Its been a while, hi folks.
Took delivery of the Prius back in late Feb, excellent service from the dealer, cant do enough for you although their valeting leaves a lot to be desired, as it does in many places these days.
So, the bronze colour - love it, felt like a risk ( my head said be boring and go for black ) but ive seen plenty of premium cars in a similar shade and ive not seen another Prius Plus in this colour, although in 5 months I have only seen three others on the road at all.
The driving experience takes some getting used to certainly, but you adapt to the disconnect between speed, power and noise, to the extent that driving a conventional car feels a bit odd, not to mention noisy. The CVT gearbox feels very natural and it doesn't suffer from high revving although there was an update on this aspect from 2015 onwards so it may be an issue on older examples.
It is a very quiet car except under hard acceleration, remarkably so and even at 75 there is barely any wind noise at all, making my wife's Yaris sound like its in a wind tunnel by comparison.
The sensation of the engine cutting in and out took a little getting used to ( it can do this up to about 50 mph depending on conditions ) but now it feels entirely natural.
You do find that you actively use the power/EV modes ( you can select EV manually below 20-30 mph depending on how warmed up the system is ). The PWR mode is quite addictive around town as it gives a huge lump of torque from a standstill so you do find yourself steaming away from the lights for kicks. I also use the B mode frequently which gives useful engine braking when you need it. I don't tend to use the ECO mode much as it dulls the throttle response too much to be useful, although if you want to make a concerted effort to stay in EV mode it stops you using too much throttle ( which then cuts the petrol motor in ).
The battery charges very quickly, but discharges in about a mile in full EV mode, so with practice you learn to keep the battery topped up via the brakes and when to deploy electric assistance, which has improved initial mpg by about 5 mpg.
Visibility is excellent for parking, its very easy to place in a parking space, I don't really use the reversing camera unless backing up to a low wall etc, but the thick front pillars occasionally create forward blind spots. Turning circle is very good and 3-point turns are a doddle.
Comfort wise it is excellent and a recent 8 hour trip to Cornwall was a breeze, extremely relaxing with excellent adjustment for driving position. The centre armrest is at a perfect height, which doesn't seem important but I use it pretty much constantly.
The ride is very comfortable and for such a heavy car the handling is sure footed, nor does it roll a great deal, though it isn't the kind of car that encourages spirited driving really, its more of a cruiser.
The touch screen is simple enough to use and the eco info is comprehensive, though I don't tend to use most of it, using the instant economy on the touch screen and the energy use on the dash display.
In terms of economy it is currently doing around 55-59 mpg on Tesco Momentum which is fair for a 2 tonne petrol auto people carrier and the free road tax doesn't hurt.
My favourite toy is the heads up display which seems like a gimmick but actually very useful with a central instrument display.
The cruise control is especially good as it will only gain 2 mph downhill, in contrast to that on the Yaris which can gain a lot of speed downhill.
Spacewise I have no complaints, the boot is more than big enough although it is a tad shallow. My wife sat in the back on several journeys and said it was plenty comfortable enough with plenty of legroom, also liking the adjustable backrests.
In terms of reliability it has been faultless and I have no worries on that front, it feels very solidly put together, certainly in contrast to a customer I have with a Land Rover who has had no less than 20 visits to the dealer in under 2 years, some for big mechanical failures.
If I could improve it I would definitely put a bigger battery so it could go further in EV mode and maybe give further assistance under hard throttle so the revs can be further reduced.
The wipers on auto seem to have a mind of their own and most of the time I override them, though a minor criticism. I also loath the beeping when it is in reverse and while I have tuned it out, I wish it wasn't there all the same.
You also cant get to the wheel nuts without taking the wheel covers off which seems barmy to me, esp as the covers are on very tight, but are also very lightweight so require a certain technique to get them off - they also cover alloy wheels, figure that one out...
Overall though I am very happy with it and have no regrets about the choice, it does everything I want and is ultra easy to own/use in the Toyota tradition, even the tech is very simple and intuitive to use on the move.
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Excellent and interesting. Fancy one myself, but not in Chile.
Thanks.
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Thanks Stu. What's it like re fuel economy?
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His report above says 55-59mpg.
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>>What's it like re fuel economy?<<
As stated, 55-59mpg, worse on motorways and A-roads though still easily 55mpg. As it can run a fair bit on electric around town and also charge itself back up via the brakes, this is where is it most efficient.
I have managed 66 mpg on one tank but this involved a concerted effort to use coasting, EV mode whenever possible and lots of planning ahead, which is fine for an experiment but a pain to do every day when traffic doesn't play ball.
Tesco Momentum yields 4 mpg or so over regular UL so worth using.
It has only 5500 on the clock so I expect economy will improve with mileage.
Last edited by: Stuu on Thu 29 Jun 17 at 23:31
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Can you manually select gears, e.g. if going up/down on hilly roads or want additional acceleration etc.?
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>>Can you manually select gears, e.g. if going up/down on hilly roads or want additional acceleration etc.?<<
Well it is CVT so there aren't gears in the conventional sense, but it doesn't have pre-set 'gears' either as my wifes Yaris CVT does.
You get 'brake' mode which gives you extremely effective engine braking effect for going down hill and the Power mode gives you full beans which is useful if you are going up steep hills. The service manager did tell me the technical effect of the Power mode, but I forget now, I recall it does give you extra electric assistance that isn't available in Normal mode though.
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Just booked the Prius in for its first service and apart from the tracking being slightly out, absolutely nothing to report.
MPG still easy 55-60 mpg, totally painless to own and not so much as a squeak from anywhere.
So far a complete pleasure to own, tyres wearing well too, only lost 2mm of tread in 10k which is not bad at all for a heavy car, unless I am the Sergio Perez of Prius drivers and its my driving style - not seen any reports of rapid tyre wear anywhere though.
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Toyota Prius Plus Icon - First 5000 miles - No FM2R
