Picked up the Prius (The Lil' Sipper)

[wingdesigner]

Got the abridged version of operations from the dealer and drove home. WHATTABLAST!!! Had to forget pretty much everything about driving a "regular" car. The display screen is hypnotic/addictive. The constant readout for mileage would cure all but the most recalcitrant leadfoot, methinks. It's working for this writer, anyway. However, that's not to say it doesn't have pep. Acid test of giddyup the next day I go to work, whenever that is. Spousal unit has been badgering for a turn, but so far we've resisted, muttering something about tracking mileage or such. Everything is digital/electronic, including the steering and trans. For some reason they (the designers/engineers) couldn't apparently figure out how to put Park on the same stick as the other "gears", so it's a push button now. Half the controls are on the steering wheel, the other half scattered between the display and mid-dash. Already mistook the security icon for a system warning light and called dealer in a panic. Felt like royal fool when discovered the error... Called dealer back and cancelled prior panic phonecall. Been chipping away at the 500 pg. o.m. Well, no, it's not really 500 pp, it's 512. I'm on p. 75. See, the "old" car had no fancy buttons, no security system, no flashing lights or keyless entry--it was a CAR, not a POODLE! There's all this STUFF on my steering wheel I have to figure out. It has cruise control, which: 1. I'll never use in the city; 2. according to Prius forums I've lurked on actually decreases mpg. OK, so if it decreases the mpg, then why exactly is it on there?
More later.

[webmaster]

Weird about cruise control decreasing mileage. I would imagine setting it for 65 would be better than driving at 75.

Congrats on the new car!

[Charlie MV]

Does cruise control decrease mpg with city and highway driving?
What is the city/highway mpg?
What's the sticker price?

[cynthia_h]

Ah! Welcome to Life with A Prius.

My belief about the Cruise Control is so that, when you KNOW you're going to be driving in an area where The Law Is Prevalent (), you use Cruise Control to make sure you do NOT exceed permissible speed. There have been two recent celebrity cases of being busted for speeds in excess of 100 mph (162 kph) in Priuses. So they *can* fly!

The steering-wheel controls. Hmmm. We have a 2004 model, so please bear with me.

==> On your left as you sit facing the steering wheel, the following are operated with your left hand, moving from bottom to top:

A/C // Heat temp Up or Down
Radio Mode (?) AM vs. FM [perhaps; I've never used this control, ALWAYS listening to the news/traffic radio station in Bay Area traffic]

Radio volume Up or Down

==> And, of course, Brights/Dims and Left/Right direction lights on the left-hand lever, as in most "regular" cars.

==> OK. Now, on your right on the steering wheel lever:

Five- or more-speed windshield wipers, including "clean my windshield" mode

and, on its very own little lever, the (almost) useless Cruise Control

==> Move to the dashboard toward the front of the car, away from the driver.

--With your left hand, operate:

Brightness of the display panel (esp. useful at night to avoid being blinded by the lovely LED numbers--you will not look at them you will not look at them you will not look at them OMIGOD WHAT IS THAT??? )

--With your right hand, operate:

Drive/Reverse/Braking Mode (= downshift)/Neutral gear"shift"
Park button
Manual radio control, volume control, AM/FM, Emergency flashers (triangle symbol), air conditioning/heating, Display Mode (consumption? energy source? etc.)

And, all the time, that little "miles per gallon right now," "avg mpg last 5 minutes," and "miles per gallon on this tank so far" bar graph is having a terrific time! And the speed-read-out (I can't really call it a speedoMETER) is telling you exactly how fast you're going....

FUN FUN FUN ZIPPY ZIPPY ZIPPY but not quite a V-6 but much better than a 4-cylinder 1979 Toyota Corolla or 1964 VW Bug.

Yes. Definitely. You need to familiarize yourself *thoroughly* with the Prius before letting Someone Else get his paws on it.

Happiness.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9/Sunset Zone 17

[wingdesigner]

Although I think the "stealth mode" is cool, I can see the need for a little sound--darn near ran over some poor soul in a parking lot because they didn't know the vehicle was in motion and I didn't see them. There is a beep in the cabin for reverse but nothing audible on the outside. Bought a little stick-on gadget that senses when the backup light comes on and beeps. It's not very loud but certainly louder than tires on pavement. It's already proved it's "aurality" (is that a word? it is now) at work. Some woman had her back to me as I was parallel parking and didn't turn around as I was on the battery motor; but when I hit reverse and my little gadget went off, she turned around in surprise. I was also thinking of when one is driving in Amish/Mennonite areas; if the car goes into battery mode when coasting down a long hill or at a stop; neither horse nor driver will hear me coming. Honking or yelling will spook the horse/driver (and is just rude), but what else can/should I do if there's no warning beep. Stick my head out the window and ask to pass? Uh-uh. That's still yelling. Blast the radio? Ugh. See? These are things one doesn't think of when driving an ICE-only car. It's like Alaska--it's different. Will be putting gas in soon, one more bar to go. There's one lonely station holding the line at $3.99/gal., so hopefully I'll make that price. Soon as I figure out how to reset the computer that figures average mileage, etc....
I'm on p. 175 of the o.m. now, and it warned about exceeding 85 mph unless one knows one's tires are rated for high speed. Wellll, freeway speeds are 70 around here (not that we get anywhere close in "rush" hour traffic); hmmm. And this is the only o.m. in memory (yes, Virginia, we've read quite a few in our day) that covers the topic of "napping in the Prius". No, I'm not kidding--that was a direct quote.
More later.

[Toms92gp]

Although I think the "stealth mode" is cool, I can see the need for a little sound--darn near ran over some poor soul in a parking lot because they didn't know the vehicle was in motion and I didn't see them. There is a beep in the cabin for reverse but nothing audible on the outside. Bought a little stick-on gadget that senses when the backup light comes on and beeps. It's not very loud but certainly louder than tires on pavement. It's already proved it's "aurality" (is that a word? it is now) at work. Some woman had her back to me as I was parallel parking and didn't turn around as I was on the battery motor; but when I hit reverse and my little gadget went off, she turned around in surprise. I was also thinking of when one is driving in Amish/Mennonite areas; if the car goes into battery mode when coasting down a long hill or at a stop; neither horse nor driver will hear me coming. Honking or yelling will spook the horse/driver (and is just rude), but what else can/should I do if there's no warning beep. Stick my head out the window and ask to pass? Uh-uh. That's still yelling. Blast the radio? Ugh. See? These are things one doesn't think of when driving an ICE-only car. It's like Alaska--it's different. Will be putting gas in soon, one more bar to go. There's one lonely station holding the line at $3.99/gal., so hopefully I'll make that price. Soon as I figure out how to reset the computer that figures average mileage, etc....
I'm on p. 175 of the o.m. now, and it warned about exceeding 85 mph unless one knows one's tires are rated for high speed. Wellll, freeway speeds are 70 around here (not that we get anywhere close in "rush" hour traffic); hmmm. And this is the only o.m. in memory (yes, Virginia, we've read quite a few in our day) that covers the topic of "napping in the Prius". No, I'm not kidding--that was a direct quote.
More later.

Yeah, I think hybrids need a recording of an Indy car playing from under the hood when they are in electric mode so you can tell there is one coming at you in the parking lot.
As far as tire rating, you can find that out from whats on your tire. I'll use my Grand Prix's tire size stamp as an example, It's "245/50r16w". The 245 is its width in mm, the 50 is its aspect ratio, the tire wall is 50 percent the hight of the tread width, the r means radial, the 16 means it fits a 16 inch rim and the W is the speed rating which is 168mph I've only had them to 130 and I think my car would top out around 150ish.
My truck on the other had has tires with a speed rating of Q which is 99mph, and the computer limits it 95. Most Americain Manufacturs Like GM and Ford products put computer controled speed limiters on there cars to keep you from exceding the factory tire's speed rating, but most imports like toyota, honda and nissan don't put limiters on there cars from the factory(which they should so people don't have a blow out at 100mph from over heating a tire rated for 80mph). Here is the chart for the tire speed ratings.
M 81 mph 130 km/h
N 87 mph 140km/h
P 93 mph 150 km/h
Q 99 mph 160 km/h
R 106 mph 170 km/h
S 112 mph 180 km/h
T 118 mph 190 km/h
U 124 mph 200 km/h
H 130 mph 210 km/h
V 149 mph 240 km/h
W 168 mph 270 km/h
Y 186 mph 300 km/h
Automotive stuff is my Fort`e.

[wingdesigner]

Kewl--thanks!

[wingdesigner]

OK, so the bladder is a liner IN the tank that expands/contracts to eliminate fumes or something. Stuck the nozzle in and if you've ever stuck your finger in a bucket of Slime (remember that?) you know that suction if you try to pull it out (trying not to sound too risque here). Well, pretty much the same thing. Faster refueling as there's very little false kickoff until it is getting full. My other Toys had to have the gas drizzle in and it took 10 minutes to get 4 or 5 gallons. Drove for a week and it took about 6.5 gals. However, it started talking to me and when I shut off the pump, it burbled out onto the ground (*$^%#@!!!) and then WHOOSH, sucked back into the filler neck like a backdraft. Ohhhkayyy. Note to self: when the orifice starts muttering, shut off NOW, quickly remove nozzle and everything will suck back into tank.
Now, the "computer" says I averaged about 47 mpg for this past week; my calculations came out to a little over 31 mpg, which was not much better than my beloved Corolla. I don't understand why the discrepancy, but perhaps it has something to do with the break-in period. And the SU's driving habits. So, nobody but ME drives it this next tankful and we'll see what happens. And the saga continues...