My brother in law just bought a Prius and is now on this forum. LOL!!! Recently after buying our Prius many of our friends are all doing the same thing. I guess all it took was a gear head to buy one for the rest will follow.
My 72-year-old dad drives a big Chevy Silverado truck. Since he is on a fixed income, he is extremely sensitive to the gas prices, trying to drive as little as possible. Since I bought the Prius last year he prefers for me to drive extra and pick him up if we are going to his medical appointments rather than drive himself directly. He had been talking about getting another truck, since his is about a decade old, but I suggested that he might get a hybrid Prius or Camry as a regular driver instead, and save the truck for hauling. After he got through laughing about the idea for a full week, he actually started to consider it and now wants a hybrid Camry. I don't know if with his economic situation and age he'll manage to buy one, but yes, an old dog can learn new tricks!
My mom drives a Lexus ES350 (whatever it is, upgrade Camry thing), is thinking about a Prius after she heard the MPG we are getting. She is getting about 22 mpg. (We told her we are getting 50 mpg, we lied).. LOL!
I was lucky enough to score free charging at work. Only had the PIP since Nov but my EV percentage is about 62% right. Can't really complain.
Lied high, or lied low? I was getting 50 mpg until winter set in and the idling to clear the windshield of frost and to keep the passenger compartment warm screwed everything. This week I even had make an unplanned stop mid-trip on a 23-mile commute to fuel up because the idling had cut into the gas store that much. Let me tell you--that is EMBARRASSING in a Prius!
In Winter, put a cover over the windows to keep frost from forming on it, or keep it in a garage. Plug in a block heater to help the car warm up faster... allowing better MPG right away from start. And most important, get some Winter clothing and gloves. The car doesn't need to run in the driveway going nowhere while burning fuel. Your Prius, or any other ICE car, will warm up faster while driving, compared to sitting still under no load. You're wasting a lot of good money on expensive gasoline to make heat instead of miles!
No relatives yet but my best friend and I/me bought a Prius one week apart. He's the type of Prius driver people talk about, negatively. He constantly records 57 MPG+. Being a millionaire, he cherishes the idea of saving gas money and shopping at the 99ct store. I guess there's a reason he's rich.
I keep it pretty cool in the cabin, but since we live in the country and the detached garage is a slough from the house (plus it's jam-packed with two tractors and other equipment for the eleven acres), the coating of hard ice on the windshield is the real issue. Could you recommend a cover that works well to prevent it?
My 2012 Prius Plug-In was intended as a replacement for our 2006 NewBeetle TDI that my wife drives. Almost two months later, she hasn't taken the bait. That's fine, I'm taking the Prius as a replacement for my 2011 Lexus IS 350 off lease in December. I think she'll come around eventually. If so, we'll get another.
Wh When I was shopping for the Prius, DH tried to steer me towards the hybrid Camry. Long story short, I ended up with a Prius. He announces to everyone that he won't get caught dead driving with it, which is fine, because as I have repeatedly said, I don't WANT him to try driving it. The Prius is a bit more complicated than a conventional car, especially in the kind of feedback it provides and the differences in the on/off procedures. I don't want anyone who doesn't appreciate the vehicle to touch it! But it seems that after ten months, and all my stories about dueling with Dodge Rams on the highway and blowing them off starting from the lights, he is starting to come around. He's even suggested that he might take it on short trips, but I still don't want that. Maybe in five years when we start thinking about replacing the'09 RAV4 I'll consider letting him touch my Pri, and then only if he's considering another Pri as a replacement.