OK, so I am picking my Prii tomorrow. I only drove it once before. What should I know about driving it? You press the break and then power button and then wait for the ready sign and go? What's the best milage on the highway to minimize the gas consumption? and the city? what else should I know the first time driving? anything special?
When I first got my Prii, I just drive it like a normal car. But according to the manual, you shouldn't accelerate or brake too hard. And read up a little on the manual to know some general knowledge. If you have time, search the forum for high MPG techniques. Other than that, maybe other experts on this forum can add more. Have fun driving! Scott
Just drive it Maggieddd. You can follow the break-in stuff if you want and I do recommend avoiding any really hard braking or acceleration or high speeds not only during break-in, but all the time. You're going to hear the "Just drive it" mantra over and over. Eventually you'll start learning the subtleties of the car and may want to experiement with techniques to maximize mileage, but just drive and enjoy it for a few weeks. Then, when you wonder why you aren't getting 60mpg, come back here, read my article in the Knowledge base, and go back and drive some more.
I agree, just drive it. I've had mine less than a week and I am slowly getting to know all the cool stuff. I try something new every day. I picked it up Friday, disabled the reverse beep on Saturday, programmed the garage door opener on Sunday, and have been having fun with the MPG and NAV displays during the work week. On my first commute on Monday (40 miles one-way), I averaged 50 mpg, a little less coming home. Not bad. Much better than my old car! Above all, have fun!
Wait, what's all this muck I'm hearing about no hard acceleration or high speeds? Just suggestions, or something else I'm not aware of? Occasionally I will "punch it" (although not flooring it), and maybe cruise along at 75/80mph.
I agree with Squid (again, that is sooo scary) Besides the fact that we all need to release some stress once in awhile, you should know what the car will do. At least once, in any new car, you should accelerate hard so you know how it may get out of trouble through acceleration. At least once, but at a few different speeds, you should brake HARD (even engage that ABS) so you know what it will do when you need it. Hard cornering or quick lane changes should also be done. I make all students in my driving classes do this so they get to "know" what their car can and CANNOT do. Todays computer controlled cars won't break with flooring the gas or brakes. (I would allow 500 or so miles as break in before I floored it too much though)
The owner's manual says no hard braking in the first 200 miles, and no excessive speed (and then they don't define that, but it probably means something like no jackrabbit starts and stay under 65 MPH) in the first 600 miles. Before you drive away from the dealer, sit in it for a half hour and read the "before you drive" section of the owner's manual and at least skim through the rest of it.
