Need advice from current owners

I don't know how available your car will be (I had to wait 14 months to get the one I wanted-smart key/side airbags and the color Tideland), but if you can get the car you want now, go for it. As you know already, there are hundreds of die-hard Prius people with variations on their cars. Bottom line, get the car, drive it, save energy, do less damage to the environment, and save bucks on gas. I have come to really appreciate all the information available here at this site, and have learned how to drive the car to maximize its fuel economy. A Prius is NOT your father's Oldsmobile; it represents a new beginning for us consumers who depend on oil. Enjoy your new car!

 

I don't know if the tonneau cover is standard, but if there isn't one insist they provide one. They're expensive.

As for aftermarket..well.. you can get a lot of stuff on eBay. That's where I got my mudguards.

And I *do* think the mudguards are a necessity. Just because it doesn't rain all that much (although we are getting into our rainy season) there is water from sprinklers and stuff. When you drive through it you get a fan of mud behind the tires and across the front door panels. The aerodynamic design of the car lets it distribute itself evenly across the sides. I couldn't wait for my mudguards to arrive and get installed after having to wash it off twice. And this was in April/May.

As for the wheel locks....I feel no need. And if I get a flat tire that 's the last thing I want to have to mess with. I don't recall reading anything about anyone stealing stock Prius wheels. The plastic rims yes, the HID headlights yes, but who got their stock wheels stolen?

 

What's IMO? And what's XM?

 

"What's IMO? And what's XM?"

IMO = In My Opinion
XM =brand name of Satellite Radio provider; the other one is Sirius.

 

I agree now into the rainy season here in the PNW, my car is much cleaner than it was last winter. Mud Flaps keep the car clean.

 

If you're into "backyard" experiments, MythBusters did a segment on white vs. black cars -- the black car's interior temperature peaked about 20 degrees (Fahrenheit) higher than the white car's interior temperature over the course of a full day parked in direct sunlight.

The cars were roughly the same, if not identical, in size and they appeared to be lower-end models that likely did NOT have the solar glass that the Prius has. I think the presence of solar glass would have potential to change the results such that the difference between the two might not be as large.

Either way, the temps they measured fell somewhere around 135 (again, relying on memory) and once you're up that high, I doubt we could tell much difference between 135 and 125 -- to our skin they're both just "very hot." But to cool an extra 10-20 degrees (in the black car vs. the white one) will obviously take more time, and we're very good at measuring discomfort in terms of time.