Experience at 1 year, 31,000 miles

Hi all -

This is my first post in a while, as I've pretty much become de-Priustized in the last 6 months or so. Now, I feel that's actually a good thing, as I've stopped doing excel charts on gas/mileage, etc., and have just been using the car as a normal car. That said, I thought I'd share my experience.

First, I've got an '04 Millennium Silver AF package 3, which came with side airbags and rear wiper as options. I have a MFD glare cover that I bought off of eBay; I have a Garmin 3600 that I use for nav; I've got an XM Roady that is plugged into the center console outlet, and mounted in the second cup holder (antennae mounted behind regular antennae on top of car). I've got an 8-inch tv/monitor that is super-velcro mounted underneath the CD player, resting on top of the open CD storage compartment. I've got an aerial antennae attached to the front windshield. There's a DVD unit under my passenger seat running to the monitor; the remote sensor is attached to the top of the glare cover.

Thus, I've got nav, XM Radio, and DVD/TV for my son sitting in his carseat (although I will admit, it comes in handy when I've got time to kill before practice/gig).

The only other mods I have to the car are a front bra, rear bumper guard (from a Matrix, as suggested by someone here) tinted windows, and a dented left rear quarter panel (ouch.)

My commute is about 50 miles each way to work, so I'm on the road a lot. I switched to Mobil 1 synth oil 6 months ago, because I felt I needed the extra protection. I have doing an oil change every 3 months. I fill up only with Exxon regular (will tell you why in a sec). I have not had any of the "recalls" done yet.

So, that said, once I stopped kvetching about how to get best mileage, I settled into the proper commute frame of mind: getting home as soon as possible without getting a ticket. To that end, I use cruise control on the highway, usually set at 4 miles per hour higher than the speed limit. I figure that's within the margin of error/BS for any cop stop.

Oh, yes, I have run out of gas once. About 50 ft from an interstate off-ramp. Toyota Roadside Assistance was very helpful in putting some gas in and having me on my way in about an hour (of course, in order to get to where I was at, the tow truck had to go 35 miles in the opposite direction to turn around).

I have had a backing-out-of-a-parking-space fender bender that dented the rear left quarter panel. Insurance company estimated $450 damage. I can pop open the hatchback, remove the side panel, and push it out, so it would be nothing to have someone suction pop it out. The paint scratches are nothing to really worry about. Anyway, my point was that I was backing out at a 45 degree angle at the same time someone else was (at a 45 degree angle directly behind me). I honestly had no indication they were there. Directly in the blind spot.

I use Exxon regular gas. EVERY time I've had to fill up with Texaco, Chevron, or some cheapy, my posted MPG is around 45-47mpg.

With Exxon regular, I consistently get 49-51 (ok ok, I do keep track of my MPG, I just don't do it so anally anymore )

All of that said and done, I'm happy to say that the Prius has been my perfect commute car. Most of the comforts of home, and easy on the gas dollar (I still haven't hit $20 for a fill-up, and I regularly fill up between 460 - 500 miles.)

Jason