Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/11/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dear LUGgers, Many thanks to the many of you who replied to my Prius query, both on and off-list. I test-drove the Prius yesterday and also looked up the Consumer Reports report on it. I liked the drive very much; the motorway was a bit crowded so I was unable to drive more than 150 km/h, but it certainly felt good enough at that speed. What impressed me the most is the interior space. The Prius is like a Domke bag: small on the outside but big on the inside. I did a very simple test: after we got back to the dealer, I left the driver's seat in the position I had used (and I have long legs), and sat in the back seat behind it. To my amazement, I could sit there comfortably, there was much more leg room than in my current car, even though the Prius is about 40 cm shorter. Of course, there is no free lunch and the Prius trunk is small. But if we want to haul lots of stuff, we still have my wife's minivan. Some responses to other comments: - Ecology: the way I think about it is that the Prius gets a much better gas mileage than a conventional car thanks to the electricity produced by its engine (since the electricity is produced by the car itself, the discussion about electricity from dirty coal plants is irrelevant here). - Bicycling: it would actually be a good way to get to my office from where I live, a distance of about 15 km. The only problem is sharing the road with Spanish drivers along the way--there are no bike paths, not even the kind just painted on the road, nada. So if I ever get suicidal tendencies, I might use this mode of transport, but until then I will stick to motorized vehicles. - Reliability and battery life: as we all know, Toyota's are famously reliable (and that has been the case with our Previa minivan as well), and the warranty on the battery is 6 years (3 years on the car overall). I will take my chances. - Behavior: the notion that I would change my driving style just because I drive a hybrid car is ridiculous to me. I promise that I won't. I will be the same maniac that I am in my Opel :-) On a serious note, having learned to drive in Denmark, and having driven in the Netherlands, with all its cyclists, for several years (and being a motorcycle rider myself), I am acutely aware of the weaker road users (mainly those on 2 wheels) and always make sure I give them LOTS of space. - Bottom line: I will probably buy the Prius next week, although there are a couple of other cars I need to look at. Once again, thanks for all the extremely helpful replies. I am back in the Netherlands to spend the weekend with the family--and this time it really is the family, since my son is coming over from England later today. There is a turkey thawing in the fridge, we are going to have our Thanksgiving dinner a few days early. Nathan -- Nathan Wajsman Almere, The Netherlands *Opportunistic Image Acquisition* General photography: http://www.frozenlight.eu http://www.nathanfoto.com http://www.greatpix.eu Picture-A-Week: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws Seville: http://www.frozenlight.eu/fotosevilla Stock photography: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman http://myloupe.com/home/found_photographer.php?photographer=507 Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog SUPPORT FREEDOM OF SPEECH, BUY DANISH PRODUCTS!