What is your #1 Fave thing about your Prius?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BobZ @ Jul 22 2006, 12:43 PM) [snapback]290536[/snapback]</div>

TURN RADIUS....feel like I am driving a miata...can park and manuever with ease!!

 

I love the SKS, too. My 80 yr old Mom calls it my "smart aleck key".

In the past I have absent mindedly put my keys down while sorting through fresh produce, completed all my grocery shopping and had to retrace my steps through the whole store, before finding them in the broccoli bin.
Now they stay safely tied to my purse strap.

And, yes, the stealth mode does appeal to me. I always leave parking lots with my windows down so I can emjoy hearing the whisper of wheels on the pavement and nothing else. It feels like driving a vehicle in a sci-fi movie!

 

It has to be my ability to sneak up on people from behind. I love crawling along in stealth mode, following a pedestrian walking down the middle of the road, who is totally oblivious to my presence. Then all of a sudden they catch a glimpse of motion out of the corner of their eye, look back, and it's like deer eyes in head lights. I love that expression!

 

Little thing: the consumption screen on the MFD. It's like an obsession.

Big thing: the way the car drives overall. I'm not sure if it's the CVT, or the hybrid system, or what, but the car is just plain FUN to drive. I now enjoy driving for the first time since I finished school and started commuting. :blink:

 

Smart Key & Bluetooth cell phone handsfree.

And the gorgeous Barcelona Red .

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BobZ @ Jul 22 2006, 01:43 PM) [snapback]290536[/snapback]</div>

The coolest thing is the way babes hover around when I pull up in the grocery store lot ... what? I can't be the only one! LOL and ILTC.

 

My favorites:
1. The MFD trip info screen makes driving this like playing a video game. I keep trying for high score (MPG) and when I get it fully charged and there's no arrows going anywhere, well, I'm pretty sure I've broken some laws of physics (not Quantum physics, just Newtonian), and my smugness meter pegs at maximum.
2. The Bluetooth feature for my Treo 700W - totally cool, and now I look even CRAZIER than before when I had the Bluetooth earset in - now there's nothing and I must look quite the babbling idiot, or madman, taking orders from the mother ship. I also find conversations less distracting than with the earset - but I don't know why. When/if it gets involved, I'll still pull over, but this at least gives the chance to say "hold on"...

 

Consumption screen on MFD - leading to excellent fuel economy (55 to 60 mpg) - leading to PZEV. A lot of thought went into every component in the vehicle. It is a pleasure to drive knowing the vehicle was designed to function efficiently and last a long time.

I look forward to Prius III - plug-in that is more efficient with even fewer emissions.

 

Just this: the historicity attached to owning this funky marvel of a car.

Think back to early 2000. The Big Thing in the worldwide auto industry, literally and figuratively, is the Hummer, now (2000) in its 10th year of availability to the public. Its sales are soaring. Gas costs a little over a buck a gallon, under a buck in some Deep South states.

America is on pretty much of a high. The economy is unprecedentedly strong. After the 1999 preoccupation with a Y2K crash, the scramble to avert it paid off. The country is starting to pay attention to who this George Bush fellow is, and whether he's the lesser of two evils compared to the, well, somewhat unexciting two-term Vice-President, Al Gore.

American world leadership is unquestioned, our prestige at an all-time high. "Welfare reform" is working, and the number of hard-core poor is declining. Huge new numbers of folks are "playing the market". The Federal government actually has a balanced budget in place, and tax revenues keep exceeding predictions. Inflation is not a threat. 9/11 is more than a year away. For most, life is sweet.

Almost "under the radar", Toyota Motors Corp. starts shipping an odd little car to the U.S. Its arrival has not been trumpeted with a massive advertising campaign. Its main virtue, high gas mileage, just isn't that important to many, nor is its low emissions by itself attractive enough for lots of people to rush out and pay over $20K for a decidedly un-beautiful car with practically no "track record".

Sales of the Prius hover in the low hundreds the first few months, and the car's future is in doubt. If it doesn't catch on in the U.S., its future viability will probably be confined to Japan, unless Toyota decides to write it off completely as unmarketable.

Slowly, the Prius starts to generate some "good press". It DOES get well over 40 MPG on the highway. It's as well-made as other Toyota products, maybe better. But it comes with a big question mark: the life of its big battery pack, with its whopping replacement cost of over $4,000. Who can afford to pay that every few years, even if the car performs otherwise as touted?

Sales slowly pick up, and a few Hollywood movie actors buy Priuses. The car has a strong curiosity quotient. Engineers who know what questions to ask seem impressed when they discover the answers.

But the Prius is sold only as a 4-door sedan, and it's not "sexy". Can it sell enough even for Toyota to recoup is research and development costs?

Fast forward three years. Americia is at war, and gas prices are climbing alarmingly. The Prius has survived, slowly establishing itself, but largely as a well-made "niche" car with some obvious drawbacks, such as barely adequate acceleration and rear seats that don't fold down. Among the "inner circle" of Prius "early adopters", rumors swirl about substantial improvements beginning with the '04 model year: a bigger car---a 4-door hatchback!---with more power, fold-down seats, a more powerful battery pack, more "cutting edge" styling and---what's this?---improved fuel efficiency and even lower emissions? Is this possible?

Fast-forward to the present. The "Generation II" Prius has knocked almost everyone's socks off. Not only are eager buyers still willing to stand in line to get one; the car has ignited small explosions among all major car manufacturers worldwide, as well as experimentation by scores of "professional tinkerers" who race even ahead of Toyota to explore possibly expanded performance capabilities, such as even longer battery life and plug-in recharging options.

The Prius is the most talked-about automotive phenomenon in history, eclipsing even the then-revolutionary Volkswagen of the 50's---and the now-notorious Hummer.

A car company and a relative handful of curious (and forward-thinking) American buyers, all pursuing their private self-interests, made this happen. The Prius bears economic and political implications far beyond its unique configuration of steel, plastic, rubber and glass. It's now wild understatement to observe that it's the "right car at the right time".

And THAT's what I like most about my Priuses. Call it eyewash if you will.

 

Just got the Prius on Saturday, so we haven't had it for too long. All I can do is echo the others on the SKS. My girlfirend loves the feature and potential for use during shopping sprees.

 

Its just so hard to find the #1 favorite thing. . I guess its all the features listed by so many of you. In fact i even started to put together a document called the "2 dozen things i like about Prius" including the SKS, auto a/c, drive by wire, transmission etc etc. Most of it contains excerpts from some of the best descriptions of various components by priuschat members. Hopefully I will be able to complete it someday soon and send it over to my dad who is always so curious about my new obsession!

 

One more for SKS! I wish my house had it.

Peace --

 

My Darelldd LED lights. Thanks Darell

 

smartkey!
i want it for my house , too!

 

Tough One, I think it is never taking the key out of my pocket. Then again, it is also nice to never got lost again. It really is remarkable to never get lost, even if it is as simple as pointing out how far you are from a particular store when you know about where the store is. Wow.