hi :) ....just started looking at the prius

Welcome aboard!

1. Up to 46 mph is possible (warm, down hill, full battery). Yes, it is the combination that provides the great FE.

2. The prius does just as good as any other front wheel drive (with proper tires) on the ice and snow. I would even say it does better because of the TC and ECO mode combination.

3. Don't know. But we used a booster seat that fit just fine.

4. Spend most of my time @ 60-65. Got it up to 78 one time and it was smooth as butter.

5. Don't know. But the roominess is amazing.

6. Very little between 10 - 11. I really like the refresh on the 12 though (looks).

That commute should net you well into the 50s if not 60s mpg.

Good luck.

 

Loaded Lexus IS350 Prius can't quite stand up to that, but a loaded out Prius v with AT package would get you close in terms of comfort/style.

6) The 2012 regular Prius Four and Five will gain an 8 way power Softex driver's seat. Two will get touchscreen and USB port. Three gets nav and backup camera, loses the JBL audio which is only in the Four / Five with HDD nav package (like AT pack on Prius v). The exterior updates looks nice on '12.

5) Regular Prius a couple 3" narrower than TCH. Don't consider my '11 a car for 5 adults in terms of size or its 825 lb total load capacity. Prius v matches the TCH for load and room

4) Haven't cruised at 70 MPH, but regular Prius should do pretty well. Little affected by crosswinds. Prius v ride quality even better. Sure the v will tear up 75 MPH all day long.

3) Sure you can get baby seat in regular Prius. Little tougher to put in with sloped roofline, but doable. Prius v designed more for family use.

2) Live in SF Bay Area. No experience w/ snow/ice.

1) HSD can absolutely employ electric and / or gas simultaneously. Has planetary gearset with ring gear, sun gear and planetary carrier (aka 'power split'). Wheels, electric motor and gas engine connected respectively.

Take off slowly, runs on electric, can creep through any parking lot, drive through, pull into garage on electric.

Take off with flow of traffic, I can get to about 10 MPH electric, but higher power demands invoke the gas engine. No worries, it's extremely smooth! It can propel electric to over 40 MPH, but only at very light throttle.

Lift off gas pedal, engine lays out, no gas burned, coasting and braking recharges system and has regenerative braking. Gas engine off at every stop light unless heater is blasting, it may turn on.

Heavy acceleration will use gas engine and electric drive. Best to look at the system icon on info display to see which way energy is flowing from/to gas/electric.

......... Or you could get the Plug-in Prius in a few months and do all electric (under 62 (?) MPH) for up to 15 miles.

 

You can answer most of your questions yourself by renting a Prius for a weekend from hertz or any rental agency, your own experience with the car is better than any of our opinions. I will offer one opinion however. Since you are coming from a Lexus, you should probably look at the Prius 4. Good Luck

 

I think that in terms of the tangible items the Prius will be just fine for you. It is a remarkably roomy car that drives well. It is as good in the snow as any front wheel drive car as long as you have good tires on it, and if you feel like you need more grip you can spent $500 or so and get snow tires on steel rims (keep in mind that you will split the wear between the 2 sets of tires so it is not as expensive as it first sounds). The car drives great at highway speeds. Really the only driving issue is that the car is not terribly powerful and that is more of an issue around town - it is not a big deal though once you get used to it.

The bigger issue though is one that you did not mention. Coming from a Lexus you are giving up a huge amount of creature comforts. I went from a fairly loaded VW Passat to my Prius and it was and still is something that I notice. At the time I was living in Philly but working during the week in Providence RI so I was driving about 1,100 a week so I really did not care. My big beefs are the cruddy seats and the road noise. I'd recommend that you drive a Prius a fair bit and make sure you can live with it.

One car that you may want to look at is the Lexus HS - it was a slow seller and they recently announced that it is being discontinued. There should be some still on the lots and you may be able to swing a good deal on one - it would get you a fair bit of the comfort you currently have and still get a pretty good boost in mileage (I believe the HS gets in the low 40's).

 

Your looking journey will be most enjoyable, it if follows many of ours.
Welcome!

 

Like others said, rent one for several days, not just one. Commonly mentioned that seats are cruddy, but that's highly subjective. I find them quite good for the class of car. The 2012's power seat should take care of most complaints.

oh, SteveMc above has the 2009 Prius ... ah yes, 2nd gen dr. seat, oooh, didn't work for me, eeeeek. I p$$d away $14,000 total to get out of that situation. So, yes, rent for multi-days before buying, not just one day like I did back then.

 

4. It was stable at 107 mph. Enough said.