Picked up my Prius today and on the drive back from the dealer (Manhattan beach to Aliso Viejo, about 45 miles) I averaged 55.5mpg. I was eco mode about half the time, normal the rest. Are there any other PC members from orange county with their 2010 yet? Also had a question. I haven't heard too much about use of the 'B' mode. Do most of you put it in B mode whenever slowing down? Seems like that's the best way to maximize regen without wasting energy going into the friction brakes. Seemed to work well on declines and approaching stoplights. -Jonas
I am chomping at the bit, I ordered my 2010 Barcelona Red, model IV, with SR thru Power Toyota Irvine. The ship arrived into Long Beach on June 9th or 10th. My salesman sent me an email saying it will be at the dealership June 19th, maybe one day later or earlier. I sold my gas hog Mercedes ML 320, last August, knowing the 2010 Prius was coming out in Sping/Summer 2009, and put the money into savings just waiting, waiting, & waiting for the new beautiful 2010 Prius's to arrive. Ugh! I happened to stop by Toyota in Rancho Santa Margarita today, just to see if they had any cars. I spoke with Scott Vaughan (general manager) and he is selling cars at MSRP. He had at least four in stock, not spoken for. He did have one black Model IV. He seem to be fairly nice, spoke to him for awhile. The number for Scott is 949-766-2002. Dennis
Hi Jonas, Congratulations on your new Prius. I use B only when going down a steep upgrade and the traction battery SOC gauge shows the battery is full. Otherwise you are better off using the brake pedal to direct energy into the traction battery. B will spin the engine at a higher RPM than normal to help slow down the vehicle. As you can imagine, the effort spent to spin the engine is lost as frictional heat and will not be recovered.
I live in a canyon and I've found the B mode is perfect for when I'm traveling down the grade (for those who live in LA, I'm talking about traveling down Laurel Canyon Blvd from Mullholland Dr.). I don't need to touch the break, and I see the battery is getting a nice "breaking" charge all the way down. BTW, I also got my car in Manhattan Beach.
I live in Ladera Ranch, and I plan on getting a V when my E55 lease is up in November. Bill at RSM Toyota has been really helpful. He knew I wasn't in the market yet, but still let me test drive the II they had and spent time going over the car.
