Toyota Prius
Purchased July 20, 2002

When my Saturn started to have some troubles, we decided that it would be best if I drove something a bit newer while commuting between Lakewood and Aurora. At first, I thought I wanted another Saturn. So, we went to the dealership and test drove several. The SL1/SL2 models were a little too small for Mike to drive (they redesigned the interior and lowered the roof), and their other models were a little too large for my tastes. So, we went back to his parents' house (our internet connection wasn't yet hooked up), and looked at Consumer Reports' web site to determine what other new or used cars would be a good buy. One of the ones that came up was a hybrid by Toyota, the Prius.

So, we found a 2001 Prius at the Stevinson Toyota dealership, and we took it for a test drive. The seat was high enough that it was easy for me to drive, yet it had more room inside than Mike's Jetta. And it had some power behind it! We had expected that it might have trouble going up the foothills here, but it had more power than some of the small traditional cars we had driven. After some negotiations, we traded in the Saturn and brought the Prius home.

Rear

Interior

Status and Monitoring Display
This screen shows what the car is doing. While it is running, colored arrows indicate which systems are running and what the flow of energy is. Someday when I have time and am feeling really creative, I'll take some pictures while Mike is driving.. or vice versa.

• When the car starts, if the battery is low, the gas engine will run to charge the battery. If not, it will not "start", but will sit waiting for you to put it in gear. When the battery is fully charged and you put the car in gear, the battery provides energy to the electric motor, which starts the car running. This is a very quiet mode of travel, and I have found that birds and small animals do not always get out of the way (unless I do something else to make noise).
• When you decide to truly accelerate, the electric motor is used to start the gas engine. Then, the electric motor and the 1.4 liter gas engine both provide acceleration. In acceleration mode, it tends to get 25-30 miles per gallon.
• While coasting or while breaking, the gas engine turns off, and the motion of the wheels is used to recharge the battery. During these times, you generate electricity as well as peg the mpg meter at 100 miles per gallon.
• When you have stopped (in traffic or at a light) as long as you do not have the air conditioner running, the car will shut off completely. It's eerily quiet the first time you experience it, but one quickly grows accustomed to having a car that doesn't idle and doesn't overheat in heavy traffic! If the air conditioner is running, it will run it off of the battery, until the battery starts to run low. When the battery is running a little low, the gas engine turns on just long enough to recharge the battery.

This display shows the fuel consumption. The bar on the far right is updated every 2 seconds, and the rest of the display shows a bar chart of average miles-per-gallon for each 5 minute-span of recent driving time. There is a trip monitor on the bottom of the screen. For normal commuting and weekend driving, I get about 550 miles per tank of gas, with and average of 52 to 54 miles per gallon.