Hello. I was a little reluctant about the Prius when I first looked at it. I mean, what's up with the beam running through the middle of the car & the crazy blind spots in the right rear? However, I went back for a second test drive, adjusted my mirrors better and realized that "beam" in the center of the car makes it all about me!!! I can reach everything easily w/o feeling cramped. I have a lot to learn about the Nav & Bluetooth & Audio. Once I get that all under control, I can start focusing on increasing my MPG. My highway drive, I was at 53.6:0) Thanks in advance to everyone for your help! Rum Pir8
Congrats! I'm considering buying a CPO 2012 Three. Did you find any hassles with the CPO process? I know what you mean about the blind spots... though I'm not yet an owner, it's taken me years of occasionally driving borrowed Prii to not feel weird about it. Seems like after enough consistent Prius driving, your mind is able to assemble the various fragmented window images into a coherent whole and it seems normal - but in my case, I didn't drive them often so it took awhile. (That and the shock of test driving another car with a significantly smaller rear window than the Prius. ) Good point about adjusting the mirrors, too. It seems like on the Prius if the side mirrors are off a just a little, it makes a big difference. Coming from an old car without electric mirrors I've not been used to this level of meticulous mirror setting!
I had no issues with the Certification process. Mine was already Certified. However, I did add on Toyota's VSA (vehicle service agreement) which provides bumper to bumper coverage for 7 years from the in-service date or up to 100K. I bought a Toyota because I never expect it to break, lol. However, because of the additional bells & whistles, I know I will be able to get those fixed with the VSA.
That's a good point. Normally I dismiss extended warranties out of hand, and figure the powertrain warranty is the most important thing. But in this case we're buying an awful tech, which has already seen some unknown amount/care of use - with only a one year warranty. I'll look into that VSA.
Well, so far, I truly LOVE this car (about 1,000 miles on it so far). I did not have heated seats before this car and I am not sure how I lived without them in Wisconsin. I love how it handles, the audio system (now that I've figured it out and quit crashing the system) and have turned into a parking "snob", lol. It feels solid on the highway. I have no issues with the "road noise" that I read so many awful reviews about. I am learning where my front bumper is, have dealt with what I thought were horrid blind spots, and what acceleration power I actually have. I gave up my AWD and am still a bit worried about that because of the low ground clearance. So far, we have not had more than 2" of snow since I purchased it. This may be an issue down the road. Smart key has been a sweet little bonus. I love not having to dig for my keys and the light that turns on as I approach the car in the dark is just an added little security feature (remember ladies to always check your back seat lol). Regarding the MPG- I average about 37-43 MPG. This is lower than I had anticipated, but it has been quite cold here (-17 to -40 wind chills), so I am going to blame it on that for now. The best trip I've had was leaving the dealership where I got 53 mpg on the highway. I must have been driving with the wind;-) Thanks to all those that participate in this forum. I have found tons of information- from the audio system to pet crates- it is truly appreciated.
