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My wife traded her '02 9-5 (which she dearly loved for 180,000 miles) in on a '10 Prius Model IV which she loves just as much, probably more. It's been in the house for nearly a year now, and it's grown on me quite a bit. I'm not planning on trading my '02 9-3 in on a Prius, but in many respects the Prius outshines the old Saab.
The P is no race car, but it's plenty quick for normal driving, such as hitting 70 at the end of up-hill entrance ramps (but not for hitting 90 which, last I checked, is illegal anyway). In the Power setting, it'll pass well 45-70, though not as fast as the Saab did. It holds 80 all day on our hilly (but not mountainous) highways. It accelerates differently than a "normal" car, but once you learn it, it drives well. For 2010, Toyota upped the horse power quite a bit, by the way.
It is silent only when sitting still. If you accelerate even moderately
hard, the gasoline engine kicks in immediately. And even in full electric, the tire noise coming down the street is clearly audible unless I'm mowing grass or wearing headphones.
The comfort is OK for 400-500 mile days for me, but I wouldn't want to push pass that. The leather seats we have are firmer and more supportive than the cloth, as is usual. If the seat had electric adjustments, it would help a lot. It's a bit noisier than the 9-5, but it's quieter and more comfortable than my '02 9-3.
For mileage, it performs best in city driving where it has time to warm up and log consistent miles at 40-60 mph; driving from my son's urban house across the city, I can pull 55-60 mpg if I'm careful, 50 if I'm not. We live in a small town, however, so our in-town trips are rarely more than 2 miles, which hurts the mpg, and highway speeds over 65 hurt it, too. She just drives the car, not paying much attention to how, getting a pretty consistent 44-45 mpg. We've never gotten worse than 40 on a tank.
It's not a finely tune European touring sedan, but it is a technological marvel. If you have the opportunity to get used to one and to learn to drive it, you will find that it's an excellent car for the normal, day-to-day usage most of us drive. It's very different from the three Saabs we've owned--not better or worse, but different.
Main thing is, however, that the wife who bought it loves it just as much or more than she loved her Saab. That's pretty important, too.
posted by 70.233.130...
, Sat, 29 May 2010 09:30:57
, Tue, 25 May 2010 15:29:08
, Wed, 26 May 2010 09:26:03, Tue, 25 May 2010 10:33:14
, Tue, 25 May 2010 18:03:02, Thu, 27 May 2010 16:05:12
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