Some of you know that a couple weeks back Kris and I were rear-ended and our car was badly damaged. We thought for sure it would be totaled, but our insurance company thought it was salvageable — grunts and moans deleted. At that time, we opened up this blog for advice about what car to consider, and the information flowed. One of the cars we asked about was a Prius …
And our loaner is a Prius! So, we’ve now got some opinion on the car.
First, it is awesome in gas mileage.
What’s worse, second, is that there is a “Consumption” screen in your face and Kris and I find ourselves reading it and studying it and adjusting our driving to raise the mpg. Kris says it’s like biofeedback for a car. It’s a hoot.
Coming home from church the other night we raised our mpg from 41.2 to over 46 just by turning off the air conditioning.
Third, the starting mechanism is bizarre: push in the funky key, press the brake down, and then push the “start” button and the thing starts. No sound, no kick, just starts up.
Fourth, when we stop at a stop sign, it sounds and feels like the car has turned off. No idling for this little technological marvel.
It’s a little bigger than I thought; it’s not cheap feeling; it’s not fancy. We like it.