After a day around town getting
only 36 mpg, we hit the road this weekend to visit a dog breeder about a new puppy. We left early in the morning Sunday
heading to Indiana from Chicago. The first highway experience was pretty impressive. I was worried the car would be
sluggish at high speeds but it was as able as any economy to midsize sedan with a four cylinder engine. But we could
also hear, and feel, every groove of the road.
The Prius feels fine around town but at highway velocity the quality of the road means the difference between
pleasure and pain.
The seats are mildly comfortable but after the four-hour roundtrip there were plenty of back aches and my fianc?e
complained that the headrest was as hard as a rock when she tried to recline all the way.
The seats were irrelevant when we were hitting bumpy Indiana roads. I?m sure we looked pretty funny to passers by
with our heads jostling back and forth. We also used the GPS navigation. It took us a while to figure out how to get
the destination to take effect but after that it was fairly intuitive. The only thing to save the trip from total
physical distress was the 46+ mpg we got. I still can?t figure out why the car only got 36 mpg around town when the
hybrid is supposed to be better in city traffic.
*I?m also looking for a name for the new
dog. Anyone have an idea?
She?s a brindle boxer that will of course become the unofficial Autoblog mascot. Anything automotive might be fun but
we?ve already nixed the name Hemi.