First day with the Prius

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Well, I bought my friend’s 2005 Prius. (More accurately, I’m in the process of buying it. Lots of emails, phone calls and faxing to get all of the paperwork where it needs to be.) Today was one of the days I make the hundred-mile trek to the office.

First thing: The cup holders don’t have cut-outs for cup handles. One would hold my cup, but the handle was at an awkward angle. I can get a new cup, or else cut the handle off and sand it smooth.

The owner’s manual is MIA, so I’m not sure of how to set the various things. For example, I didn’t see (while I was driving) how to set the radio presets. I was playing with the GPS and got a display I didn’t want, and couldn’t get it back. I finally figured out that if I clicked over to Info and then back to the map it would reset to the original display. I did figure out how to adjust the ventilation and temperature.

Handling was about what I expected. Better than the Jeep, not as good as the MGB. Power was marginal. The car weighs almost as much as the Jeep, and has a 1.5l engine. The Jeep has a 4.0 that put out 190 horsepower when it was new. But that’s OK. I’m more interested in economy. If I want a Driving Experience I have the roadster. And there’s still the R1. :smiley:

The controls are different. The windshield wipers operate opposite from the way they do in the Jeep, and the light switch is on the left stalk. (The Jeep has a knob with a rheostat on the dash, the MGB has a toggle switch on the dash.) The Jeep’s cruise control is on the steering wheel – space taken up by other buttons on the Prius. I found it easy to confuse the windshield wiper stalk with the cruise control stalk in the dark. I’ll get used to it soon enough.

The Smart Key is cool. In my pocket from the time I walk out the front door until the time I get out at my destination, where I press the lock/alarm arming button.

I set the cruise control to 70 mph. I’ve been setting it to about 68.5 mph in the Jeep, and Thursday I got 22.5 mpg. When I pulled into the driveway in the Prius tonight it was reading 47.9 mpg on the econometer. Sweet.

2

You didn’t say if your Jeep was a Wrangler or a Cherokee, but the big difference between my Wrangler and my husband’s Prius is the height from the ground! I feel so LOW in the Prius!

3

I suspect if he’s used to driving an MG, the height of the Prius ain’t going to bother him. My two main cars are a 4Runner with a 3 inch lift kit and a Karman Ghia convertible. I feel completely invisible in the KG. I’m pretty sure that a friend’s wife in their (MUCH MUCH LARGER THAN MINE, 2005 vs. 1984) 4Runner damn near ran over someone in a two seat convertible.

4

It’s a Cherokee. It’s always felt HIGH to me. The Prius feels the right height.

5

Stupid question, but just want to know if there is an electrical OUTLET in the car - so you could plug in a laptop or cellphone charger.

6

There are two 12v ‘cigar lighter’-type outlets; one on the lower passenger dash and one inside the console.