I am planning on buying a new 2013 Prius 2 and this will be the 1st car that I will be buying. Also, I have a low experience driving cars. My height is 150 cms. Thinking of the shape of the car, does the car have big blind spots on the left and right side ? If so, how do you people overcome this problem? Can adjusting the height of the seat help in giving a better visibility?
I'm about 185 cms, so can't help directly on height, but the height of the driver's seat is adjustable with both manual and electric seats. I can also tell you that every car I've driven has blind spots peculiar to the car. Adjust seats and mirrors to minimize the problem, install the little stick-on blind spot mirrors, and compensate the best you can. For me, the Prius has worse blind spots than the F-250 truck I had previously, but was better than the Hyundai I test drove. Everybody's results are different. Good luck with your new car!
Google search for side mirror adjustment and look for links that show how to properly adjust side mirrors so there are no blindspots. Properly adjusted, the sides of your car won't be visible in your side mirrors. It takes a while to get used to this setup, but it is well worth it. That being said, the Prius has larger than average blindspots due to the combination of small quarter windows, hatchback, and smallish, strange shaped side mirrors that seem to be drooping downward. SCH-I535
150 CM is 60 inches is five foot even, so yes our Cutie is short, but not too short to drive a Prius. Visibility to the rear is weak no matter what your height. You compensate for this by being alert and careful. You also can learn to turn your head way around and look before you change lanes. You're going to try driving one before you buy it, right? It would be helpful to bring someone experienced with you when you go to look at the car. Salesmen have standard routines that they run on people. If you've never had a car before it will be hard for you to see through their misrepresentations.
Thanks. Considering that I am new to driving, do you think it would be risky to drive a car which has more than average blind spots? Or do you think it would be easy to get used to it?
Hard to say, perhaps you can use aids like these? Not pleasing aesthetically, but definitely makes visibility easier. Also, clip on wider mirrors can help. I prefer to use the flat, non-distorting type rather than the curved, convex mirrors that distort the view and make everything appear closer, and smaller: SCH-I535
