This is a slightly facetious review, but last week we bought a new Toyota Prius. Last summer we rented a Prius while in Chicago and averaged 52 MPG after 650 miles. We liked the way it drove and we really liked the gas mileage. So when we had to replace our Saturn we decided to get the Prius. (The 0% financing for 5 years didn’t hurt either.)
Over the past 10 days I have have read the whole manual. Car manuals are odd. There is very specific details about a number of things that seem so basic that I have a hard time understanding how anyone that has ever driven a car could not know them. And then there are other areas that I feel like I know less about when I am done than I did when I started. Clearly car manuals are written as much to prevent lawsuits as they are to inform.
The thing I learned most reading this manual is that there are a lot of options that we did not purchase. (Our model was basic, with absolutely no options.) It is possible to get the Prius with Lane Assist (it keeps the car in the right lane) and cruise control monitoring (uses some type of monitoring to slow the car if you get too close to the car in front of you). It makes you wonder what the person that is supposed to be driving is actually doing. Had we purchased every option available the price would have been about 50 percent higher.
My favorite feature of the car (other than the really good gas mileage) is the key. The key just has to be in your pocket. The ignition is a push button on the dash. And to unlock the car all you have to do is have the key in your pocket and touch the driver’s side door and it automatically unlocks all four doors. All that tech comes at a price. A replacement key is over $400.
If you happen to want to read a car manual, you need to get a life. But I really like the car.