Prius - Road-handling? Favorite features? Major gripes?

Wonderfully so. Suspension and tire technology has come a long, long way.

That's because you're driving a TALL vehicle. The Prius has a low center of gravity, partially due to the aluminum they use.

I have a base model--didn't even come with an AUX in jack to the stereo. So I added it myself (coastaletech.com). I find that beyond that, there's nothing the car doesn't have that I would wish for. Navigation is the big thing people want, and it's easily added on demand for much less than what Toyota wants for its built in system. I use a unit I can take from car to car and while traveling in rental cars.

It has auto climate control, great A/C, and power locks and windows.

Some people swear by the Smart Key System. I don't think it matters, myself, other than for bragging rights. If you need that, fine.

I haven't found any yet. I've been on a couple of long trips in the 6 months I've owned one, and it's VERY comfortable for that--and in the summer, with AC on, still gets 53mpg on the road at 70+mph.

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WTF does your driving a Prius have to do with me just because I'm driving a Prius?

Are you pissed because guys wearing blue shirts don't wave at each other?

I wave at other Prius owners quite often and they've always smiled and waved back. Now, if they're not even looking in my direction that's another story.

I bought my fully loaded '04 in October '03, days after it reached the dealers here. For a year supply couldn't meet supply, and owners virtually always waved at each other in celebration of being so lucky.

Today I have more than 40k miles on the car with no problems and great performance/economy/comfort/confidence, and like other Prius owners I thoroughly enjoy the car, but with the proliferation of the design no one waves any more...

Ours is a 2006 with the full package. It's been great for 18 months and nice to drive on either curved or straight roads -- very solid. I usually drive our other car -- an older Volvo. The Prius doesn't feel quite as strong and sturdy; but the crash test data says the Prius is fine. My only gripe is that the seats are a bit low for my 6-foot frame although the headroom is O.K. I have to say, too, that I prefer manual knobs and switches to electronic screen buttons which disappear just when I want to change something. We get 45-55 mpg -- a bit less in winter with the heater running. At 65-70 mph on the highway, 50.3 mpg is typical.

TKM

I don't know what you have to do with the rest of humanity.

WTF do you have against guys wearing blue shirts? I bet you're from a

So, in your little world you define yourself so heavily by the car you drive that you define the "us" in your "us vs. them" world as being "Prius drivers".

Do you honestly respect that just because we drive the same car, that I (or anyone else) should wave at you??? WTF?

In the 1950s I drove an MGTC and a Norton motorcycle -- each generated waves from similar vehicles. Further, when one of "us" entered a parking lot and noticed another of "us", there was dialog. It was part of the fun of owning and driving such things, while mere mortals were burdened by massive steel monsters that were anonymous and ordinary. My TC was a statement, and hitchhikers kneeled down with their thumbs out as I drove by...

It's a matter of recognizing a shared difference in comparison to the average. When the Prius (the later and more recognizable edition) reached the market, and demand so far exceeded supply, it was inevitable that the lucky ones would wave. Some bought the car because it was green, others because mileage would be good, others (like me) because it was an engineering miracle - but we all waved at each other. I even stopped once when I saw a fellow-Prius-driver pulled over on the freeway. In the days of the fuel-gauge craziness, he had run dry, so I took him to a gas station and back.

Now that Toyota is making so many Prius cars that they are offering incentives to buyers, it's inevitable that attendance at "Prius Club" meetings has dwindled, waves are gone, and it's just another car.

But a truly great one. A technological milestone. And my four year old 2004 remains an example of the single best transportation solution offered by the automobile industry today.

Whoops! Gotta go --- my son just walked in to use my Prius to carry about 2000# of construction junk to the dump (3 trips). With the rear hatch removed and a tarp protecting my aftermarket leather interior, it's a pickup truck.

Ah, another one of those freakos who played the "how many miles can I make display on the dashboard before I fill it up again" game.

Did you ask him why he never played that game with his other cars before that?

It's amazing what glowing numbers on a screen will do to a person.

You took the hatch off??

My car is modified in several ways of which one is an easily removable hatch with a brace to minimize the loss of rigidity. It also includes a SCANGAUGE to permit realtime monitoring of the computer bus, so I can see any four of 14 parameters such as engine load, water temperature, RPM, etc. One of the disk brakes has a sensor on it to permit the display of temperature; every degree UP is wasted gas.

There's more -- obviously this car has become something of a hobby.

I'm embarrrassed to say that I've had just enough gas left twice to just manage to coast into a gas station. The first time was in my old Geo Prizm, though.

Guess again. Didn't say having a car was the ONLY reason to wave.

I guess you ARE one of those people who MUST have some uber reason to be friendly and human because it's not natural for you.

What reason is important enough for you to be get off your high horse and be civilized and friendly? After all, you have nothing in common with anyone.

I guess you are the type that ignores your children because even cows have babies. Why should you care. You are a real cold fish. Sad, pathetic. It must really suck to be you. You have named yourself appropriately to warn others to avoid you. Thanks. No wave for you. Just a finger. :-)

So you wave at everyone as you drive down the street?

In traffic as I drive? I'm busy driving, thank you, to wave at everyone.

Sounds to me like you use both hands to honk your horn, lol.

I have gone through the same experience a couple of times. When I owned a 280Z, all Z owners waved to each other. We even had a Z club. Once the ZX was introduced in 1979, the feeling of comraderie was gone. The car with a soul had just become another car. The same thing happened with the 1983 Tercel 4wd wagon we bought. Since Toyota only made the 1983 with a 6-speed manual and since it was so odd-looking (many called it a 'moon-mobile'), actually it was just a CUV before its time, all we owners waved to each other. I miss the 30mpg and the huge cargo area...fold flat split rear seats and a cover over the area from the rear seat to the hatch...sound familiar? A guy even made a u-turn to follow me all the way to my driveway to ask about the car. When Toyota quit making the vehicle in 1987 and more went to the used car market, you never knew if the driver knew they had something special. I feel that way now about the Prius. I wouldn't dare wave because the drivers of the other Prius would think I know them personally, not because we share the same car choice. I'll start waving again when I'm behind the wheel of my '09 Lith-ion Prius. In the meantime, I'll still low five wave from my motorcycle.

Onlooker wrote:

At least we had our Wave Period... now, with the uniqueness gone as Toyota ramps up Prius production, all that's left is virtually perfect transportation.

The Ford LTD never had a WP. Neither did the Chevrolet Caprice, the Peugeot, the Isuzu, or any of Chrysler Corporation's K-cars (unless it was a request for road assistance).

But I once owned and relished an American car that even today generates not only waves, but pullovers, hoodups, and parking lot discussions. A Buick... not an ordinary one, though. It was called the Grand National, and for two years (1986-7) its intercooled turbo made it the fastest American car - far quicker than a Corvette. With minor modifications, that car would do a

With my 2003 Prius, 68 mph appears to be the highest, efficient speed and appears to give the same 52 MPG seen at 65 mph.

As for handling, we have a 2001 Echo and the Prius takes turns about 5 mph faster without any excitement. The Echo has to go slower and is a little . . . exciting in a bad way.

Bob Wilson