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Prius update
Jul. 15th, 2010 11:47 pmI'm still enjoying the Prius very much. I've been feeling a lot of the "smugness" that South Park warned against, especially on days like today when the sign over the interstate reads, "Air Quality Alert. Reduce trips." I'm very aware that my car has fewer emissions than most anything else on the road. I'm also smug about the gas mileage I'm getting, 44-45 in a daily combination of interstate and city street. I'm gleeful over all the toys my car has in it, many of which I still haven't figured out--I can't get the garage door opener set to my frequency yet, for instance.
There are some downsides to the Prius. First, I'm really distracted by all the cool stuff inside. Today I was driving down the interstate and I ran over something kind of big. I think it was part of a tire that an RV had just blown, but I'm not 100% sure because at the time I was figuring out how to load another CD into the changer. I swear I just looked away for a second . . .
Another toy problem is the rearview mirror. It's supposed to sense glare and automatically darken, and it often works great. When it turns on, it gives lights a greenish tinge. If I'm driving on city streets with lots of streetlights, however, the anti-glare function does not kick in.
One mechanical downside is acceleration. It's great getting on to the interstate. When the engine is running, acceleration isn't a problem. But the engine doesn't usually kick in until you're going about 10 mph, and when you're just running on battery, acceleration is slow. That means I can't pull out quickly into traffic. I'm willing to live with this, though perhaps with practice I'll learn to gun the throttle and take off.
All in all, the Prius still gets a 9 out of 10 from me. It's totally worth the penny-pinching I'll have to do over the next 5 years.
There are some downsides to the Prius. First, I'm really distracted by all the cool stuff inside. Today I was driving down the interstate and I ran over something kind of big. I think it was part of a tire that an RV had just blown, but I'm not 100% sure because at the time I was figuring out how to load another CD into the changer. I swear I just looked away for a second . . .
Another toy problem is the rearview mirror. It's supposed to sense glare and automatically darken, and it often works great. When it turns on, it gives lights a greenish tinge. If I'm driving on city streets with lots of streetlights, however, the anti-glare function does not kick in.
One mechanical downside is acceleration. It's great getting on to the interstate. When the engine is running, acceleration isn't a problem. But the engine doesn't usually kick in until you're going about 10 mph, and when you're just running on battery, acceleration is slow. That means I can't pull out quickly into traffic. I'm willing to live with this, though perhaps with practice I'll learn to gun the throttle and take off.
All in all, the Prius still gets a 9 out of 10 from me. It's totally worth the penny-pinching I'll have to do over the next 5 years.