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Comparison to my 06 Prius after the 1st 100 miles

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by JayRock, Mar 4, 2012.

  1. JayRock

    JayRock New Member

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    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Advanced
    A quick first impression comparison of my 2006 Prius (package 6 - Leather, Nav, bluetooth, etc) to my new 2012 plug-in advanced model that I picked up Thursday from Carson Toyota (Thanks Diane and Nathan!).

    What's better:

    - Mileage - average 53 mpg in first 100 miles (5% EV) vs. 45 mph in my 2006 (I'm way past feathering that gas pedal trying to get 50+ MPG out of a tank of gas).
    - Acceleration - the power mode gives me more confidence on the freeway when merging/passing.
    - Ride - feels tighter, smoother and quieter but that would be typical in any new car.
    - Driver's seat - more lumbar support and power drivers seat infinitely more adjustable.
    - Sound System - sounds awesome, great bass but well balanced sound as well.
    - HD radio! - I guess I totally missed this advance to digital broadcast radio - very nice!
    - Many more display options on both the navigation screen and dash display (still learning all the things it can do). Lots of things to satisfy the geek in me and totally annoy my spouse. ( She loved telling her friends how I was tracking the ship from Japan).
    - XM provides traffic information on the nav maps (essential in Southern California).
    - Headlights are really bright white and self leveling, an improvement on the HID headlamps on my 2006.
    - The blizzard pearl paint is gorgeous!
    - The return of the car pool sticker! (again essential in Southern CA)


    What's doesn't seem as quite as good (or I'm still getting used to):

    - I'm not sure that I like the new console with the open space below the shifter section. I miss the extra drawer that was in that are in my 2006.
    - Single CD system rather than the 6 disc changer in my 2006 (dead format anyway but now I don't have anywhere to put all the MP3 discs I burned). Haven't tried throw some mp3 folders on a thumb drive yet but that will probably be the way to go.

    - Maybe I'm missing something (a programming option) but it seems like when you switch audio input (AM/FM/XM), your presets for that format should follow the screen (they don't, you have to flip through the 6 screens of presets to get to the ones for the format you're listening to)
    - The rear deck cover ("window shade" thing) seems cheap and a bit flimsier than my 2006.
    - Attachment points in rear deck are not in the same place for the cargo net so I can't use to one from my 2006 in the 2012.

    [FONT=&quot]Overall, I love my new car as its a nice upgrade in technology, looks a little more modern, will save me a little more gas and, most importantly, will me get back in the car pool lane.[/FONT]
     
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  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Do you mean 53 mpg and 45 mpg?

    As for "rear deck cover", are you referring to the tonneau (sp?) cover that you pull over to hide the contents of the hatch area of the cargo floor?

    I recall the cargo floor of the Gen 3 Prius feels lighter and flimsier than that of Gen 2, perhaps to save weight? I don't recall if it's even liftable on the PiP that I saw at Green Drive Expo.
     
  3. JayRock

    JayRock New Member

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    Plug-in Advanced
    Yes, I meant MPG, not MPH! Thanks.

    And I am referring to the "window shade" cover (tonneau cover) you pull over the rear deck. Not a big deal but something I noticed right away when I first used it.
     
  4. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    How many times did you charge it over those 100 miles?
     
  5. JayRock

    JayRock New Member

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    I charged it twice, Thursday night and Friday night. Most of my miles were on the freeway coming back from the dealer to Orange County and then back and forth to work. I was experimenting with the Eco and power modes on the freeway so I really wasn't really working toward getting the best mileage.
     
  6. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    My Roadster has an iPod connector, and that is so much better than CDs that I wouldn't care if it even had a CD player. I bought an iPod Nano for it, which is tiny, and it now lives full-time in the car. Either that or, as you suggest, a thumb drive would be much easier than CDs, once you take the time to download the music from the CDs to the computer.

    Thanks for posting the comparisons.
     
  7. devprius

    devprius /dev/geek

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    One of the requirements we have for any new car we purchase is iPod integration & Bluetooth audio streaming. My wife's Mini Countryman has it, various cars we've rented recently have it (including Gen III Priuses at the dealership) and we love the feature. My iPhone is large enough to hold my entire music library, so I don't need a dedicated iPod for car use. With the Bluetooth audio streaming, I never will have to plug the phone in to listen to music. Though apparently I'll need to plug it in to get traffic info via the entune app.

    I haven't used the 6-CD changer in my Gen II in a long time, other to maybe listen to a single CD at a time. The rest of the time it's the Turn off signatures in Tapatalk a tape adapter (I don't have an aux port in my 2005).
     
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  8. ukr2

    ukr2 Senior Member

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    Jay,
    Where have you been?
    You have a 2006 and these are your first posts.

    Thanks for the PIP impressions.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have to say, that's not a very encouraging write up. i hope to perceive more improvements than that, especially in mpg's and electric driving!
     
  10. desertcrawler

    desertcrawler Junior Member

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    For what it's worth, we are 200 miles in, getting about 53MPH out of it, with about 24% of our drive in Electric. This compares to our original Prius (06) which we get about 41MPH out of for roughly the same route. The hills we climb are really killing our mileage.
     
  11. janie

    janie 2016 Prius 3 Touring

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    JayRock-
    Are you Glad you have the advanced model of the 2012 plug in?

    Thanks for your initial thoughts :)


     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i guess we're fortunate to be fairly flat around here, although the cold weather is a constant battle . (except for this winter) :)
     
  13. JayRock

    JayRock New Member

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    I don't want anyone to be discouraged by what I wrote regarding my mileage. In my first hundred miles or so I've experimented with the different modes as I was evaluating the performance of the vehicle in my typical commute which is mostly LA area freeway driving and I am a fairly aggressive driver, though I was taking it easy (under 75 mph). For example, after a 25 mile RT commute to work on Friday (20 of those miles on the freeway at 60-70 mph), I got home and still had 5.8 miles of EV range left. As I (and I suspect many others) learn the driving behaviors to maximize our EV driving range, I'm sure I'll have more encouraging numbers to report.
     
  14. JayRock

    JayRock New Member

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    Yes, I'm glad that I got the advanced model. I spend a lot of time in my car (up to four hours a day when I am out of the office a couple days a week on the road visiting other work locations in company) and really wanted to have the latest in technology, safety, convenience and comfort. The time spent in the car is what made the advanced worth the extra money to me.
     
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  15. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    Does it not use the battery when going over 62, or did you just put it in HV mode to save it?
     
  16. chenyj

    chenyj Member

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    2012 Plug-in Prius is designed for short trip within 13 miles per charge. If your daily commute is around and over 40 miles, a regular Prius with Enginer 4KWH kit can easily win the MPG competition. The 4KWH Enginer kit has 20 pure EV equivalent miles per charge vs 13 miles of PIP.

    I would like to learn more about the real life experience of PIP drivers in terms of commute range and corresponding MPG.
     
  17. calbear

    calbear Member

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    Just remember that only a factory PiP will qualify for rebates, credits and CA HOV stickers.
     
  18. socalax

    socalax Junior Member

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    Totally agree, way better than my 2002.

    I felt that it was a bit noisy, but on Friday, it was very windy.


    First time using HD radio...can't believe what I have been missing.


    Ha! my wife was totally annoyed with me after 20 minutes of me prodding her to explore the features of the radio. She finally told me to stop talking and to just put on the 80's.


    Its hard to see the traffic color while you are on a route. I wih the blue route line was slightly smaller than the traffic colors. (This is one of my #1 annoyances with the iPhone as well.)


    What's doesn't seem as quite as good (or I'm still getting used to):

    Yup,wasted space. By the way, did you notice the, "Don't put a mug here" symbol on the side door cupholders? Classic.


    Yup, I mentioned that too, but I think you will get used to it. I wonder how many folks will just put all their AM stations on Preset 1 (KFI!) and then arrange the others in groups.

    Mine seems creased as well. I wish it was slighly higher as well.
     
  19. Priuskat

    Priuskat Junior Member

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    Thank you very much for the information JayRock (very helpful) - ordered and waiting for my PIP - all you fellow PIP's got me excited about the anticipation of its arrival. Then I put my 2007 Red Pruis for Sale - sold in a day for asking price - I'm very sad :( to let it go - (but the yellow stickers are just stickers now) . . . guess I'm going to be sad until my new green stickers come . . .
     
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  20. plugged-in

    plugged-in Junior Member

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    Is the cover(tonneau) included? I have to admit I only opened the trunk once to get the charging cord out, and could have missed it when I got it home the other night. :)