UsefulConcept

I have owned my Toyota Prius for a few years now.  Its a 2004 Prius Black and sexy as hell.  I still get a fair number of questions about it.  They are either 'How does it work?' type of questions or 'Do you still like it' types.

First, I should mention that we are actually a multi Prius family.  I put my Prius on order and two weeks later my girlfriend at the time (now wife) put one on order for herself.  Little did we know that her parents had also ordered one.  A few months later all three Prius were delivered and we were happy as clams.  Me with my Black, Jen with her Red and Jens parents with their Silver.

The photos of black prius always have tinted windows like that.  The car isn't that cool looking though without the tint.  I didn't tint them, but secretly I want to.  HOT.

To date none of us have had any trouble with the cars.  They work exactly like they are supposed to.  I have only done basic maintenance.  I know that eventually the large battery banks will need to be replaced, but that shouldn't be for many more years.

I don't drive my Prius very much at all.  I get somewhere between 40-50 mpg depending on the season (colder weather lowers my mpg).  My wife drives all over NH and MA and as such puts a lot of miles on her car.  She has better milage than me.  Closer to 50.  Her parents really try hard to keep their MPG high and as such are always over 50. 

When driving a Prius you see your mpg in real time.  You know that gunning it really kills your efficiency.  You also know that coasting to a stop at a light helps.  It is really fun to try to max your mpg.  Seeing it pegged at 100 mpg for a few miles feels good, if only because your in a car and are bored otherwise.

I tend to drive like I don't care about my mpg and thus I think mine is lower than normal because of it.  Still 45 mpg on avg is freaking great.  Other cars may get that once in a while, but not as an average.  The other day I was well over 60 mpg due to a lot of downhill driving.

The car surprised me in a lot of ways.  It is very roomy for being considered a small car.  When we moved to our new house we used the cars all the time and just put the seats down.  Being a hatchback helped in that regard a lot.  Many many trips to Home Depot.

The interior was also a lot better than I expected.  My last car was a Jeep Wrangler that I drove till it died.  So anything was an improvement, but this car has so many little bells and whistles.  Keyless entry has to be the single best feature.  I don't think I will get a car again without it.  It is that great.  I just walk to my car and it unlocks itself for me.  I don't put my key in the ignition.  It knows I am in the drivers seat and I just press the start button and we go.  If only my house door were that smart.  I would spend serious money to connect my wireless car key to my door lock.

One thing we didn't get is the Nav system.  Since I don't drive much it wasn't needed for me.  Jen didn't drive much at the time either, but now she drives everywhere and so we got a little portable GPS nav unit that has come in very handy.  If you drive much you should consider it. 

The only thing I would change about the car is the computer display.  It may be different in the newer models but I think that the monitor that shows your stereo, mpg, car stats, etc could be utilized a lot more.  The UI is poor, and the information provided is clumsy.  Better than nothing, but I would think you could update it over time or customize it further. Toyota, let us mod it!

Well, guess that is it.  Send me comments with any specific questions.  Happy to answer them.

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