What every newb should know

Here's some good sites for spec info:

2008 Toyota Prius optional equipment at Edmunds

Toyota Cars, Trucks, SUVs & Accessories Also lists the options under build your own, but I think Edmonds.com above gives more info.

Toyota Prius - 2008 Models: Prius & Touring Compare features.

We have a Touring on order. After researching the Prius, we decided to go with the Touring over the Basic or Standard models for the improved handling and stability. We prefer the handling over the ~2 mpg difference. Plus the Touring model, not to be confused with the Touring package addition, comes with a number of features that are standard on the Touring that are Optional on the other models.

I believe each package includes all features of a lower # plus whatever is added by that Package.

That's why we chose the Touring with the Leather interior option, installed at factory, and Pkg#3 over the Pkg#6 option which adds leather at POL or POE. Choosing the Touring model includes HID headlights as standard, which are the Pkg#4 addition. Didn't want a $800 GPS, added with Pkg#5 that costs $300 per update, and you can't take it with you. And by ordering the leather interior up front, that covers that Pkg#6 leather addition. So basically, we have everything the Pkg#6 adds except the $800 GPS.

Now in all honesty, I believe I read somewhere here in PC that members thought the POL/POE installed leather was a better quality installation than the factory install. And the handling/stablilty/safety vs MPG is a personal preference. Also Toyota makes less then 1 Prius model for every 10 basic/standard models. so we may end up waiting a long time for what we want, but then we aren't in a hurry. Who knows, it may end up being 2009 or 2010.

Good Luck! We are anxiously awaiting our Touring, Seaside Pearl, Leather interior, Pkg#3.

 

dwreed3rd:
Must be something in the Atlanta air but we came to exactly the same conclusion except the color. Touring #3 with Leather added but no built in GPS. We wanted Pine Mica with Bisque Leather inside.

We're at 50 days on our wait although our dealer says nobody is waiting more that 90 days yet. I just reserved a Prius rental from Enterprise for our first of August trip assuming our model isn't in by then. This will at least give us the feel for it and I'll finally be able to get my hands on an owners manual for at least a week. Hopefully we'll come back and find ours waiting. Our condo rental does have wifi so I'll be checking our status so nobody beats us to it.

 

Since this thread is "What every newb should know" I think this is on topic:

In a "normal" ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle, the "gas" pedal is usually connected to a cable which is connected on the other end to the throttle plate. The throttle plate regulates how much air enters the engine and is proportional to how much power (and torque) the engine produces: not much when you barely touch it, the maximum when you floor it.

In a Prius (or other HSD, e.g. Camry Hybrid, Hy Hy) the "gas" pedal is not mechanically connected to anything on the ICE. No cable. The pedal is an electronic device that sends a signal to the HV ECU (hybrid vehicle electronic control unit), letting it know that you want the car to go forward (I think it should be called the "go" pedal, or possibly the "torque" pedal, but officially Toyota calls it the accelerator pedal).

The HV ECU considers your "go" request and decides how to comply most efficiently based on gathering information from the Battery ECU, and the Engine Control ECU. It then sends signals to the Inverter and the electronic throttle on the ICE based upon the info it has gathered. It adjusts and readjusts several times per second to control the ICE and the two electric motors (MG1 and MG2) to provide the most efficient use of "go" power at all times.

The magic of the HSD system is that if someone had never told you, you could drive it and think that there was a cable that ran between the "go" pedal and the ICE just like a "normal" car.

 

Richard: Thanks! That's the kind of info I was looking for. I'll be taking the ScangaugeII with us. I'll probably try to keep it under 4500 rpm. That's 10% under the red line. The 400mi run from Tampa up I-75 to Atlanta is basically flat, so that should help. I also plan to not allow it to run for extended periods of time at a constant rpm, although the Prius will probably take care of that itself, but just in case, I'll be monitoring the rpm. I just want to give the ICE a good chance to seat the rings and bearings in that first 600mi. It can't hirt.

Thank you again for all the support and advice to us newbies, or in our case, future newbies.

Thanks again for all the support to us newbies, actually, I'm still only a future newbie.

 

Rcaine: Thanks for the reply. We've been on a "LIST" since middle May. Have you noticed the number of new Prius' on the road around the Atlanta area. We live in the East Cobb area. Hardly ever would see one. Now we see one, two, three or more every trip out. I think I'm goint to PM Danny and see if there would be any objections and suggestions to slipping a note with the PriusChat's web address on it. Maybe some kind of invitation to visit and/or join the site. The more members with input the better.

Thanks again for the post.

 

To nitpick, there are traditional powered cars with drive by wire as well... not Just the Prius. For example, my '08 Grand Cherokee is also drive by wire.

 

That is why I included the word "usually". True, there are more vehicles that are adopting drive by wire, but I don't think that many are as sophisticated as the HSD system.

 

We live in Lake Claire near Little Five Points. In our neighborhood and in the Emory area Prius sitings are common. There are none on our street yet (only 20 houses) but there are three on the next street over. The bumper sticker that says "30307 it's not just a zip code, it's a life style" is certainly true. Tree hugging liberal aging hippies (like myself) are a dime a dozen in my area. Prius are common but they cost more than a dime a dozen.

 

Hello Everyone! This is my first post, and I'm glad to have my first ever new car to be a Prius! I got it 3 days ago, and I'm loving it already! Here in the sf bay area, there is a 6-12 week wait because of the high demand over here. Luckily, I got mine within a week or so! I was ecstatic to find out it came so soon!

But does anyone know how to maximize the MPG rating without driving so slow? I know it's best to not go too fast and to avoid highways to get high MPG, but does anyone know other max-MPG tips?

 

Read this:

http://priuschat.com/forums/fuel-economy/14701-new-owner-want-mpg-help-read-first.html


Also, although you can get really good mileage by driving really slow, it is not necessary to drive really slow to get good mileage. It is okay to accelerate fairly quickly; the trick to learn is to make that acceleration count by keeping your momentum and gliding whenever possible. Try to use the brakes as little as possible; every time you use the brakes you are losing energy that you had to expend to get the car moving.

 

Thanks Richard and DogFriend. I'll keep these tips in mind.

 

....Read the road ahead...

Read the road ahead


Read the road ahead

Read the road ahead



Seriously... My three previous cars to Velma all had really poor brakes. - A 1962 Morris Minor, a 1965 Morris Minor and a 1998 NEV City El EV. All of them had to book braking at least a month in advance if you wanted to stop in time so I developed a fairly keen sense of reading ahead. Don't hang of the bumper of the person in front and plan your overtaking maneuvers well in advance. If you get good you shouldn't have to touch your brakes or move your foot in miles (or if you're lazy like me, touch the cruise control!)

You'll develop a third-sense too. Watch the cars ahead and figure out what sort of drivers they are. You need to ideally be watching at least eight cars ahead in traffic to see what the traffic is doing. Easing off only when the car in front starts to brake is too late. When the car four or five ahead starts to brake that's when you should start to change speed.

Give yourself time to get to wherever you want to. Stress is not conducive to good driving styles or efficient driving.

Other tips:

Don't rely on the reversing camera if you have one. Don't rely on the auto-park. You should be able to move your vehicle without these aids in case the worst happens and they stop working. I over-relied on the reverse camera that Daphne has and when I got Velma I was completely stumped about reversing and parking her as all of my previous cars have had brilliant rearward visibility. The Prius has rubbish rearward visibility.

Finally, don't become smug Remember, Hybrids are the number one cause of smug

 

hehe same here pkd!! the wait was 2 weeks, but it actually came a week earlier. Maybe there may be more of a supply of 08 Package #2 Prius or something, because that's what i wanted too.

Enjoy!

 

Have you ever driven in the metro Atlanta area? I mean off the main roads and interstates. Johnson Ferry Road in East Cobb going down to the Chattahoochee River. Riverside Drive between Johnson Ferry Road and Heards Ferry Rd. Lake Forrest Drive between Hammond Drive and Powers Ferry Road, for examples. All on my wifes way to work. Perhaps the street names give you a clue of the terrain. Multiple long hills up and down like a roller coaster, probablt at least 6% grades. Use 2nd in our 2000 Avalon XLS automatic to avoid riding the breaks downhill and the erraric shifting uphill when the tranny desides to shift at the same time you go to give it a little gas. This sounds like an ideal use of "B" to me, but then we don't have our Prius yet. I can't imagine that regenerative braking alone will suffice on those hills, but we'll see. I let you know how it works out.

Any Atlanta Prius members use these roads?

 

I have driven over 21k miles including some fairly mountainous driving in the Sierras and in Southern Oregon and I have only used "B" mode a couple of times. The standard regenerative braking is pretty effective.

 

Does the MFG indicate which of, or combination of, braking systems are being used, so that you can tell if the brakes are being used? It seems that most drivers with automatic never shift out of drive for downhill or hilly situations. I uess alot have grown up on nothing but automatic. They spped limits that I'm talking about range from 25 to 40, Most of which are 35mph with numerous all way stop signs or traffic lights. I'll just have to see how it works out. I just down like riding the brakes. I don;t feel that you have as much control as using a lower gear. If the regen is enough then I'm all for it. We'll see. I would like nothing better than for Dogfriend to be right. Better mileage.


I know. Wait and I'll find out. Just Prius Waiting.

 

No, actually there is no indication of when the friction brakes are used, but the Energy screen does indicate regenerated energy, both as a result of coasting (simulated engine braking) and regenerative braking.

I think that Hobbit has discussed a hack to indicate when the friction brakes are activated.

In general, most of the braking is regenerative unless the system can't supply enough braking by regen; in that case it reverts over to friction (conventional) braking. Most of the time you won't be able to tell, but there are two situations where you can feel it switch from regen to friction:

1. Braking on uneven surfaces where one of the wheels loses traction. The system will switch over from regen to friction to activate the ABS. For a split second, the car will feel like it is accelerating but then start braking again. A little disconcerting the first time it happens.

2. When you slow down below 7 mph, the regen can no longer provide enough braking force, so the system will switch over to friction. If you pay close attention, you will feel this, but it is very subtile IMO.

 

The "below 7 mph" may be a desiding factor. The ~10mi, each way, back and forth, that my wife drives each day, is in rush hour(s) traffic(25min to 1.5hr), bumper to bumper, stop/go, two way secondary streets, residential 25-35 mph, speed bumps and all-way 4-way stop signs(one car at a time), up and down (100 to 1000yd ~6% grades) requires braking often even in 2nd(automatic). I'm just say it's not the rolling winding hills of north Geeorgia, at the foothills the Appalatians or the Blue Ridge Parkway through North Carolina, where you can lean it into the corners running up and down through the gears. Oh! I miss our 5 speed manual once in awhile, just not in Atlanta traffic, some of the worst, congested, traffic in the country. Hope you're right. Rather have the mileage. I'll be sure to follow up, assuming I won't be too old to drive buy the time it arrives.