Diesel / History of

[trollbait]

Originally Posted by benlovesgoddess

Ha ha! Cheers mate. Yeah, it cost more than I wanted to pay (around £26,000) but comes loaded like no other car I've owned, and delivered a truly comfortable and impressive ride. One immediate niggle - comes with "17 alloys, the "15 ones have better economy figures and are an optional minus £400 to the sale price! Also need to brake to recharge batteries, so must unlearn no brakes style driving...Anyway, I ll post mpg figures soon as I get it, and empty the tank!

Congrats. I recommend looking into PriusChat. It's an active community with even a few non-Americans.

Technically, the Prius and other Toyota hybrids have an eCVT. From the user end, the important difference is that the eCVT has the maintenance requirements of a manual as opposed to an automatic CVT.

The regen brakes are there to capture much of the energy that most drivers throw away. The no brakes style will still get you better fuel economy in the Prius that using them. You actually want to learn how to feather the accelerator so that the engine/motor doesn't come on, and the simulated transmission drag from the regen goes off.

I had a 2005 Prius for a couple of years, and by all sounds, the new gen 4 is a big improvement in driving dynamics over the previous ones. Too bad about the larger wheels. New owners, mostly in the pleasant weather of California, aren't having much trouble beating the EPA ratings. Those are 54mpg city/50 highway/52 combined. Those numbers are on the 15" wheels(they aren't required to post separate results for different wheels here), but the EPA revised some testing rules, making the results a little more conservative.

[Draigflag]

Ben are you saying they charge more to fit a smaller wheel? For that price you get a nice aftermarket set with eco tyres and a smaller rim if you wanted to better your fuel efficiency. Keep the originals wrapped up and pristine so if you sell the car, they look like new

[benlovesgoddess]

Cheers trollbait, I'll find that, as I enjoy a good chat about my ride! Quite the opposite Draigflag - it costs £400 less to have the smaller and more eco friendly (but also less striking in mine and the wife's opinions) wheels. However, ordering a new Prius in your choice of colour and trim means a wait till August... Taking the one and only showroom model meant colour/spec/trim as available - which is the business edition plus, in pearl white with the "17 wheels. Just hope they've done all the underseal n stuff ready for tomorrow...! Plan is to start off on the" 17s and maybe look at buying a set of "15s at the same time as I start needing to replace the tyres.

[ChewChewTrain]

Originally Posted by benlovesgoddess

Yeah, brand spanking new, new shape! Just been out here 1 month? US figures for it on here give 10 mpg more than the previous Prius. Had a choice of waiting till August or taking the one out of the showroom...white not my first colour choice, but love it in pearl. It is the 2nd spec down from the top (out of 4) - got more toys than I'll know what to do with! Just hope it's ready for me tomorrow...

Gee. If you have to wait 'til August, why not wait a bit more and get the soon to be released, US$35k, all electric, GM Bolt with a 200 mile driving range?

[benlovesgoddess]

Cheers ChewChewTrain - but I didn't fancy waiting till august, should get the Prius this week...
Just came back from a 500 mile holiday - I take 2 or 3 such driving trips per year sometimes 1,200+ if up to the top of Scotland. If I'm honest, though I'm interested in electric (would have taken a plug in Prius if they made a 4th gen one) unsure of true cost of ownership/reliability of technology. Plus GM/Vauxhall not in my list of favourite manufacturer choices (we already have the Vauxhall Ampera). I REALLY liked the handling/gadgets/CVT/potential economy of the Toyota. Gimme a break, I was diesel only until yesterday, this Hybrid can act as a potential gateway into pure electric...!

[Draigflag]

You bought at the right time anyway, as of early next year, you would have to pay £140 a year road tax. The idiots this time are actually penalising drivers of green cars now, and get this, if you bought a new expensive hybrid that cost over £40,000, even if it did 300 MPG, you'd pay more Road tax than someone in a heavy polluting SUV if it were less than £40,000. What will they come up with next?...

[ChewChewTrain]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

You bought at the right time anyway, as of early next year, you would have to pay £140 a year road tax. The idiots this time are actually penalising drivers of green cars now, and get this, if you bought a new expensive hybrid that cost over £40,000, even if it did 300 MPG, you'd pay more Road tax than someone in a heavy polluting SUV if it were less than £40,000. What will they come up with next?...

Next? I dunno. Got any suggestions, Draigflag?

Same is happening in the states. Electric power companies in Hawaii, California, and Arizona, that I know of, are seeing what's happening. They're successfully lobbying the government to screw rooftop solar panel owners AND discourage future panel owners.

Is "getting screwed" a term only used in the colonies or do I need to interpret?

[benlovesgoddess]

Wherever there are citizens, the government and their buddies will find a way of screwing them...!

[ChewChewTrain]

Originally Posted by benlovesgoddess

Wherever there are citizens, the government and their buddies will find a way of screwing them...!

But, when we voted for them, they seemed like nice, caring people that want to make the world a better place for all of us. WHAT HAPPENED?

[benlovesgoddess]

Ha ha ha! (Fuelly tells me that is too short a laugh - so ha ha ha HA!)