visibility over your left shoulder???

Uh, me too - sat in every seat, laid flat in the back with rear seat down, test loaded my bike into the back, etc. Except in my case, the salesman was there, patiently indulging my eccentricities. I cared more about getting the right vehicle than whether or not I looked a fool!

 

LOL, sounds like what I'd like to do if they let me go out alone. If the dealer's with me, I'll probably feel more rushed or like I should only drive it around town or something. But regardless, I do intend to take it back towards my home where I have this really steep hill that I want to see how well the Prius can climb it. I have to go up and down this hill every time I come & go from my home. It's very hilly in my area...

 

i like the fact that you cant see the hood. it seems easier to park and get around in tight spots... i do not know, just me i guess :wink:

you all are spoiled is what. my pickup doesnt have a rear view mirror since you couldnt see anything anyway. if i pull the canopy off and pull the fifth wheel same thing, cant see nothing.
]
you are not supposed to rely on your mirrors for changing lanes anyway as ALL cars have blind spots to the left rear of the vehicle.

so that is simply another safety feature for a very safe car. eliminating the urge to rely solely on mirrors to check on traffic when changing lanes.

i think the rectangular mirrors seem like a good idea but to rely on them is a mistake. i will say this (although deep down, everyone already knows this) that as long as you know where you are going and preplan your moves; ie. lane changes, etc., you will always know ahead of time who is there simply because you are always aware of the traffic around you.

AND if all else fails, turn on your blinker and move over very slowly...

 

Starbug...

If you can manage it, I suggest you rent a Prius for a day or weekend. That was the only way I could test drive one around here, and I'm really glad I did. Since I had it for the whole weekend, I was able to drive in different conditions, test my commute, take it out to the country, drive up hills, play with all of the features, etc. It was a great way to "test drive" the car. I must admit, however, after about the first hour I was already sold and could barely stand that wait until I had my very own. 8)

 

hey Star, you of course know that Budget ( i think) bought 20 Prius' for use in their rental fleet. im not sure if it was Budget, but i am sure that they are located at the port of seattle. go there and rent one to cruise around in to make sure it is what you want.

as for hills, i think you will find that at lower speeds 20-40 mph, the car climbs hills better than nearly any car ive ever had.

i live in Olympia and although the hills arent as extreme as in your area, i go to Tacoma frequently where the hills are just as bad as yours and it seems to thrive on those kind of conditions... granted, the gas mileage does take a hit, but so does every car i have driven in that area.

 

My thoughts exactly. I have to go to Oregon from the 16-18th, and have been wondering who has Prii available to rent. DaveinOly says he thinks Budget has em. I'm going to look it up right now.

 

I seem to remember hearing that somebody got them, I just don't remember who. There is a Budget in Bellevue. I think Enterprise might have them too, and they're in the Totem Lake area of Kirkland. Deffinately have options. Yay!

Seems to thrive on hills? Sweet! Redmond-Kirkland-Bellevue is full of steep hills, so this is good to know. Thanks. 8)

I'm going to get in touch with Budget and Enterprise tomorrow and see about renting. Hopefully it'll have the Nav system so I can test-drive that too.

 

It's not fair for the rental companies to be able to buy the Prii in large numbers. It makes those who are waitng only wait longer. I wonder how long
Budget, Enterprise and the others had to wait. On the other hand Toyota must know what it is doing. The rental companies introduce people who had no intention of buying become acquainted with this extraordinary automobile. Anyway, it's still not fair.

 

Why's it not fair? I'd think it a stronger argument that it's not fair for all these wealthy private car buyers snapping up Priuses for their own personal use rather than letting them go to hire firms and fleets for the benefit of the wider public.

 

KMO You're kidding. Right? What in the world are you talking about? Wealthy car buyers! Twenty people rich, poor or middle-class are better off owning twenty Prii than 1 company owning 20 Prii that no one can keep.

 

I know that Enterprise has Prii in some of their fleets, but if you have any trouble, you might check out a local dealer in the town you're visiting. My rental was actually from a local dealer (who happens to discount the cost of the rental if you buy from them. I wound up *not* buying from them simply because another local dealer got one faster for me). :lol:

 

Star:

i dont remember which car rental place got them, but i do know that they are located at the Port of Seattle.

as far as others go, its hard to say. and for the fleet purchase thing. apparently they ordered like 40 of em and only got 15 or something like that because of the shortage.

they said they ordered them in Oct so their delivery was actually slower than a normal order.

ans what diff does it make who owns them as long as they are driving a Prius instead of some gas guzzler. a rental would have more miles put on it then a personal car most of the time, so they would contribute more to the environmental protection than having the vehicle in private hands so im all for that.

also might create more than a few converts to the hybrid technology. not good news probably for those still waiting. but in the long wrong good news for all.

 

Dealers will rent their cars too? Wow, I had no idea. That's certainly food for thought....

I just got off the phone with Enterprise. They are going to look for an available Prius for me. The guy said he'll get back to me next week with a 'yep we got one' or a 'sorry, couldn't get one'. Apparently somebody's car is in the shop for work so they've got the Prius. You never know how long a mechanic may have your car, so he couldn't say for sure if it would be back in time. I looked all over Budget's site and couldn't find any phone numbers for any of their locations, so I'll probably end up with Enterprise. Keep your fingers crossed!!

...three days of Prius bliss!! Weeeeeeee! :mrgreen:

 

I'm with you there. I'm all for the rental places having lots of them. Better for everybody.

I ended up calling Enterprise (couldn't find any phone #'s for any of the Budget locations). They're going to call me next week to let me know if a Prius has become available in time for my trip that weekend. If it isn't, I'll take something else (my own car wouldn't survive the trip) and try renting a Prius when I get back... I'll have a whole week off from work, so that's plenty of Prius Play-time... :mrgreen: Keep your fingers crossed!

 

Ho Ho Starbug. Sure you're for the rental places having lots of them if that's all you want to do is rent them. I already have mine, but I'm sure the people waiting for theirs won't agree with you.

 

Heh, no...ya got me wrong there. I am renting a Prius because I have to go out of state for three days, and since I would also like to test-drive one before I go buy one, I'm going rent one for the trip so I can see how it performs in a variety of conditions (kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes). Much better than your average test-drive. 8)

 

gee i do not know... i couldnt imagine renting a Prius, driving it around for 3 days, getting attached to the car, then having to give it up...

im praying for you, girl... you got a tough tough road ahead of ya...

one thing you got to promise to keep in mind... Grand Theft Auto will get you 5 to 9 in the pen... it aint ...umm..uh... nope .. it aint worth it...but its close...

 

Gah!!! You know of my plan?! Oh no! Now I must kill you so that you won't turn me in! They will never catch me! :wink: LOL!

If they can pry me from the steering wheel, then they can have their car back. :mrgreen: It will be soooo hard to give it up after 3 days, I know. *sigh*

 

well ya know, in a car chase you will lose em soon as they have to stop for gas!!!