Brand new to this board. The reason im here, is I think I have an unique situation. I looking for a used Prius - but - have a question about my situation. I deliver newspapers for a living on a 88 mile motor route, much like delivering the mail, with a ton of stop and go being involved. I have about 400 stops during the night, and drive the route myself 300 days a year. My question is, are there any Prius owners on this site - that have used their car in a similar situation. I would love to save the gas money, but, have reservations if this car is hardy enough for this kind of use. My concerns are the transmission, and the life of the battery, due to the stops. So - anyone out there use their Prius like this?? Thanks.
You would not be the first mail delivery Prius owner. And if you learn to brake gently for each stop the fuel economy will be much, much better than your current vehicle. Reliability will be fine. Your use is really no different than 100% city driving.
re: the battery, it suffers the most abuse with sustained discharge followed by sustained discharge (or vice-versa) or usage in high cabin temperatures -- neither of which you will experience. The transaxle is pretty hardy, so long as the fluid is changed. For your usage, that would be every 30,000 miles. There are Prii in tax fleets with over 300,000 miles on them. The only negative to using a Prius as a rural mail carrier or paper delivery is under conditions with poor traction (snow/ice, mud). Then it is about as gutless as a 2wd longbed pickup.
We have a number rural mail carriers, You should be fine. MPG will be low for a Prius, but great compared to your other choices. The computers protect the HV battery so long as the car is running, so leave it running. It has a one speed transmission with 3 power sources and lots of software that gives the driver the illusion it is shifting. Used gently, the brakes are regenerative above 7 MPH, so there will be very little brake wear. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ral-cable-rural-mail-carrier.html#post1222696 http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...carrier-seeks-advice-pruis-2.html#post1101057 http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...1-right-hand-drive-kits-prius.html#post721020
Consensus seems to be that the G3 Prius is much improved over the G2 Prius in traction control, even using OEM tyres.
You might be interested in this similar thread. : http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/90469-anyone-using-prius-newspaper-delivery.html
