Hey, How do you like that Prius?

Sorry I'm not really suposed to be here but I had to say,
when I have a complete stranger ask about my 2004 Prius I offer then the keys to take it for a drive. I have never had anyone take me up on it but it sure has the desired affect when you tell them, "I love my Prius, here, (offer keys) we can go for a spin if you want!

 

Welcome to PriusChat! I have had the exact same experiance on my ~3 week old Prius. In OK, our temporary paper license plates have a small area with our last name written on it. I had people at work tracking me down and swarmed around my desk asking all kinds of questions because they saw it in the parking lot. This continued over several days and I was sort of glad to receive the state paperwork so I could get the permanent license plate to be a bit more anonymous. I've had many people speed by on the highway only to hit the brakes and slow down to check out the back and sides of the vehicle and then speed on by. (no I wasn't mooning or flashing them)

I've also had several comments and remarks form other people in parking lots around town.

 

Undercoating can really help reduce the road noise. I was surprised at hearing your complaint about road noise as I thought mine was rather quiet, but upon looking mine has been undercoated, some kind of Toyota guard, I think.

 

Addendum to this: Now that I've moved to WA state, where (like CA) there are also plenty of Priuses, I WAS stopped today in the Home Depot parking lot in Bellevue by an older Asian couple when I went to retrieve a something from my 2nd gen Prius.

They had all sorts of questions for me such as how I liked it, how long I've had it (since Jan 06) whether it needed premium gas, and whether you need to change the batteries. I briefly showed them the smart key system and listed off some of the changes and new features of the 2010. They said I should be a Toyota salesman.

 

The question I get the most is if I really get good gas mileage. It feels so good to say I can get up to 68. Then when they look at me like I'm lying I let them see my tank average in the high 50's & the oil change in the mid 50's. I love gas & glide!

 

I just got my car back from the body shop late last night, and over lunch today I had another person stop to say: "Is that a Prius?" She was driving a full-sized pickup truck, but she said her daughter has been talking to her about buying a Prius. She said it didn't look too bad and wondered about fuel economy, space, winter driving, etc. I had her sit in the front and back seats (she is pretty tall), and I showed her the cargo area and the tray underneath. She was very impressed with the interior space. Right away, she noticed how the shape of the back of the front seats allowed her to have room (very long legs).

She always measures her gas mileage in the pickup, and she told me it comes in at 11 to 12 MPGs consistently. When I told her I've gotten 57MPG for the life (all 7,400 miles) of the car, she was a bit shocked. I asked her about her driving habits and the length and type of drives she takes. When I told her that I could get between 65 and 70MPG for a return trip to Chicago, she really wasn't too sure whether to believe me. She said she'd be thrilled to get a car with FE in the 40s.

The end result: I told her that a local dealer had just received two new 2010s yesterday. I tried to describe the Sandy Beach color, and then, unbelieveably, a car-carrier drove by with two 2010 on board -- one Sandy Beach and one Blizzard Pearl. She liked the Sandy Beach and said she'd be going for a test drive tomorrow.

Yes: I told her about PriusChat!!!! I hope she's reading online tonight.

 

Awesome story! You were like an angel to her.

 

Did you get the NAV system? My Prius IV has NAV and the radio does indeed have RDS. Yes, I agree, there is no HD radio, but whenever I tune to a station that is broadcasting RDS information, I see it scrolling by. I traded in my 2005 BMW for the Prius and I prayed that it would have RDS because I had gotten to like it so much. I was so happy to discover it did.

So I am curious why yours does not. Does it only come with the NAV system?

 

Me! Not quite.

Me =====>:flypig:

Angel ===>:angel:

Well, I hope I encouraged her to really look at the car, though.

 

Prius 2010 V I have to agree with you on the ride. My ride is a bit rough and the road noise is much louder than my cadillac. But we are dealing with a smaller, lighter car with less between the road and the ride ! I am going to have the dealer spray some insulation (undercoat) under the car to see if the road noise can be tamed.

 

The Prius is definitively roomier than I expected, but I felt the opposite of your wife when sitting in the Fusion Hybrid. Kind of odd...

Road noise is decent. It is comparable to my V6 Odyssey, but much lauder than my previous CR-V. Not bad.

It's all relative... you have been driving luxury cars for ages. The ride in the Prius is not that bad for its class. In fact, I think it may be even better than average for a mid-size car...

Who dare to disagree?

Totally agree... I also have the "premium JBL" and it's good but not great. RDS is coming standard in many cars over 25K these days... but HD is still a luxury feature and scarce, but the Prius is not a luxury car... great premium sounds are usually a feature of luxury cars...

You haven't mentioned the most important aspect. How about the driving experience? That's personally what I like the most in the Prius. It is fun to drive, especially if you are constantly playing with the HSD trying to improve your MPG. I guess if I had the same car but just with a standard small to medium-sized engine, no hybrid technology, I would likely get something else better on the market.

 

After starring at my Prius for days whenever he could, my neighbor finally gives in and comes by to check it out. He has a mustang and a big truck. He was impressed by the interior space/design and trunk size. When I turned it on, it just so happened that the trip A MPG was showing 64 MPG after 200 miles... Of course, he was speechless! He said he always thought that the high MPG thing was a marketing strategy and not real. He thought wrong.

He did not say he is going to buy one, but for now on, when he looks at my Prius again, he will have different thoughts going on in his mind... that’s for sure!!! :smash:

 

:doh::doh::doh:

 

I'm the rabbi at our local temple, and my new Prius was parked right in front of the main doors for HHD services. A lot of people commented on it. have a great year!

 

So I guess you could say that your Prius is under Rabinical supervision. Do you have another one that is Kosher for Passover?

 

I've gotten mostly positive comments about mine. Especially at gas stations last year!

Some idiot called me a faggot once and dopes from Jersey occasionally yell at me from their souped up Civics, but it's been 98% positive. It's just a very cool car from a technological standpoint; and Americans dig technology -- finally!

 

I've gotten a lot of complements about my Prius. A number of times people have stopped me in parking lots to ask about the car.
I tell them that I love the car. The ride is quite acceptable and the road noise is not overly intrusive either.
Driving a hybrid is a different experience than driving a conventional car and if you are into maximizing your fuel usage than each trip is a fun challenge.
My wife and I find the seats very comfortable, even on long trips, and all in all there are only a few minor annoyances.
This is our first Prius and it is all and more than we expected.

 

My Prius was parked in front of the local hardware store (Trader Horn) and some older guys got out of a pickup truck and walked over to me and said, "Wow what a tricked out Prius". I told them that it was a 2010 and is all factory. They were surprised and said it was really cool!

 

I have had a looOOOt of issues with bmw as well. I've had issues since the first month of owning x3 and after 5 years of driving it..I got a letter from bmw saying i've been driving on a car with defective airbag seat sensors and I need to replace them immediately. It took them 5 YEARS to send me the letter!.....that is just NOT right. I dumped the car within 2 weeks for a prius iv

I love my car now !