My thanks to who ever started this site up, answered many questions about the Prius. I just purchased a used 04 with 60 k on it and after 3 days of ownership I must say that it is by far the nicest vehicle I have owned. With a growing family I was in need of a family friendly car and said goodbye to my faithful 01 Eclipse. When I was looking at the Prius, my first thought was back seat room (anyone with a 2 year old can understand this) then fuel economy. As I looked at the backseat and saw that there was plenty of room for 2 car seats I noticed that there was still plenty of trunk room for strollers and such and I was sold on it right there. My wife being the practical one reminded me about the gas mileage. We went for a nice long ride after we bought it and I was amazed at the level of comfort for the whole family and loved the look of frustration on my son's face when he realized he couldn't kick me in the back anymore. I had the consumption screen up and saw that I was getting high 40's mpg in stop and go traffic. When I got to open country roads I found myself getting high 50's and even some stretches in the high 60's! I drive for a living and the "coast and glide" technique is already second nature for me so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. I guess that this is all old hat to those who have been driving a Prius for a while, but for a "truck man" used to crappy gas mileage it was almost orgasmic! This 80 mile drive averaged 47 mpg, my old car would have averaged about 25 mpg and the last truck i had (04 dakota Quad cab about 18. I'm still figuring out all the goodies that it has but am very impressed with it. I will post some pics when the weather clears, but now its time to go for a ride!
Welcome to the Prius club. You will also suddenly find extra money left over at the end of the year from the gas mony saved. Can't wait to see your picture.
