Availability in CT... and size.

Hi Mal, welcome to PriusChat. The best advice is to rent a Prius for the weekend and drive. It seems the fit of the seat for a tall person is very individual; driving for some time should tell you a lot about whether the car will fit you. Many toyota dealers have rental cars, as do regular rental car companies. Also, many Toyota dealers will credit the rental toward a purchase if you decide you want a Prius.

 

Good for you! Yes, it's better to spend $50 to be sure you and the car fit each other than to spend about $25K and be sorry. Be sure to read here about idiosyncrasies of the Prius, normal sounds, etc.

The Prius has lots of power for normal driving, but it will run the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) at peak power, which means fast. You will hear the "engine racing" but that is normal; power not going mechanically to the wheels is turning one motor as a generator to supply power to the other motor and any surplus is going to the High Voltage battery. If you ease up on the pedal because the ICE is racing, you will slow down, of course, and may think the Prius is underpowered.

Another good exercise for a new driver is to turn off the screen: hit the Display bezel button and the Screen Off screen button. This way you won't be distracted by the pretty colors and flashing lights and can concentrate on how the car drives. To turn the screen back on, either press the Info steering wheel button (if the car has navigation) or the Info bezel button and the Trip Information screen button.

Many members here are still learning about their cars after months or years of ownership, so don't worry if you don't understand everything on your cross-state trip.

 

Hello Malarky,

I also live in CT. I have not seen many touring packages, and none with a package 6. The Toyota site will give you a list of dealers in your area (based on zip code). This is what I used and I found it very accurate when I checked out the dealers.

I bought my Prius at the end of March from Colchester Toyota. I bought a package 6 in grey. I live in East Lyme and commute to Hartford, so I drive about 90 miles a day. I absolutely love the car! I get about 48 mpg. My driving is mixed, some traffic in Hartford, back roads in East Lyme and route 2 at about 70 MPH for the middle.

I am 6' with a 33 inch inseam. I find the car very very comfortable. The seat goes way back and my head is a good 2 inches or more from the roof. (I cannot stand having my head touch the roof of a car).

I would endorse Colchester Toyota; I looked at most of the dealers in this area and went with them because they had the model/color combo I wanted.

Any questions - feel free to ask!

Good luck,
Daniel

 

Hi Mal,

Excellent! Another Nutmegger! I see a lot of Prii around here, but I feel like there's not a lot of CT Prii on Priuschat.

I've heard good things about A-1 Toyota here in New Haven (I knew someone who bought a car there), whereas we had a rather negative experience at Colonial Toyota in Milford when we were shopping around. We ended up buying our '05 up at Toyota of Wallingford, and had a decent experience; I don't know that our experience rises to the level of "recommendation," but they were certainly fair with us and, while we paid a bit more than we probably should have (it was the Prius mania of '05, after all), they were honest with us and didn't try to "hard sell" us on things like the extended warranty.

I actually have been back for the routine service a few times now and quite like their service department. They are quick, reasonably priced (for a dealer), and they don't overfill the oil. That last one may seem obvious, but it can be a real problem because the Toyota specification tells them to add too much oil to the car.

Good luck! Any more questions, feel free to ask!

 

I'm 6'2" 36w 34L and long trips in the prius are very easy. Seat all the way back, leaned back to where your head lines up with the B pillar, set CC and your golden.

 

Being born in Connecticut (Milford) and living in CT. for 48 years until 2000 when my Wife and I moved to Florida, I often (just for the Hell of it), use "buyatoyota.com" to see what Prius models would be available to us if we were still resided in Connecticut and really wanted to buy a brand new Prius. I "see" on that website when I put in the Connecticut zip code (06484) that there are several colors (including Silver Pine Mica) that are NOT available in the Touring Prius, but are available in a non-touring ?? Down here in Florida there are no problems getting any color in a Touring, and almost any package in a Touring, although there may be a slight wait, especially this time of year.

So WHY is New England so "limited" in what kind of Prius they can buy ??

Seriously, if we were still living in CT and wanted a Silver Pine Mica Touring and could not get it in CT, we would probably fly (one-way) to North Carolina or the closest state that offers the Touring in the color and package we want, buy it there, and drive it back home.

 

I just picked up my new Prius this weekend from A-1 Toyota in New Haven. I highly recommend them. Our sales person Brad was terrific in dealing with my whole family ( my husband and two young daughters). We did not get the touring package but I love my new car. We downsized from a 2000 Explorer. My girls fit comfortably in the back with two booster seats. I am 5'9" with a 34" inseam and fit comfortably in the drivers seat. I have additional space to move the seat back. I drive my daughter 75 miles (one way) two to three times a week for ice skating lessons and I enjoy the ride.

Two of our neighbors also bought their Prius from A-1 also. Good luck.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jessye @ Jun 20 2007, 02:52 PM) [snapback]465378[/snapback]</div>

Congratulations on "officially" joining the club! We actually went to the A-1 body shop when we had to have some work done earlier this year and we had no complaints. I know that the sales and repair sides of the business are often disjointed, but they seemed very reasonable.

P.S. Time to update your car description, jessye!