Less gas more features

During this review I will not use the word "peppy" or "green". Fact is, if you are looking for a "green" car do not look at the Prius. Going Green refers to the entire lifecycle of the object and from concept through the life of the vehicle, the Prius has one of the highest total energy usage per mile of any mass produced vehicle. The bigwigs at Toyota though understand the mind of the American consumer where perception is more important than reality. The Prius is the perfect way for the new generation of yuppies to show they are doing their part without giving up comfort and convience. The company I work for leased the Prius for me, if not for that I would not have purchased one on my own. The Yaris, Ford Focus, Chevy Cobalt, Pontiac Vibe all offer similar features, get good (not as good as the Prius) gas mileage for a much lower sticker price. The new Ford commercials are correct, doing my own calculation with the cost difference between a Prius and a top of the line Ford Focus, I would have to drive a purchased Prius for 8.37 years to start saving money over the total cost of the Focus.

That being said, I absolutely love the car. I got the Standard with Package 6, which includes the navigation system, 6 CD changer, 9 speakers, bluetooth through the audio system, High Intensity Discharge headlights(HID), cover for the back area etc.

For those that don't know much about Hybrids; the car is powered with a 1.5 litre 4 cyclinder gasoline engine and a permanent magnet AC synchronous electric motor. The engine produces 76 hp (which isn't much) at 5000 rpm (which is very close to redlining), the electric motor produces 67 HP at 1200-1540 rpm. When working together it produces what I would consider adequate acceleration from stop and pretty good acceleration at highway speeds, increasing from 55 to 70 mph for example. If you are caught in traffic for just creeping from stop light to stop light the car will run primarily on the electric motor. At cruising speeds of 40-50 mph you will primarily be using the gas engine. You don't have to do anything except hit the gas pedal (although they may have to change the name of it to a "go" pedal or something) the system determines the best way to get to or maintain the speed you are driving. The battery that powers the electric motor automatically recharges when you, brake, coast down a hill, or when the gas engine is being used. I've had my car for almost a week, have driven 850 miles and have averaged 46.3 mpg overall. So I'd say the Toyota engineers have done a good job marrying the two systems to give the best overall performance.

For the driving experience, I would rate it as follows:

Comfort 4.5 stars (on a 5 star system). I'm a big guy the seats are firm without being too hard, decent thigh support for longer legs, and the seats are wide enough where I don't feel I'm being pushed on the sides. Would be a 5 star except (and this seems to be a problem with all Toyota's I've driven) the seat seems to slant forward slightly and there is no telescoping steeing wheel, so I have to move the seat a little more forward than I would like for my legs so my arms are comfortable.

Accessories 5 stars. I will try to keep my review to the accessories that are available on all but the most base model. There are numerous controls on the steering wheel for the radio, lights, cruise control, information system, etc. All are easy to find even when driving at night. The base package 2 includes; a back-up camera which is a must because it's hard to see out the split back window and the camera is very clear and easy to see again even at night. Auxillary jack so you can plug your ipod or other mp3 device into the system and it plays through the speakers. Smart key system(I will discuss later in the review), Vehicle Stability control for safety and crusie control.

Smart Key system: 4 stars. This feature is great, you never have to take your key out of your pocket. If your car is locked when you lift on the handle the car unlocks. When you sit down and press the power button(there is no ignition to turn) the car powers up. I would give this 5 stars but I have a concern that if someone gets mugged and the mugger gets the smartkey, not only did the person get mugged but then their car will be stolen because all the person would have to do is lift the handle of every Prius until it automatically unlocks.

Hatch area: Has good room, but I knew moving to this car that would be an area that would be sacrificed somewhat. It has enough room to carry $100 worth of groceries easily. $150-$200 worth totally fills the space and requires some creativity. There is a convient storage area where the lug wrench is stored. I visit construction sites so I always keep a pair of boots and a hard hat in my car and they all fit in there nicely.

Overall driving experience 4.5 stars: Visibility is great all around the vehicle. It drives smooth on all types of roads, feels safe on the highway, controls are easy to find and easy to use. Turning and cornering is tight and controlled. Car seats are easy to put in and take out (my wife drives a Lincoln Aviator and car seats are easier to put in and take out and the kids have more leg room in the Prius than in the Aviator). I live out in the middle of no where, it's 2 miles to the nearest paved road and it's 15 miles to the nearest WalMart or grocery store and at least once a week I drive 2-1/2 hours to San Diego. So during a normal trip I drive on all types of road...dirt, country paved, highway, stop and go, etc. Of all the vehicles we have (Aviator, Chrysler Town and Country Minivan and an Oldsmobile) it handles all the road as good or better than any of those vehicles... other than soft sand, I've already been bogged down and had to work to get it out.

Now for some of the features that come with package#6.

Navigation system: Seems good... it's DVD based so to get updates I would imagine you have to take it to a Toyota dealer and get a new DVD. Nice big, bright screen, have the choice between the view following your direction or locked in permanent north. One bad thing is, in the US we show the North arrow as the most bold... in this navigation system the South arrow is the most bold. Takes some getting used to. The sytem is also voice activated, but I have yet to try that feature so I cannot comment on it.

Bluetooth connection through the system. Very nice feature, especially in California where hands free is the law. If you're listening to the radio or a CD it will turn off the radio or pause the CD while the phone is connected. Bluetooth and Nav system have their own speaker which sounds good and plenty loud enough. The mic on the bluetooth is good. The people I talk to say I sound very clear (although some of that has to do with the phone signal strength as well).

Leather seats. A bit hot even though they are ventilated. But comfortable and I'm not so worried if the kids spill something because they should clean up easily.

JPL sound system: Gets louder than I need. Good sound in all media types. 6 CD changer is nice, especially when you like to listen to audio books like me.

I would recommend this car because it does what it's supposed to do... get very good gas mileage and it does it with adding a lot features that you'd expect on a car that is near $30,000. But shop around to different dealers. I found one that, instead of marking up the sticker price they actually gave a $100 rebate. Another dealer I talked to added special rims and marked it up almost $10,000 so shop around. Also expect to wait. Not only is the vehicle in high demand right now, but they are manufactured only in Japan and Toyota allocates so many to each dealer per month. I waited almost 6 months.