Prius Owners- What do you like about your car?

[Cindy B]

I test drove a 2010 Prius II today. I've never drove one before and I am not sure if I really LOVE the car. The dealer we went to had a few 2010's in stock, but the test drive was basically just around the block in a residential area.. so it was hard to determine the cars capabilities.

I liked how roomy the car was and how easy it was to turn. It took a little bit to get used to the shifting and power button. I also liked the dashboard display and the way you could control things from the steering wheel.

I didn't get a chance to try it on the highway.. so I'm not sure about acceleration and pickup.. does anyone have any thoughts?

What do you like or don't like?

 

[WDWBarb]

I have an '04 Prius and I love absolutely everything about it.

It's roomy.
It's very, VERY reliable (has only needed oil changes and new tires)
Love the mileage
Love how quiet it is when running in low speeds
It's comfortable
Has lots of features
SMART key system is awesome

My Prius was the smartest purchase I have ever made

I plan on driving it until the wheels fall off! It has 104,000 miles on it and runs like a charm.

 

[Cindy B]

I'm glad you like it. I'm coming from a late 1990's Jeep Cherokee so it is a switch-- not only in size but features.

I'm glad you mentioned the smart chip... that is one thing I didn't really LOVE. (It may have just been the fact that is was something different). It is a nice idea, but is it odd to go keyless? It felt different to me.

I haven't had a new car since 1990-- I have had used cars since then.

I'm glad to hear that it is very reliable. I plan on driving cars until they fall apart.. DH and I both drive older cars.

 

[WDWBarb]

The keyless system is amazing. If I have my hands full, I never have to dig for keys. At night, when it senses me approaching the locked car, the interior lights come on. When I'm "making a run for it" when it's raining, I never have to fumble with keys to get in the car.

You get used to it very quickly. In fact, my boss handed me his keys and asked me to drive his car somewhere a few weeks ago and I felt so weird trying to use them!

 

[clutter]

I've had an '04, and '06 and now an '09! The thing I love best is that I get an HOV exemption here in Virginia.

Seriously, it's a great car. It's way more roomy and comfortable that it's size would leave you to believe. And the gas mileage. Awesome! My newest one was only getting about 45mpg, then after a long driving trip, it's jumped back up to 50, which is more usual. Love the keyless thing. The only thing I don't love is trying to find somewhere I can put my purse within reach when I have a passenger. (I like to have it within reach, and you can't reach around to the floor in the back.)

 

[agnes!]

I love my '06. One of the few cars that I ever bought new.

Oh, and the acceleration? VERY good, especially if I'm in a gas-wasting mood . This thing can keep up with almost *anything* on the road if it has to .

agnes!

 

[LoraJ]

I'd love to get a Prius, but I hate that it doesn't have a trunk. Is there something to cover the goods in the back?

 

[agnes!]

I'd love to get a Prius, but I hate that it doesn't have a trunk. Is there something to cover the goods in the back?

Yes, mine has a pleather-type of horizontal-shade that you can pull out from a bar and that locks into place right next to the hatch.

Oh, and my DD says the back-seat is more comfortable than our Camry.

agnes!

 

[LoraJ]

Yes, mine has a pleather-type of horizontal-shade that you can pull out from a bar and that locks into place right next to the hatch.

Oh, and my DD says the back-seat is more comfortable than our Camry.

agnes!

Great! We usually store a case of bottled water and other drinks in the trunk to bring in to work. I street park and if you leave a nickel showing in your car it gets broken into.

I want to buy a new car in the next year while I can still get a good trade-in value for my '03 Corolla. My Corolla could last several more years but it is stick and I really want an automatic.

 

[KristaTX]

We have an '07 Prius. Just this week as we were driving around my husband said that it is his favorite car that he has ever owned. I love that it's a hatchback. It's spacious and comfortable. It actually feels very similar inside size-wise to our Saturn Vue. It has a smooth, quiet ride. It accelerates just fine. The gas mileage rocks. We also love not having to dig our keys out every time we get in.

The only thing I don't like about it (but it's not my car - it's his! ) is that the controls for the AC, some of the audio controls, etc, are on the little computer screen. I'd rather have manual knobs and buttons so that I can control them more by "feel". But I just asked my husband about it, and he says he uses the controls on the steering wheel for most of that. If I drove it regularly I'd probably get used to that, but I'd still rather have knobs and buttons plus the steering wheel controls.

It also does't have a built-in compass display like my Saturn Vue does on the rearview mirror, but I guess that's no big deal if you have a GPS.

But the positives definitely outweigh any negatives. I love when I get to drive it, but my husband has the farther commute.

 

[dangerkitteey]

I have an '09 Prius and it is absolutely the best car I've ever owned. I had a Hyundai Santa Fe before this car and was concerned about downsizing but it really was no problem. I get 45 MPG all the time and it's mostly highway driving.
My only complaints: it's crappy going uphill, which is a problem driving from Vegas to Disneyland which is all uphill, and I sometimes bump my head putting DD in her car seat.

 

[Cindy B]

I'd love to get a Prius, but I hate that it doesn't have a trunk. Is there something to cover the goods in the back?

The 2010 model that i drove yesterday had a HUGE trunk.. even bigger than my Jeep Cherokee and there was one of those pleatherish shade things to cover it.

 

[Cindy B]

We have an '07 Prius. Just this week as we were driving around my husband said that it is his favorite car that he has ever owned. I love that it's a hatchback. It's spacious and comfortable. It actually feels very similar inside size-wise to our Saturn Vue. It has a smooth, quiet ride. It accelerates just fine. The gas mileage rocks. We also love not having to dig our keys out every time we get in.

The only thing I don't like about it (but it's not my car - it's his! ) is that the controls for the AC, some of the audio controls, etc, are on the little computer screen. I'd rather have manual knobs and buttons so that I can control them more by "feel". But I just asked my husband about it, and he says he uses the controls on the steering wheel for most of that. If I drove it regularly I'd probably get used to that, but I'd still rather have knobs and buttons plus the steering wheel controls.

QUOTE]

The 2010 model had the controls on the steering wheel. There was audio control, air control and something else. I actually didn't see any knobs either, but I was busy concentrating driving-- DH was the one asking all the questions.

 

[PollyannaMom]

DH loves his! It took some getting used to for me (as he almost always uses that one due to his long commute) but now I can switch back-and-forth whenever I need to. I love the trunk space/hatch!! We used to have to take my station wagon whenever we did a driving vacation, now we can take the smaller car - the gas savings is wonderful! The only thing I don't like about it is the divided rear winshield (and I'm not sure if the new ones even have that, so it may not be a consideration for you.) Definitely ask for a longer test drive before you invest, but I think it's a great car!

 

[Cindy B]

DH loves his! It took some getting used to for me (as he almost always uses that one due to his long commute) but now I can switch back-and-forth whenever I need to. I love the truck space/hatch!! We used to have to take my station wagon whenever we did a driving vacation, now we can take the smaller car - the gas savings is wonderful! The only thing I don't like about it is the divided rear winshield (and I'm not sure if the new ones even have that, so it may not be a consideration for you.) Definitely ask for a longer test drive before you invest, but I think it's a great car!

I'm glad you mentioned the rear window.. I found it hard to see out of it, but it may just have been because DH was in the back or the depth perception was off coming from a big car to small car.

We are going to a different toyota dealer and asking for a longer test drive.

 

[WDWBarb]

Drat!! This thread has made me long for the new Prius. I really, REALLY love that solar sunroof!!

 

[Cindy B]

Drat!! This thread has made me long for the new Prius. I really, REALLY love that solar sunroof!!

See, we drove one with that. I think we had a incompetent salesperson (a sales manager filling in due to the holiday)-- this person mentioned that is was NOT really a sunroof you could open.. but it was something that enabled the car to cool faster.

I think we need to go to another dealer..

 

[Cindy B]

Drat!! This thread has made me long for the new Prius. I really, REALLY love that solar sunroof!!

See, we drove one with that. I think we had a incompetent salesperson (a sales manager filling in due to the holiday)-- this person mentioned that is was NOT really a sunroof you could open.. but it was something that enabled the car to cool faster.

I think we need to go to another dealer..

 

[WDWBarb]

See, we drove one with that. I think we had a incompetent salesperson (a sales manager filling in due to the holiday)-- this person mentioned that is was NOT really a sunroof you could open.. but it was something that enabled the car to cool faster.

I think we need to go to another dealer..

I haven't had the opportunity to see one myself (thank goodness, or I'd totally lack sleep about having one!), but I assume it opens?

I found this pic..

 

[Cindy B]

I haven't had the opportunity to see one myself (thank goodness, or I'd totally lack sleep about having one!), but I assume it opens?

I found this pic..

We asked about it.. and she basically "danced" off to another topic. We had never driven one before and wanted to get a feel for it.