Sophia, thanks for the warning. I haven't gone through the windshield yet, upon applying the brakes of my less-than-one-week-old Prius! Actually, I adore the brakes. A simple light tap and they're beautifully responsive. I'm happy!
lol! My minivan was the opposite of the prius where I had to really step into the brake for it to fully stop. So yea, yeah for seatbelts. haha. Im totally used to it now and in fact, even though I bought the prius as a commuter car and told my dh that whenever one of us needed to drive further than our city limits, we would take the prius, I have gotten a little possessive of it and insist *I* drive when we are in the car together. In fact, I think he is a little afraid to even drive it without asking me first. I may turn out to be a Prius Nazi (as in the seinfeld soup nazi)!! "NO! Don't brake! DONT accelerate there! NO! Don't drive so fast! DOnt get in this lane, go back to the slow lane! GET YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE!!! STOP THE CAR, NO PRIUS FOR YOU!!!!"
I agree with you. It's good to know some of the energy that went into getting the car up to speed is being recaptured - and the brake pads aren't being used up. When I'm driving my Lexus and hit the brakes, I kinda shake my head and think how quaint old-fashioned friction brakes are.
Just be sure that to get the most out of the regenerative braking system that you do not follow other vehicles to closely, and use the lightest braking pressure possible (obviously without chancing impacting anything in front of you). This will also extend your brake pad life.. After we bought our Prius having the regen brakes is definately awesome. Especially since as was mentioned above you at least recapture some of the energy used to accelerate. I do not think I will be going back to a full gasoline car ever again. Congrats on the new Prius and welcome to the forums!! Don't hesitate to ask questions as we area always here to help.
