New Prius Owner, Quick Question

[JackTheManStack]

Good morning,

I'm pleased to say I bought my 2008 Prius T-Spirit just over a month ago and I'm really happy with it, especially the £10 per year road tax.

I had a quick question for fellow prius owners, I'm planning a trip from Plymouth to Hull soon (346 miles) and I'm curious how the epic MPG will translate into range.

Has anyone made a similar long distance trip lately ? And if so, how much did you wind up laying out on fuel ? And how much did you have left at either side of the journey ? Would you recommend using the cruise control ?

Kind Regards,

jack

[Chris Dance]

There should be no road tax to pay on a Prius. There is a £10 London congestion charge you can apply for but that perk stops shortly. Cruise control is handy but not essential. Just drive the car in a normal way I reckon you should get at least 60MPG in warm weather.

[PeteB]

Depending how you drive it, a Gen 2 Prius should give 50-60 mpg or better.

As you're not used to it yet, you may not get the best mpg, but should still give you nearly 500 miles on a tankful (Gen 3 has a smaller tank).

I use Cruise all the time as it makes for more relaxing driving, and enables more time looking out of the screen for hazards and less at the speedo. Also can help econonmy on fairly flat roads, but on hilly roads it tries too hard to maintain speed at the expense of mpg. Gen 2 (and 1) cruise controls aren't as helpful at holding speed downhill as Gen 3s, so you'll either find yourself speeding up or braking.

Chris: the road tax will be set according to when a car is first registered, so it may well be £10 a year for jack. Last time I heard, a 2000 year mark 1 Prius was £135, while a 2002 was £15 per year!

[Duffryn]

TBH I find cruise to be pretty much useless in this country due to our congested roads, including motorways. It does give you the chance to move your right leg about a little bit to keep circulation going, but probably time to stop and take a break anyway in that case.

jack may find he can use cruise on the way up the M5 from Exeter, especially at night, but once getting anywhere near Bristol and beyond it becomes almost impossible. I find MPG tends to be better in non-cruise mode too.

[CPN]

Interesting... All I can say is that the cruise control on a Yaris Hybrid must be way better in operation than on a Prius. I use cruise control in mine at even the slightest opportunity, even on urban roads, since control of it is so immediate and accurate. It always gives way better fuel consumption results than trying to second guess the car with the right foot anyway; especially on the mostly flat(ish) roads around here... The odd hill isn't a problem either since knocking it off is immediate and then clicking "resume" on the other side is instant... It is very useful for cruising at exactly 30 mph without the risk of going over through a village or area littered with speed cameras...

[PeteB]

Interesting... All I can say is that the cruise control on a Yaris Hybrid must be way better in operation than on a Prius. I use cruise control in mine at even the slightest opportunity...

I'm with you. I've driven Yaris (and Auris) hybrids with CC, and it works exactly the same in all of them. I use mine whenever possible for exactly the same reasons.

I only wish it worked at 20 mph, as there are some mile long 20 stretches in Norfolk and Suffolk, and it needs frequent glances at the speedo - it's such times I'm particularly grateful for the Prius' heads Up Display.

[kithmo]

There should be no road tax to pay on a Prius. There is a £10 London congestion charge you can apply for but that perk stops shortly. Cruise control is handy but not essential. Just drive the car in a normal way I reckon you should get at least 60MPG in warm weather.

It's a Gen2 Chris, £10 VED p.a. Gen3 is free.

[kithmo]

Interesting... All I can say is that the cruise control on a Yaris Hybrid must be way better in operation than on a Prius. I use cruise control in mine at even the slightest opportunity...

I'm with you. I've driven Yaris (and Auris) hybrids with CC, and it works exactly the same in all of them. I use mine whenever possible for exactly the same reasons.

I only wish it worked at 20 mph, as there are some mile long 20 stretches in Norfolk and Suffolk, and it needs frequent glances at the speedo - it's such times I'm particularly grateful for the Prius' heads Up Display.

Same on the Prius+ works lovely and it doesn't accelerate hard to get up to speed when you resume after suspending due to traffic, I wish I had the adaptive cruise though, it would save me having to suspend and resume in the road works etc.

[johalareewi]

I'm planning a trip from Plymouth to Hull soon (346 miles) and I'm curious how the epic MPG will translate into range.

I frequently do long trips in my Prius (gen3) and the mpgs are good.

It does depend on the weather (wet and windy vs dry and sunny) and your driving style but you should find that your Gen2 delivers similar mpgs on a long run as it dos around town. Check your tyre pressures before you go (underinflated tyres zap the mpgs).

I don't have cruise control so can't comment on that.

[PeteB]

I'm planning a trip from Plymouth to Hull soon (346 miles) and I'm curious how the epic MPG will translate into range.

...I don't have cruise control ...

You certainly do!

It's just the switch that's missing!

[johalareewi]

I don't have cruise control

You certainly do!

It's just the switch that's missing!

I have read your posts about that.

I might just give that a go.

[Mkuk0]

PeteB, I approached my local Toyota dealers about getting this done to my Gen III T3 and was told it couldn't be done, any chance of sharing who your dealer was, or any info I could pass back as I really miss the cruise control.

Many Thanks

[PeteB]

Certainly Russell - it was Dingles of Norwich - worth a drive over.

If you book in with Darren for 0730, you can get a cracking all you can eat breakfast in the Premier Inn next door. By the time you've finished, it will be ready.

If you want to try to persuade your dealer, I posted a link to the parts list when they did it on my T3 here:

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/167783-hybrid-auris-touring/?p=1385665

[johalareewi]

Many Thanks

Nice Bass.

[Mkuk0]

Thanks Pete

Oh and thanks John....I don't have in now, the neck was too narrow for a 5 string, I have a Yamaha TRB5 now, just as gorgeous. I suppose I should update my Avatar lol

[johalareewi]

I prefer a narrow neck on a 5 string. I am still using my Hohner jack 5-string headless.

[Mkuk0]

I got fat finger syndrome lol, had the same problem with an Epi EB0 I had, narrow string spacing confused my left hand, and also meant picking (not natural to me) was catching more than one string. Neither thing was an issue with my Fenders or now the Yamaha.

Anyway back on topic, gonna present that info PeteB supplied to my local dealers and see what happens :)