I am supposed to receive my new Prius next week, and I am going on a road vacation to Mass. beginning November. This will only give me a few short weeks to get familiar with the car and work out any kinks that may exist. I am still uncertain as to if it would be better to just rent a car (I already have a reservation for a rental) or to drive the Prius (assuming we do, in fact, get it when we were promised). I would like some opinions about this since while I know more about the Pruis that I do almost any other car, I know very little about the mechanics of the vehicle compared to many here. Thanks for your help folks.
I think that the Prius will be fine on the trip. I have heard of some people flying out to California and driving it back across the country. Within a week or so, I think you will become familiar with the car. I took mine on a 600 mile road trip, and it was excellent. I say hold onto the reservation (in case your Prius doesn't come in on time) and just explore more threads here on PriusChat.
You should be just fine. Three things: 1) Try to vary your speed some but with this car its more important that you get off the interstate some as engine RPM and car MPH are not as directly connected. 2) get gas when you get down to 2 bars on the gauge. The Prius gauge (because of the bladder) is an unreliable indicator of fuel remaining and until you have experience with how far the car will go on a tank, you don't want to run out of gas - a one trial learning experience for me 3) You will get great gas mileage, but it will take awhile before the car will reach its ultimate efficiency (after about 2500 miles). Enjoy the trip in the new car.
jpadc, What do you mean when you said "with this car its more important that you get off the interstate some as engine RPM and car MPH are not as directly connected"? The reason I ask that is because the entire first day's travel will be via interstate as will most of the remainder of the trip.
I think he is referring to the break in period. In a normal car you are not suppose to run the engine at a steady RPM for extended periods of time for the first 1000 miles or so. I would have to refer back to the owners manual to see what it says about break in period for the Prius. Since you are going up north I would say that you should be just fine.
Interstate driving with a new Prius is okay. Try to avoid wide open throttle situations (extreme passing or hill climbing), and avoid panic stops. Just drive normally and keep a little space open in front. We drove our Prius home from the dealer on 300 miles of Interstate highway. Tom
jelloslog is right, I was. My book (2008) recommends: avoiding sudden stops for the first 180 miles and for the first 621 miles: don't drive at extremely high speeds avoid sudden acceleration do not drive continuously in low gears (how that got left in the Prius book is a mystery) do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods Now #4 may be as wrong as #3 (given the car has no low gears), but just to be safe, vary your speed some or at least stop and take a break. Its a vacation right?
It IS a vacation. We are going to Northampton, MA for a book signing/reading and seeing places like Gettysburg and Lancaster, PA. I'm also making a stop in Washington D.C. to visit the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial because a friend of mine was added to the wall several years ago after he was killed in the line of duty. I just got the car today (10/7) and am looking forward to driving it. The drive back was good. I got 45.6 mpg on the first run.
If you've not been to Gettysburg before, I think you'll be moved by spending some time on the battlefield. If you're looking for a nice place to stay, try the "James Gettys Hotel." There's a really fine restaurant in Abbottstown (its name escapes me now). It's in an old Inn. Eisenhower used to frequent it when he stayed on his farm and when he was president of Gettysburg College.
The nice thing about Gettysburg and Lancaster is that there are plenty of two-lane highways with some wonderful scenery. Should be able to get plenty of variation in speed because you'll want to stop and take in all of the sites. Have a great trip and enjoy your new car.
The Prius likes to go on vacation. I didn't have mine long when it went out to Indiana. Block the grill & pump up the tires and you should be happy with the fuel economy. When driving around Lancaster county just remember that brown stuff on the road isn't mud. If you want to save some toll money in NJ consider taking US 1 & 9 north (express lanes & Pulaski Skyway) to NJ 3 west instead of the NJ Turnpike north to the Lincoln Tunnel. US 130 north which ends at US 1 is a free alternative to the NJ Turnpike when coming off the PA Turnpike.
Glad you got your car in time for your vacation! Still waiting for my car that I ordered May 28 th. Wanted to use it for our september vacation. At least it has turned into a 2009. As above stated, much beautiful scenery around Gettysburg and the leaves will be at their peak this weekend (Oct 11 -12).
I'd almost put money on the idea that as you drive it around over the next month, you'll decide that it's absolutely the right way to take the road-trip! I leave that to you, just planting a little tiny flea in yer ear. . If you're heading for western mass, a better route that avoids all the ny/nj metro hair and expense is I-81 up to I-84 and across toward Hartford, and then jump onto I-91 north. I think the toll across the Hudson on 84 in that direction is still a buck, as opposed to the 4 or 5 or whatever the TZ and such are now. But working a few secondary or backroads into your plan is always fun too, and the MPG will probably reward you. . _H*
Glad you got the car in time for the trip. Congratulations. We had hoped to have our for our vacation in August but ended up renting a Prius for a training trip. You must be a collector of Lancaster's. The one in PA (not the SC one) is the first inland city. The Conastoga Creek (as in Conastoga Wagon) runs through the country. People would stock up for the trip into the wilderness to Fort Pitt (now called Pittsburgh). Eat a soft pretzel with mustard for me. I haven't been back there since I went to college there in the 60's.
Welcome to the group turbo.diesel. Look in on the Nubie Forums and the Prius Waiting List Support Group. With a May 28th date you'll make the list of Senior waiters. I add you to the list next time I revise it.
My trip to Winston-Salem, NC last weekend was 1064 miles round trip (mostly on Interstates) on 18.968 gallons for 56.1mpg (or 56.9 if you want to believe the MFD). Lifetime is 52.7. Hope you do as well.
About 4 weeks after I got my Prius I took a 2,000 mile road trip to Yellowstone. The car and I were both just fine!
I'm a big believer in "take the new car on vacation." You have more time, and patience, to learn about it and enjoy it than you do when you're rushing around your usual routes at home. I did that with my 2007 Camry and I was glad I did. Heh heh - but now I just remembered the first trip we took in my Dad's 1978 Chevy Suburban from CT to VT. That thing was two weeks old and the engine blew. First of 3 engines and 4 trannies for that boat. It rusted to death about 10 years later
