Thursday, July 17, 2008

Going Green for a Week Update

We turned in the Prius on Sunday after filling up the tank. I a week, we'd driven about 275 miles on half a tank, 165 miles of it high-speed freeway driving. When my DH figured out our mileage, he was surprised and pleased to find we'd gotten 45 mpg on the half tank. Not bad considering more than half of it was freeway driving.

In a comment Rhonda asked if a large man would fit in the Prius and I'd say yes. My DH is 6'1" with very long legs and he had no problems at all. In fact, the car is higher than our Acura TL, with excellent head room. Overall, it was surprisingly roomy inside. The hardest thing to get used to is the "snub nose" front as Rhonda put it in a comment. You can get the idea from this photo which I took out the front window while parked. The hood of the car is nowhere in sight!

Would I consider buying one? You bet. Gasoline prices may be down a bit, but I doubt we'll ever see $1.00 a gallon gas again anytime soon. But first we may have to rent a Toyota Camry and see if we like it better.

3 comments:

pattinase (abbott) said...

We're thinking along the same lines. The hybrid Camry would give us a little more room if a little less savings.

Lyndi Lamont said...

Patti, that can be a worthwhile trade-off. It all depends in what you're looking for in a car. And if someone doesn't really need to buy a new car, in most cases it's cheaper just to keep filling up the tank of the one you've got. No easy solutions, I fear.

Linda

Anonymous said...

What fabulous mileage! It's giving me thoughts about buying one. Thing is, I'm only 5'. I barely see the front of my car as it is. I would think it'd be hard to get used to but at a savings of twice the mileage to the gallon... it just might be worth the effort. Thanks for sharing this info, Linda. I hope more car manufacturers get in on this.
~Debbie