Joining the Cult of Prius

I learned about the Prius in a magazine article in March 2001. After a test drive of the 2001 model at my local dealer I decided to order a 2002 model on June 1st. I finally got the car on November 6th. Supposedly the waits are getting a bit shorter now, but that part is definitely a bummer.

I have about 100 miles on the car now and it's been a blast. At low speeds and gentle acceleration this car is incredibly quiet because it's driven by the electric motor. When you come to a stop at a traffic light the engine usually turns off and there's no sound whatsoever. Push the gas pedal lightly and you silently start to roll. Push the pedal a bit harder and the gas engine comes on seamlessly; there's no hesitation as it starts.

Not that the engine is a perfect angel, it makes a pretty good racket on hard acceleration. Coming from a manual transmission car, I found it a bit wierd to hear the engine speed vary so much and not have it immediately relate to the ground speed. I also haven't gotten the hang of keeping a consistent speed. It's not a big problem because most of my driving is of the stop-and-go city kind. If you do a lot of highway driving, I'd recommend the optional cruise control.

The Japanese who built this car must drink out of those little V8-size juice cans, because it's the only thing that could possibly fit into bottom of the 2-step graduated hole in the front console cupholder. None of my coffee cups are snug and secure there. BTW, coffee mops out of the carpet pretty well without stains if you get it up while it's wet.

Geek alert: The dashboard of this car is too fun and can endanger your safety! The LCD display can show you all kinds of information about how the car is running. The standard radio uses the same display, and lets you select your station by genre (classical, rock, etc.) or your own presets. If you have a spare $1900 there's a mega-cool optional navigation system that includes a voice to guide you to your destination. (I didn't get it, I had barely enough willpower to resist.)

Reliability? Yes, this is new technology but we're talking Toyota here. If you need more convincing, the car comes with a 3yr/36K bumper-to-bumper warranty, free roadside assistance, and free basic maintenance (oil/filter changes) for the first six 6mo/7500mi intervals. The high-voltage battery and powertrain are warranteed for even longer.

Oh yeah, the gas mileage. It's great. With prices so low right now that's probably not as big an issue as it once was. But they won't stay low forever. I'm getting about 44 mpg for my first 100 miles and I expect it will get even better after the break-in period. EPA averages are 52 city, 45 highway.

The sticker price on the Prius is $20K and you won't find anybody dealing on it. With a waiting list months long, why should they? My dealer took a $500 deposit to make sure I was serious. The car is pretty well equipped but you can add some typically pricey options (side airbags, CD, navigation system, daytime running lights, floor mats, cruise control) if you want to load it up.

Even so, the final price may not be as high as you think it is. Some states will waive sales tax for the car because of its eco-friendly nature, Maryland (where I live) is one of them. That saves $1,000 right there. The Feds offer either a tax credit or a deduction (depending on how you or your accountant read the rules) that can save you thousands more. Plus of course the savings in gasoline.

Want to know more? There are two main Prius "support groups" that can bring you up to speed on this car. One is at groups.yahoo.com, the other at clubs.yahoo.com. (Yahoo bought eGroups a while back which is why there are duplicate groups.) There are also some geek-heavy Prius groups whose messages will probably make no sense to you until you get the car. There's a lingo to learn if you really want to join this cult, such as "stealth mode" which means you're running with just the motor and no engine.

Hey, this a fun car. Come and join us.