LesAtkins.com

A Recent Test Drive

My wife and I both work about 30 miles from our home. We have three cars but none of them are in very good condition and none of them get very efficient gas mileage. In fact one of them doesn’t go anywhere at all since the transmission decided to stop doing what it does.

We went with a friend to the local Toyota dealership and checked out one of their new Prius models. Apparently we were lucky to get to do that since the prius is in high demand and most lots don’t keep more than one or two in stock. I went to the dealership with a certain degree of skepticism about this hybrid car. I knew that the car would be tiny and underpowered at the least. I also assumed that in order for this car to get the mileage that was advertised it would have to be lacking in amenities to save power or weight. I have to say that I was quite pleasantly surprised. On the outside the Prius seemed to be just another squat economy car. I found out quickly that it was quite roomy on the inside and it had plenty of niceties to boot. This thing even had a keyless entry and starter system. That means that the driver can keep the key-fob in his pocket and can start the car by simply pressing the “Power” button. There was a snazzy touch-screen display in the dash that displayed all of the information about the car (charging system and such) and allowed the driver to adjust the stereo, climate, and navigational systems. So far I was impressed, but I was still waiting to be disappointed by the lack of power the car had. I pressed the “Power” button. The dash-lights and the screen turned on, but there was no noise. The sales guy said “Okay, now you can go.” The car seemed to me to be turned off. I pressed the accelerator and the car took off like any other car. I drove down the road and was surprised at the amount of power that it actually displayed. No, the car is not some high-powered sports car, but the car had more than enough power to get me where I want to go and to deal with Atlanta’s traffic. The Toyota Prius achieves 60 mpg in the city and around 50 mpg on the highway (it gets better miles in the city because it is primarily using its electric engine at low speeds).

I have driven the car a couple of times now and I have determined that this will be my next car. Frankly my wife and I are tired of spending over $400 per month for fuel. The price of the car is right for us to seriously consider making that purchase. I definitely recommend giving one a test drive if you are looking or just have a spare few minutes.