Results of the Great Prius Road Trip

July 26th I took delivery of my silver Prius in Muskogee, OK. I drove straight to Tulsa, OK and had a set of awesome Infinity speakers and a Kicker amp installed. The next day I got the windows tinted.

On July 28th, I hit the road toward CA to visit more family. Wagoner, OK to Gallup NM that day. Gallup to Victorville, CA on the 29th. Got my oil changed at the Toyota dealer. Visiting commenced.

On the 30th I drove from Victorville to Redding, CA. More visiting.

On the 31st I drove from Redding to Bellingham, WA. The first of August found me crossing the border into Canada and heading all the way to Prince George, BC, then heading west as far as I could toward highway 37N. About an hour from the 37N turnoff I stopped and slept in my Prius for the first time. In the trunk area, with the seats down, it's just long enough if I lay sideways with my feet near the 12v battery and my head near the left rear door.

The next day I drove all the way to Haines Junction, YT and slept in the Prius again. Mighty comfortable. It rained all night.....the pitter-patter of rain on the roof was quite soothing. The next morning I woke up and finished the drive to Anchorage, AK.

Had a few close calls with wildlife, including a squirrel (yeah, just one), a buzzard, deer, moose, and a bear (first I've seen since I moved here). Do these animals hang out near highways and run up to get a closer view as I pass?

Took a bunch of high-res pics, too.

Total mileage, 4908.2 (over 5200 on the car now, counting my trips to and from Tulsa. Car had 22 on it when I signed the contracts), average mileage, 47.22, with a high of 56.93 (purchased in Santa Rosa, NM) and a low of 41.7 (purchased in Haines Junction, YT and then lots of hillclimbs). Overall mileage suffered in remote Canada due to repeated hillclimbs and likely low-quality fuel.

Fifty-two hundred miles on a car I've owned for 8 days. I'm going to run out of warranty before the winter at this rate! I got in my WRX after arriving home to move it and it felt so unrefined and stiff.....the Prius is remarkably smooth in so many ways.

Stuff I like: Fuel mileage, handling, new stereo, passing power, quiet cruising, huge interior.

Stuff I hate: Loud beep whenever I play with the MFD, easy-to-scratch plastic, slightly unbalanced engine at high RPM, steering wheel too low, parking brake lever could be dangerous in an accident, noisy stock tires, uneven braking.

I'm still selling my WRX. :mrgreen:

 

Few more pics. Sure was a scenic drive.

 

Yeah, I adjusted it. I suppose I should clarify.....Up or down, the position is just too low. Compared to my last 2 cars, it's lower by quite a bit.

Since it also doesn't extend from the dash very far, I have to move the seat up so my legs are bent a bit more than I'd like. The whole thing made my shoulders tired because I find myself pushing on the steering wheel to keep my legs back far enough.

 

I'm 5'-6". Any taller and I think I'd have a problem.

 

It definitely was one heck of a long drive. I have quite a few more pics I haven't uploaded....where is this calendar and how do I submit photos?

I'm in the USAF, stationed at Elmendorf AFB, as an F-15E Avionics maintainer.