Hello So, I bought a prius c.. kind of on thursday I went to take one for a test drive, only they had sold out of them all so they didnt have one to drive They said they have been selling them before they even hit the shore, they sold the 9 they were alloted right away, so toyota was sending them 2 more, one was already sold the other was in the middle of the pacific. and the only way to test drive one or even touch one would be to purchase that car, with the full right to refuse it if i dont like the colour or how it drives etc. It is a Technology premium package which i think is equal to your guys #4 only i have the 16" wheels standard. in the magnetic grey. i was hoping for white, and they are going to see if they can trade it for a white one if any dealers in BC or quebec have white ones being shipped over. On my invoice where it lists the features,It also says leather wrapped instrument, now i havent seen anything online that shows what this is? This will be my first hybrid, Right now im driving a 97 acura cl 3.0 and im tired of paying over $300 a month for gas.. Question, I like to go to the drive in, now standard thing to do is after an hour or so, start your car and let it idle to charge up the battery, how will this work in the prius? as when you hit power the gas engine dosent turn on. Im 6'2 220lbs. how roomy is the car? good lumbar support in the seats? ( i have a ruptured disc in my back) does the navigation show traffic and reroute you around it? cant wait for it to get here so i can take it for a spin.
No, you don't need to let it warm up. As Wayne Gerdes says, just turn it on and drive, don't worry about the people saying otherwise. There's no appreciable difference in how it drives while it's warming up. As for your size, I imagine there will be enough space for you. It will be a little tighter than other cars, though. The seats have pretty good support. I'm not sure how the navigation works, I have the C2.
While at the drive in, if you have anything running that uses electricty, like the radio for movie sound, or any other accessories, to the point where you are worried about the battery, just leave the car on. The gas engine will turn off until it senses that you have used too much battery and then it will turn on automatically to recharge it, turning off again when done. You don't need to worry about it. The car is plenty roomy at least in front for some one your size, but you'll get a better feel for that when you finally drive one. The seats are comfortable, but if you have back issues, you'll need to buy something for lumbar support. I don't have any ruptured discs, but I felt that need for more support at that spot and bought a cheap support for two bucks. There's no lumbar adjustment built into the seat back. I have only used the navigation system once, but I believe if you have Entune activated and hooked up to a smart phone you can get traffic and construction rerouting to work. Maybe someone with more experience there can answer that one for you.
I'm 6'3 200 lbs. and I had to put the seat back. At first, I couldn't fit in it and I was like" that's that farthest the seat goes back?!", but then the sales guy showed me the lever on the side I had to "pump" in order to move the seat. Then I had a good amount of room including the head. I did not feel cramped at all. I can't tell you if the seat was comfortable though. I was more focused on the driving experience which was fun. I plan to buy one soon.
thanks for the info, Im sure room wise it will be ok, i used to drive my ex GFs chevy aveo hatchback with no problems. Hows the car on the highway? avg speed of traffic around here on the highway is about 120-130 kph/70- 80mph will i be able to cruise with traffic flow no prob?( i know mpg will drop at that speed)
You'll have no problems at 70-80 mph. Although you may moderate your speed somewhat after a while, as many Prius owners do when they come under the spell of those contant visible reminders of gas milage on the dash. It will cruise up there easily, and if you suddenly need some power to pass, the car can be surpringly spirited when you just floor it. There will be a fair amount of engine noise for a moment when you do, as the transmission apportions your demand between gas and electic. The gas engine is small, and thus makes a bit of noise when pushed really hard.
You mentioned both BC and Quebec. Which one are you in? If you are in or near the Vancouver area, at least a few dealerships have a Prius C that can be test driven. Granville Toyota says they have a tester on the lot but none to sell; Destination Toyota told me earlier this week they had three Technology units on site. You could also join Modo the Car Co-op and test one of the Prius C units in their fleet. I don't know if Communauto in Quebec has this model. Also for the Americans here - Entune is a USA-only feature. In Canada the units sold with the touchscreens are called Display Audio with Navigation I think. I have not used it myself so I can't report whether it is able to use cellular data over Bluetooth the way Entune does in the USA.
Im in Ontario The dealer checked and there were no Prius C's in the "central" area of the country. So he was going to check the other zones ( quebec and east, then bc alberta etc)
so, my car has been in port for a bit now.. only there was a rail strike , so delivery eta has been delayed.. to the 28th. grr sucks waiting, ecspecially when i had to fill up with gas again last night.. another $60 for the week lol
Just wanted to chime in on the highway driving. I've had my C3 for almost two weeks. This morning I decided to drive it all out, disregarding the mpg meters and eco score, and go 75-80+ mph on the highway ( most of my commute is on the highway, and there was lighter traffic today). It handled nicely, and I was able to easily overtake and pass tons of cars. I don't really want to drive like that every day, but nice to know I can if I want (and my mileage ended up at 50mpg for the trip).
So, Toyota screwed up and the car i paid for, isn't the car that was being shipped across the ocean from japan to me.. its the model below the one i wanted.. ( technology standard) And they wont be able to get a premium package model probably until next year! so.. they have offered to do the leather seats, rims tires and moonroof via aftermarket if i want too Does anyone know anything about aftermarket moonroofs? I picture a creepy guy cutting a hole in the roof with a sawsall. are they as good, and look as nice as a factory moonroof?
Your dealer is not looking hard enough or far enough. Others have complained of not being able to find a C4 without a moon-roof and 16" alloys. But it could be a temporary regional issue. I can't imagine it taking 6 months to get. Try another dealer. There's no way a dealer will do an aftermarket moon-roof and the fake leather seats, at least not for free. The wheels alone would be over $1000.00 even if they gave you credit for the the steel.
Strange how regional the shortages are. The base model I bought yesterday in North Vancouver had been on the lot since April. Galaxy Nexus ? 2
so i just left toyota they can do a moonroof, and give me real leather heated seats, for a little bit cheaper than the premium package. its not covered under toyota warranty, but under aftermarket companys warraty, they cant put the 16" wheels on this package they said. but, it seems a dealer in the area ( well 5 hours or so away) might have a premium package in white ( colour i wanted) so shes going to check in on that and see if its availible, if it is, the're going to trade for that one. ' fingers crossed '
Just my observation after 4000 miles with my C.... I don't tend to agree with Wayne here...I have found if you take off immediately, the C only uses battery power for propulsion, until the the ICE timing, emissions, warm up is complete....then the ICE can begin charging and propelling...I have seen the AMP draw over 125 (Scangauge II) and it does deplete the battery very quickly on brisk acceleration...I find that waiting about 30-45 seconds until "Stage 1b" starts gives the best mileage. (you can actually hear the ICE change how its sounds when it reaches this stage) S1b: this is an extended warming up stage. you also can not enable the EV-Drive Mode during this S1b on Gen3. (you can enable the EV-Drive Mode on Gen2) the ignition timing is now normal, and the engine is able to provide power and charge battery. you are now ready to drive without any penalty of battery discharging. ( A ) if the the coolant temperature is still below 40C after S1a, the warming up continues until 40C. ( B ) if the the coolant temperature is between 40C and 50C after S1a, the warming up continues until 50C. ( C ) if the the coolant temperature is between 50C and 60C after S1a, the warming up continues until 65C. I find that the ICE is able to get to EV mode quicker this way and does not spend more warm up time charging the battery = better MPG...I will have to do some objective testing to see if my observations are actual fact... -M
So, they couldnt get the other one, But they have just ordered the model i wanted (tech premium in white) and it will arrive late summer.(hopefully sooner) Ive decided to go with that one instead of the grey one that on its way there now. figured id wait the extra month or so to get the exact one i want.
I think it is a better idea to go with the factory installed options than take a chance on the aftermarket ones!
And don't just wait. Keep looking and consider traveling to another dealer or having one delivered. Even at 40c per mile bringing one 500 miles is only $200, which is well within negotiation room. At this point the dealer's just getting in the way of you buying from Toyota.
