I took delivery last Thursday, but really started driving the car on Monday. I commute from Baltimore to Arlington.

Today was terrific! I got the navigation system ... I had to visit various government agencies in DC today to get papers to send my daughter to the People's Republic of China later this month for a year as an exchange student.

I don't know DC at all.

The navigation system solved all my problems, I not only learned Georgetown (where the PRC has its Visa office, interestingly), but also some back roads in Arlington that I've avoided for years. Goodby Mapquest and AAA Triptiks.

With slightly over 500 miles, I'm averaging nearly 48 mpg (including time watching the navigation system instead of the power statistics), which is 2x the mileage on my old car (a 1998 Bonneville with 262,000+ miles). The seating in the Prius is also more comfortable.

On my commute between DC and Towson, I'm getting around 56 mpg. I did have to modify my driving habits, but I was prepared for mileage feedback -- I have the same on a Chevy Trailblazer (on which I'm grateful if I get close to 20 mpg on a long highway trip).

The Prius is a great investment.

 

Glad you're enjoying your new Prius! I'm in Baltimore also. I just got my Prius about two and a half weeks ago. (Has it been that long already?) I already have 1,500 miles on mine. Which color did you get? I got the barcelona red with the nav system, too. I love it, best purchase I ever made.

 

We're "week one" owners also and share your enthusiasm. We've gone from 15mpg in a Dodge Dakota to 54 mpg in our Prius. We live just down the road from you in Charlottesville, VA.

The learning curve is steep on this vehicle, but the rewards are even greater. So far our only "complaint" is that the 12v adaptors for things like our cell phone charger don't work.

 

Mine is Seaside Pearl (= blue). I'm up to about 650 miles today. I need to work on stop and go traffic. Today my mileage sank below 50 mpg -- lots of congestion on the BW Parkway. But I'm still getting >2x the mileage on my previous commuter vehicle.

I see that you got an iPod jack added. My daughters have iPods, I'm thinking of getting one to listen to audiobooks (Audible). There's a jack built in to my vehicle, but it doesn't seem to have any controls, like on the steering wheel. How do you like the accessory that you had installed?

I also want satellite radio. I have both XM and Sirius in my Bonneville. I spoke to the radio guy who's associated with my dealer (Castle, in Dundalk) and he says that Toyota will have a factory-certified Sirius unit within 2 months. Sirius has Howard Stern and more NPR channels than XM (I listen to both). The place where I've gotten my audio in the past says that they can install an amplifier and new speakers without affecting the Toyota warranty.


I'm also doing the Lojack -- but they're supposed to come to my house this Saturday.

 

I visit Natural Bridge & Lexington, on the other side of the mountains, frequently. It's beautiful country. I haven't taken the Prius down there yet, but I likely will on the next trip.

 

I got the SoundLinQ SLI. I like it well enough, it's much better than the auxillary jack. There's another option out there, the DICE jack, but I'm not sure it integrates as well with the Nav screen.

Pros:
superior sound quality
charges the iPod unit while car is on, shuts off automatically when car is powered down
steering wheel volume, disk up/down, sound up/down controls work
integrates well with the nav screen, you can view song titles and choose playlists
you can manually operate the ipod, if you wish

Cons:
you can only browse playlists, you can't browse by artist/album/song/genre, etc.
limited data available, you can ONLY view the playlist and song name unless you browse to details
the nav screen turns off the "details" button and the "folder" (playlist) list buttons when the car is moving (GRR)

The DICE unit allows you to browse by artist/album/song/playlist by pressing the disc buttons. Though I'm not sure it integrates as well into the nav system (it may not at all, it may just look like an additional CD changer). I don't usually browse through my iPod, I either stick to a playlist or shuffle all the songs on the unit. So this works okay for me, I just made a playlist called "The Whole Shebang" and put my entire library in there.

I'm not 100% sure that it's not draining my battery. I'm worried that it might be, but I won't know until I drive it a bit more. I imagine my MPG will go way down since the car will need to kick the engine on to charge the battery. I can't imagine it uses more power than the 6-disc CD changer, but you never know what's going on behind the dash!

 

Last week was the first week I had my Seaside Pearl Prius and I love it! However, I'm only getting about 45 mpg. I'm using a lot of the strategies that I have read and have increased my tire pressure slightly. Air is on auto set around 80 and I have some distance and some around town driving. My question is, will my mpg increase with time? I'm still getting more than double what I was getting with my mini-van, but I feel like I must be doing something incorrect. Thanks!

 

My first fill-up was 39 MPG and I was tempted to turn around and drive back to the dealer. But then I studied the car and learned what works and doesn't work. Those lessons are in the FAQ so you might take a peek.

Bob Wilson

 

I just purchased a Driftwood Prius with package 3 last week, so far the first tank was 52.4 MPG and the current tank is averaging 58mpg I have been doing a lot of coasting and added air to the tires. This is a huge step up in fuel economy from a jeep wrangler that was averaging 12.4 mpg.