looking at my car -- peeking in the window, etc. I tried to hurry my transaction so I could run over and open the door for them, give them a good look. Unfortunately, they left before I finished.

One of my favorite moments was a week or so into ownership when I went to the Magic Castle here in Hollywood. At the end of the night there's always a large collection of people out front waiting for the valets to bring their cars up from the parking lot. It's one car at a time, and as you can imagine a lot of very nice exotic cars roll up, including the odd Ferrari, Bentley, etc. None of the cars get looks or a reaction. This is LA. We see it all everyday.

But when my car pulled up and I got in, I could here buzzing from the crowd behind me, "Is that the new Prius?" "That's the new Prius." "There's the new Prius."

Good fun.

 

OK.

But . . . I'm dying to know . . .

What do YOU think of your new Prius?

 

FWIW, nobody's ever stopped to ask me about my 2nd gen Prius in parking lots, at stop lights, etc.

That did happen (along w/a bunch of compliments) quite a few times when I first got my 350Z. I guess it's because of the color and because they were fairly new and rare back then. The first time was when some woman (way too old for me, DARN!) knocked on my window as I was leaving from a gas station.

(Although I'm no Mercedes fan) Switching from a Mercedes S-Class down to a Prius must be quite a change for you. I've driven a few higher end Mercedes, including an S-Class at least once at a few driving events before.

That's surprising about RDS. The 2nd gen Prius has RDS on the JBL "premium" stereo. Although I found the "premium" stereo to be fairly good for a stock stereo (best of any car I've owned), it definitely wasn't up to par w/"premium" stereos on luxury cars.

I've had many cheapy American rental cars, (mostly econoboxes) and many of them did have RDS. It seems not as common on Japanese cars for some reason. My former 02 Maxima, my 04 350Z, my dad's 02 RAV4 and my mom's 07 NAH all don't have RDS. <shrug> (IIRC, RDS came w/the Maxima and Z if you bought their Bose stereos. I think the NAH was that way as well.)

Regarding the ride, I find my 06 Prius to be a lot harsher than my former 02 Maxima, which was VERY smooth. It hasn't gotten any better or worse over time so I wouldn't get your hopes up about it changing on your 3rd gen. At least it's nowhere near as harsh as my 04 350Z.

 

A couple of years ago, a very nicely dressed woman driving a Mercedes stopped me on my way into Target and started asking me questions about my Prius. She seemed very interested in getting better mileage.

 

I've been through the inquisitive experience but with a much different car. I received the first Miata in town (Wausau, WI) in July, '89. The rest of the dealer's allotment had been sold in advance to out of towners so I had the only Miata in town for 6 months. I had complete strangers calling me and begging for a peek inside my garage. Love it. lol

 

The road noise from the Prius is simply the tire noise. It can become very noticeable at 50mph and higher -- particularly at 70+. It also varies dramatically with road surface. The only way to tone it down (aside from adding sound-deadening around the wheel wells) is to choose tires that are known for being quieter.

The ride is not going to change, unless you get bigger balloon tires or some special shocks (unknown to me) to compensate. Still, believe it or not, you will become rather accustomed to the ride and the road noise. So long as you are driving by yourself, you'll get to the point where you don't really notice. Most of your commute should be pretty smooth. It is only during pot hole season that things are really crazy around here.

The funny thing is this: I was really fairly pleased with the stereo system. The reason is that I had a 2007 Prius before this one. The sound in that system wasn't awful, but you could see if from the driver's seat. I hadn't noticed the lack of RDS. It was in my 2007! I guess I've just been listening mainly to music on my iPhone and to satellite.

They certainly could have done some things better, but each one at a cost. I have the Prius V with Advanced Technology Package, and I kind of laugh when I see the Mercedes commercial about all of there advanced technology on a car starting at $60K or $65K or whatever it is. I have that at half the price.

No, I'm not saying my Prius is a Mercedes. My Prius does what it does best better than any other car out there. From my viewpoint, it is the best production car available. But that's just my viewpoint.

 

Not going to brag too much, but in January when pictures of the 2010 were everywhere, I knew the all-new Prius was going to be a smash hit. It just couldn't miss. There are so many Pri's here in the Bay Area.

Now the 2010 has about all the right improvements - sharper looks, much better driver cockpit and front seats (I could live with the center console and much easier reach to touchscreen), and more power for steep hill climbs.

This is only the start. Not saying the Pri will outsell Corollas due to higher cost, but the Gen3 will far outsell the Gen2.

 

On Sunday I went to pick up tickets for upcoming services at a local Temple. As I was driving into the parking lot, 2 Generation II Pri were also parking in the same row. So I parked and was greeted warmly by both owners, one being the Temple's Rabbi! Of course they wanted a look at my Generation III, which I happily did. We bonded over our cars. Never have I experience anything like this with any previous car. Then again, my last two were a Civic and an Accord, good cars, but nothing special. Every time I get into my Prius, it just feels special. Kind of cool...

 

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday and as I was entering the store (or trying to) a driver who was waiting on a parking spot was asking me questions (how does it ride, do I like it)? He said he's been thinking about getting one. I drove a Corolla for 4 years so I'm not used to all this attention. But it's nice. I feel like everytime I'm in the Prius I'm part of an advertisement for people in the KC area.

 

Welcome to Prius chat!! As a former Mercedes owner, I can definitely understand what the transition must be like. I never owned an S class, but I did have a C280 and a C320. Ironically, I didn't find those cars as silent as say a Lexus. My friend had a 2006 S class and the reason he got it was because of a special six month lease deal on it. I had the privilege of driving it home from the dealership. What I was surprised about was how light the steering was and how boring it was to drive. I know there is a sport model but my friend got the non-sport. Unfortunately the car spent many, many weeks in service for many different problems. However, that's not what I'm getting at. What I am trying to say is that over time you will get used to the Prius and really start to enjoy the high end features and best of all, the mileage. If you want to tone down the noise I have a few suggestions. First, have a shop install dynamat (or be-quiet). They will strategically place this material in the car to cut down on noise. Many people who are stereo nuts install this so that they can get the best acoustics in their cars. I installed it in my car not for the purpose of increasing the stereo's effectiveness, but to make the ride quieter. It definitely helped. What also helped was changing over to better tires. I'm running Goodyear triple treds and I have not found a better tire that compares to it. If anyone out there thinks there is a better tire, please tell me as I always like to get the best tires. I won't be needing any for awhile, but I'd like to know what my options are. Enjoy your new car and again, welcome to our little forum.

 

Comparing a Prius to a Mercedes, a Lexus, a BMW, a Corvette, etc (need I go on...these comparisons have all been made in this forum) is just plain not right.

The Prius is what it is...an extremely fuel efficient vehicle with near zero emissions. Comparing it to any other vehicle EXCEPT the Honda Insight or Ford Fusion Hybrid is just plain wrong.

GEEZ, my wife's Lexus RX350 is great....great ride, great stereo, dynamite leather seats...all the goodies. But, GEEZ, it was also $49,000 whereas I paid around $25,000 for my 2010 Prius IV. There shouldn't be any comparison between a luxury car and a Prius.

 

Someone posted here in the past week about the ride harshness and they blamed it on the tire pressure (on the touring model). They said that they inflated the tires to a higher pressure as many Prius hypermilers do and the ride was quite harsh. Dropping the pressure about 2 PSI (from the higher level) made a dramatic improvement.

I can relate that you're not in love with your Prius. I had the same sort of attitude after buying my Gen II. In fact, at times I almost loathed it. But, my main priority was to send less money to the Middle East, and the Prius does a very nice job of that. And although I have many minor quibbles with the car and it really doesn't satisfy in the sporting department, I find myself really appreciating it more and more everyday. After nearly 3 years of ownership, overall I'm very satisfied with my purchase and would do it again.

As others have already said, it is what it is. And that's a very reliable car with many great features that gets great mileage. Save a soldier, buy a Prius.