Monday, August 01, 2005

The Prius

DSC00833
DSC00833,
originally uploaded by jwoods11.
We have had the Prius for about 4 weeks now. I love this car. It has about 850 miles on it. I've filled it up once. It only took 8.625 gallons (it has an 11.9 gallon tank). I would have filled my Explorer about 3-4 times to go that distance. It's already saved me about $75, minimum. It's also the quietest car that I have ever driven, on a par with a luxury car like a Mercedes or a Lexus.

Driving the Prius is a learning experience. It's kind of like getting a new computer with a new operating system, and trying to learn a few new features every day. I've managed to pick up a lot of good information from the Yahoo Prius group-it's full of bright people-and from a few really good web sites.

It has changed my driving habits. I find myself looking at the consumption screen all of the time and monitoring my current mileage (I'm getting about 51 MPG on my second tank). This often causes me to drive more fuel efficiently, but also slooowly! There have been a few complaints. But none when we get the lower credit card bill with one or two gas purchases a month!

What a great car. I wish everyone could have an opportunity to drive one of these.