My drive home from San Francisco was unhurried, allowing the Prius to return 44 mpg over the final 300 miles. The fact that one of the highways I'd planned to use was closed (because of a fire) probably helped, too, as I drafted off the trucks on Highway 46 while waiting for an opportunity to pass. Full throttle was essential during passing attempts, but it was hardly a white-knuckle event -- for a hybrid, the second-gen Prius is acceptably quick. Highway 46 is of course where James Dean was killed 51 years ago. Here's a question: If he were alive today, would he trade his 550 Spyder for a Prius? I expect he'd be impressed by the Prius' stability at high speeds, but put off by the vacant feel of its electric steering.
Ride quality is not really a strength of the Prius. The suspension keeps the ride reasonably smooth on the highway, but it's about as forgiving as my mom's '93 Accord -- tolerable by today's standards but not ideal. There's also quite a bit of road noise. Besides that, the driver seat gets uncomfortable on long hauls. The biggest problem is the minimal number of adjustments. The steering wheel is mounted close to the dash and doesn't telescope. (And although I eventually memorized the location of most of the buttons on it, there's a few too many to call it ergonomically correct.)
And the seat bottom cushion doesn't adjust for height. Finally, the cushion itself just isn't that supportive after 4-5 hours.
I loved the extra large center console container, though, which held about eight of my CDs (no iPod jack in this car, remember), and the perfectly placed twin cupholders that fold out of the front of the console.
Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor, 44,108 miles
kurtamaxxxguy says:
03:15 PM, 10/22/06
Thanks for feedback on the Prius. Sounds like a nice inter city car but not for the 14 hour road trips I have to take from CA to OR (lots of mountain ranges mixed with flat stretches) ever so often.
Perhaps Toyota should consider that French supplier making seats for Audi, Saab and (gasp) Chevy Malibu - those maintain comfort for the long hauls.
oscarmv says:
11:19 AM, 10/23/06
Hmmm... my Jetta TDI pulls better mileage numbers on the highway (even over 50 according to the onboard computer, although I think it tends to be overoptimistic) but worse on true city driving (40 mpg at best). I'm guessing the Prius gets the uncontested crown on city driving though (also, try buying a TDI in California anyway). My usually relaxed driving style and the manual transmission probably help too.
drjames says:
04:55 PM, 10/23/06
Too me, what's even more important is the emissions the prius emits, something TDI can only dream of. Afterall, we're talking about what's good for the environment.
jerrywimer says:
05:59 AM, 10/24/06
Neither can be called "good for the environment" drjames. See my reply to your other post on the Prius.