http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/ Autoblog Comments for http://www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/mpg will get a good update too.
controls...i'll give another day though. they are tricky.]]>Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/
The second question I have is how much room does the front seat have? Do you think a big or tall person could drive the car? Do you have a big and/or tall person handy to sit in the drivers’ seat and drive around (and not have their knees hit the front column)?

From some of the brief reviews I've read, most people say that your mileage isn't what the EPA reports. What type of gas mileage are you getting in city? What are you getting on the highway?

Thanks

Paul]]>Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/
Thanks]]>Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/
Comparing to a Corolla XRS or Camry (or a lot of other cars). The Prius is a fantasitic car for commuting, City driving, or short trips. I've never taken it on a long trip, so I can't really comment on that. But I would say it is superior as a commuter or City car.

You can turn the screen off if you want to.

There isn't really any "added weight of the batteries". Sure the batteries weigh more than no batteries, but they don't weight much and Prius has no transmission, just a fist sized CVT device that saves tons of weight. The car weighs under 3000 lbs, less than my VW GTI, a 2 door hatchback. As far as brake wear goes, there should be less in a Prius than in virtually any other car, because of the regenerative coasting and braking, which results in less use of the conventional brakes.

Milage in a Prius is more variable than with most cars. If you drive it like a Prius you can get the EPA milage. If you don't alter your driving style to take advantage of the Prius's special features, like regenerative braking, you won't get the EPA milage. I'm getting about 56 mpg in combined driving. Seems most people get mid 40's to mid 50's.

I don't really like the fan/AC/heater controls. I think maybe I'm missing something too, and find it to be one of the worst features of the car.]]>Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/
If you insist on spending a lot of time overriding the climate control, then you're right, they're rather a pain. But my experience is that this is unnecessary: the Prius has the smartest automatic climate control I've yet seen. Just tell it what inside temperature you want, and it manages the fans, vent direction, and recirc for you entirely on its own. Does a great job of it.
]]>Dec 18th 2005 10:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/http://www.autoblog.com/2004/09/19/toyota-prius-in-the-autoblog-garage-day-1/Dec 18th 2005 10:58PM