An Awesome Car with An Awesome Gas Mileage!

Introduction

Since I do get a Hertz rental car special discount coupon from AAA auto mobile club and I heard a lot of stories about Toyota Prius Hybrid gas mileage, I decided to rent the Toyota Prius and try out the 2008 Toyota Prius myself for 2 weeks! I really enjoy driving the Toyota Prius. It is the first time that I feel free from the pressure of spending too much money on gas.

My First Impression

I love the Toyota Prius! The body styling is very pretty compared to the previous model.I didn’t visit any gas station for 2 weeks! I love the computer touch screen in the middle console that controls everything in the car. My wife and daughter love the car very much, they think, the Prius looks very cute.

One thing that I love the most is the starter button. You place the key in the slot, press the brake and press the starter button to start the car. I love that feature.

The Engine, Brake & Gas Mileage

The 2008 Prius 1.5L I4 110 horse power engine is so quiet! I am talking about dead quiet! I couldn’t hear a thing. The gas mileage is amazing, we drove the car around and around and the gas mileage gauge barely moved.

The brakes are great; they stop the car very promptly. Toyota claims that the Prius’s gas mileage is 48 MPG, well I say it is around 40 MPG because I drove it pretty fast.

The 2008 Toyota Prius comes with the 1.5L I4 4-Cylinder engine with 110 horse power and 87LB-FT torque and this is what I really impressed me. The engine is quite powerful! I thought the car couldn’t go 80 MPH and I was wrong. Maybe the Prius is a light car or something, but the Prius's acceleration is very good compared to Toyota Yaris.

Safety Feature

I am not sure about the safety feature. It comes with front driver and passenger air bags. I didn't see any side air bags which really concerned me. MSN.com shows that the crash test shows a good result.

I am not sure if it is just an illusion, but when you drive the Prius, you don't feel like the car can protect you very well from a car crash. I wonder if the body integrity can protect the passengers during an actual car crash.

The Interior

The interior of Prius is pretty roomy! The seats are very comfortable. I could drive it all day without complaining. I wish, they put leather seats on the Prius. The trunk size is SMALL, but oh well, it is a small car.

This part really annoys me very much, Toyota uses a lot of plastic for the interior. I mean, They use A LOT OF plastic to design the interior or the Prius. That really makes the car feel a little bit cheap, but comfortable. The plastic squeaks too which really drives me crazy.

Thank God that front and the back seats are very roomy and comfortable, so that helps you from going insane from listening to the squeaking noise. There is enough leg rooms. Compared the the Mitsubishi Lancer, the Toyota Prius has more leg room in the back seats.

Features & Entertainment

There is no MP3 player on the car, but there is an Auxiliary connector for your IPOD. There was only a CD and AM/FM radio, which was fine because it was only a rental car.

No automatic light sensor, you have to turn the light on yourself at night. No adjustable wiper speed and frequency control.

The Handling and Ride Quality

The handling of Prius is average. It is not a sport car, so you can’t drive too fast on a corner or sharp turn. I could feel the body rolls, on a sharp corner at 55 MPH.

The ride quality is exceptionally good, especially on a straight highway. I love it! I could barely feel a bump or roughness on a rough road.

In Conclusion

If you really want to save money on gas! Forget buying those 4-Cylinder cars, buy Toyota Prius! I visited a gas station once in 2 weeks, that’s 14 days away from a gas station and I am sure it will take the pressure out of you financially. If you drive a long commute, you had better buy this car. It is a perfect long commute car!

Toyota Prius surprisingly is a great and fun family car to drive. You can go around and around without spending too much money on gas. It is very spacious and comfortable too!

Thank you for reading my review, I hope this review is very helpful to help you to make a better decision before you buy the Toyota Prius.