Cars are an extension of our being.\u00a0 Those huge, lifted pick ’em up trucks, that “old guy” driving the super flashy sports car.\u00a0 We all kinda chuckle and think to ourselves “I wonder what he’s making up for?”\u00a0 Prius’s have less than a masculine reputation.<\/p>\n
I’m not ashamed to admit it – I like the Prius.\u00a0 I can already hear my co-workers….
\n“You’re Prius is leaking, here’s a tampon”
\n“A Prius tried to race me, I totally had it for the first 100ft, but I can only walk so fast!”
\n“If a Pruis drifts, is it called the electric slide?”<\/p>\n
What can I say?\u00a0 I like the idea of the Prius, and I like its look.\u00a0 So when out in Las Vegas recently, I rented one for a week, this is my review, as unscientific as it is, of a week driving a 2015 Prius 2.\u00a0 Over the course of the week, I traveled 285 miles, using 1\/2 a tank of gas (roughly 6 gallons of 12 gallon tank). I averaged ~ 47.5 mpg of actual city driving over the past seven days.\u00a0 I’m sure there are intimacies of driving this car that I’m simply not aware of (if you own a Pruis, please let me know the details). I found several pros and cons to the car…<\/p>\n
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Pros:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n + Better ride and handling than I expected.\u00a0 The car actually rides pretty smooth with little road noise.\u00a0 The smaller steering wheel kinda gives it a sporty feel.<\/p>\n + The interior is roomier than it looks.\u00a0 It’s not a full sized car, but for a compact\/mid-sized, it was surprisingly roomy.<\/p>\n + I like the display the energy monitor that indicated how much energy the car was using.\u00a0 The display also showed how much power had been regenerated. Near the radio, there was a cooler graphic that had arrows, and a bar chart showing fuel efficiency and recharge rates for the past 30 minutes.<\/p>\n + I liked the interior.\u00a0 The dashboard was nicely laid out, and all controls are within easy reach.\u00a0 The split middle, with shift lever on top, and a storage shelf and DC power point underneath is unique.\u00a0 I especially liked the dual glove compartments.<\/p>\n + Gas mileage was pretty good, averaging 47.5mpg over the seven days, traveling just under 300 miles on 1\/2 a tank of gas.<\/p>\n + Its got clean lines… like a long legged woman, nice and shapely in all the right places.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cons:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n – The car cannot, I say cannot<\/span><\/strong> get out of it’s own way leaving a stop sign\/light.\u00a0 When you initially step on the gas…nothing.\u00a0 After (what feels like a couple of seconds) a second or so, the car gently moves forward; pissing off everyone behind you.<\/p>\n – Power; or should I say complete lack of it.\u00a0 The ECO mode is billed as the best combination of fuel mileage without compromising power.\u00a0 Well….After a week of driving it I can only say this: In POWER mode, the car operates like a normal car should.\u00a0 In ECO mode the car is sluggish, at best, off the line.<\/p>\n – Any gas savings, which is THE primary reason of owning this car, are cancelled out in the power mode.\u00a0 When in the power mode, the miles per gallons go to the 10 – 15 mpg range – totally unsatisfactory for any compact car.\u00a0 The gas engine is simply to small to do anything but charge the electric battery (which it does very, very well).<\/p>\n – When the gas engine kicks on, it isn’t completely smooth and gently jolts the driver.\u00a0 It caught me off guard more than once.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Summary:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I really like the Prius.\u00a0 I really; really wanted to love this car.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I cannot say I love this car, I like it – a lot.\u00a0 I especially like the reasons to own it – taking responsibility and attempting to reduce our countries independence upon oil.\u00a0 Am I willing to spend $27K for one?\u00a0 Unfortunately I can only respond with – not at this time.\u00a0 Does this make me a prude?\u00a0 Would I be prudish for the Prius?<\/p>\n Hybrids and electrics are the way to go…but I may have to open my options to the others that are out there, or simply wait a few more years for them to develop more.\u00a0 What say you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"