guys I am about to take delivery of a new Prius T4 after years of driving conventional (and manual) cars and, like a big kid, I cannot wait! I only test drove the thing of Saturday and simply had to have one. My one is apparently part of a consignment on its way to England from Japan (since none of Toyota's European factories make them). I have read how well these vehicles sell in the US. The odd thing is that I see very few of them in the UK (where petrol is almost $2 a litre!). Crazy or what? Anyway, once I own it I will doubtless have a better understanding of the issues on this site.
Exciting times! I know the days I spent waiting for delivery were nail-biters. Once you get the car, don't worry too much about all the advice you see around here... just drive around and enjoy it. Then, once you're well acquainted with your new ride, start in with the driving tips (the infamous pulse-and-glide), the modifications, and the rest! Also, read the manual. It's not great bedtime reading, but it will answer some current and future questions. Welcome to the club!
Laurance, welcome to PriusChat! I tell people all the time, "regardless of the amount of reading you do, you will not truly understand the car until you actually own it. For me, it was seven months of reading and writing and conjecturing and waiting. Once I was behind the wheel and driving it daily then it all made sense. Be sure to snap a few pictures once you get it.
"I have read how well these vehicles sell in the US. The odd thing is that I see very few of them in the UK (where petrol is almost $2 a litre!). Crazy or what?" Fuel efficient cars in the US are still kind of a novelty here. We've had cheap gas (petrol, relative to the world) for so long, that fuel effecient choices just weren't in style. You have many more choices in Europe. On my last trip to France, two years ago, the only Japanese cars I saw were a few Toyota Yaris, (diesel, I think), though we loved driving our rented Golf TDI. And lots of Smart cars. In America, especially southern California, Japanese cars are more popular than US domestics, (except big-arse SUVs). I haven't been to the UK for a long time, but still believe you have lots of domestic econo-car choices. In America, Prius is the only game in town considering MPGs, comfort, space utilizaton, and useable performance, at least as I see it. I love my Subaru, but the Prius doubled my gas mileage, without giving up hardly anything, except AWD. Prius traction control is no substitute for real AWD! As for US popularity of Prius, the tax incentives, and HOV access (when available), caused spikes in the sales chart, at least it influenced my purchase.
