Bob , I live 120 miles north of you on the border, so I shop in the US from time to time. I was all set to purchase a Prius in Colville WA., but when I told them I lived in Canada no dice. Toyota has a agreement not to sell new cars across the border. You can purchase a used one , but not new. The price was $22000.00 US and $32000.00 Can.. Big differance! H

 

The Prius might feel a bit sluggish when you ease into the accel at small throttle openings,and low speeds.However,when you really hit it- nearly full gas full electric at lowish speeds(20-45mph) it positively jumps by comparison to the HCHII.It has so much more electric torque that it can really go when it is fully engaged.This low RPM torque isn't as effective as the speed increases-it just isn't that much hp.It does really help when you are gunning it up to match speed on a city onramp. or having to pass on a low speed country road.
The rear view on the Prius is maybe 5/10 when driving and using the rear view, it is about 1/10 when backing up.It is just about as bad as a pickup with a camper top in respect to backing up.You absolutely have to turn a 180,and stay at 180 until you complete the back up.
Now, we have the backup camera,and it gives a great view of things hidden in the blindspot directly behind the car.I can see the driveway just 6" behind my rear bumper on the passengers side(the side away from the camera).This is excellent, but I'm not from the video game generation,so I can't bring myself to rely on it. It I can train myself to use the camera,I might consider the backup rear view to be good.
Has anyone out there been able to bring themselves to completely rely on the backup camera?
Charlie

 

This is one of the things that really irked me about my Toyota Sienna. The trip computer *always* overstated the mpg by 15 - 20%. I know, because on each gas receipt I compute the actual, and record the claimed Toyota mileage. Always off, and always in their favor.

The gas gauge does the something similar. It will read Full for days and days of driving, before finally going down. You get the impression of fuel economy, but it is fibbing to you. The downside is that when it reads, say, 1/2 tank, it really is 1/3 tank. ARghhh.

The biggest irk of all is that many newspaper reviewers cite the trip computer's claimed mileage. One example is USA Today. That guy does a pretty good job on reviewing cars, but always uses the trip computer instead of computing the mileage himself.

 

And the HCH2 almost always underestimates the gas mileage...(For me at least). Crazy.

 

I have been having a hard time trying to get a "true" calculation myself.

It says that its a 12.3 gallon tank, but every time I fill up... I am only putting in about 10.5 gallons or so +/- .5 gallons. I drive until the last bar is showing.

If I am doing a manual calculation, should I be dividing by 10.5 instead of the normal 12.3 ? My normal calculation is done by using MPG stated on the dash and TOTLA miles driven.

 

I always take the number of miles driven (from trip meter)/gallons put in at next fill up. miles/gallons. This will give you the most accurate numbers. I never top off so ideally I am only replacing the amount of gas that I have used since my last fill up, which is what makes it accurate. In the real world, some gas pumps click off at different times, and parking on a non flat surface will drastically change the amount that goes in. In the end though, you will average out pretty well.

About the Empty thing...I've driven when there are no bars left for a while, but even then I only put in 10.8 gallons that time. What I usually do is take my current dash MPG from the computer and multiply by 12.3 gallons. This gives you the number of miles you theoretically can get at your current efficiency. I then look at my current number of miles and subtract, giving me how many more miles left I can go on the tank. I always chicken out after driving for a little bit with 0 bars though, even I still have a lot left by my calculations. This topic has been discussed on this board but no one really wants to risk seeing how much they can really use up!

 

Black Ice- Do the number of miles driven divided by the gallons of gas that you filled up with. The tank has a pretty big reserve, so you can still go a ways after the last blip disappears.

 

I appreciate your guys input/advice. Along with the MPG talk I have also been reading about the tire PSI. I went to the gas station last night and my it was at about 22PSI all arround. That also may have a factor on my MPG. I added air to all tires to reach the 40PSI mark.

My test continues !

It seems that this is the first car that I am very cautious about what I do, and how I do it. I keep a close eye on the MPG and the RPM's. What I love is that it keeps you thinking and focused on what you are doing... its like playing a game.
UP, UP, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start <---- code to get better MPG LMAO!

 

Got a good chuckle out of that one, but isn't there a "B, A" between the second right and the select?

 

Well, you know when you are at work and are suppose to be working.... and boss walks in ? I kept typing and hit sent right away, with out checking it.

I am glad I made someone chuckle. I will edit it