OfficeNinja

Hah, the Spock avatar is awesome.

Yeah, I'm over the A pillar thing now.

Other than saving the environment, is there ANYTHING positive about the Prius?

GT34

Nice to see you're enjoying your new car my friend. However seeing what a good time you're having with your car, I'm sure you'd like to do it for a longer time. I'd excersise some caution until your car has reached the break in period since you're only rocking out just over 50 miles. Here's some tips from racing beat or refer to you manual.

Mazda says:
-don't race the engine
-don't remain at a constant speed for too long
-don't drive constantly at high rpms or a full throttle for extended periods of time
-avoid unecessary hard stops
-avoid full throttle starts

Racing beat recomends:
-for the first 1000 miles, do no accelerate under full throttle
-do not exceed 4000 rpm during the 1st 1000miles
-for miles 1000-2000 expand rpms upwards- but do not accelerate under full throttle
-after 2000miles full throttle is acceptable

Just something to keep in mind. It's well worth the wait, but don't forget, they didn't say anything about taking a corner slow so have at er', because that's where the car will shine!

Enjoy your new car!

HolyCross05

Pawcatuck, CT, isn't that where Foxwoods is located?

bertsbutterdtoast

The reason the steering wheel is like that is because its suppose to go into the car when you are in a crash. So if your head hits it hard, it would move and cause less damage or whatever.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

We just get crabby about people knocking on the comfort of the 8 b/c that is its huge advantage over S2000, 350Z, and Crossfire. Ive driven all of them and they are TERRIBLE!!!!!!!! At least thats why I get crabby about a 7.5 comfort rating. In my opinion, from someone whos driven all of them, it should be more like...
S2000-6
Crossfire-5.5
350Z- 7
RX-8- 9
I just think my car is damn comfortable especially on 400 mile trips to chicago.

hagar852

Yeah Foxwoods isn't far from there.

Mohegan Sun too.

OfficeNinja

Man, you guys are as sensitive as a group of high school emo kids.

Here's the deal... I wrote that as a 1st impression. Literally... I drove it for 1 day, and wrote my thoughts. That's it. It wasn't a 5000 mile Car and Driver test, and I don't claim to be some guru of the asphalt. Coming from a barka-lounger-esque VW GTI with leather seats, this car is much more stiff and rigid in the seat. I also don't think that's a BAD thing. Would you WANT seats like an Audi A6 or a BMW 5 series? I didn't think so. Those are like 9's to me. VERY plush, very comfy, and pretty much feel like sitting in some old chair. Not what you'd expect in a performance car.

Here's the deal. I love this car. The kid in me wants to give this car all 10's. It really does. But then that wouldn't be fair. I promise that once the car is broken in (Racing Beat is the ONLY way!!!) I'll write another review... at say, 2000 miles. Sound good? I'll be just as honest then, but since it's day 3, and I like the car even more now, I have a feeling I'll have some better numbers all around.

Cheers people. Don't lost sleep over this stuff. Our cars are one of a kind, and you all should be proud to drive one.

The ninja has spoken.

*smoke bomb*

-Ninja out

OfficeNinja

Foxwoods is actually about 20 min down the road from me, and Mohegan is about 30.

Are you from Boston, or somewhere just outside of there? My folks live in Ipswich.

Rootski

iTrader: (1)

It's funny you say that, because certain manufacturing processes for the Prius's hybrid drive are extremely damaging to the environment. So when you consider the whole equation, there is nothing positive about it.

GreenRX8

I just got mine 6 days ago, & I've got nothing but good things to say. Granted my last car was a 92 Toyota Paseo & I've never owned a car with power-anything, so my standards are pretty low.

Noise: love the engine noise, it's a beautiful hum like nothing else I've heard. Hopefully I'll never drive anything with pistons again. Tire noise is an issue, but it's cause it's got Blizzacks on it, so once I get some stock rubber on Wednesday I assume it'll be peachy.

Interior: Plastic seems like it's not the best. I was playing with the center console compartments & the slider in the front was able to come off accidentally. Plus some of it is worn, like the silver/gray piece along the center console in the passenger seat, & the shifter **** has a wear spot. I bought it used with 53k miles on it, but am I unreasonable to expect it to withstand 3 years worth of use without showing anything for it? Space is fine for what I use it for, but the trunk opening is pretty small. Back seats are comfortable provided the front seats aren't all the way back, & I'm 6'1". It'd be a problem getting in if not for the suicide doors.

Exterior: I've gotten too many compliments to keep track of. Just beautiful lines all over. I wasn't expecting to find the genuine Mazda touchup paint that I did, so I was able to cover up some of the rock damage easily. I've been keeping my eye on 8's that I see around for 3 years now, & I've never even seen another green one (other than the one I bought). I wouldn't imagine getting such a unique car in the standard colors. The Shinka red is the only other one I'd consider. Maybe I'm just pickier than everyone else?

Drive: Definitely takes time to get used to. I've always driven 5 speeds before, & even though I know it's physically impossible to accidentally put it into reverse on the highway instead of 6th, I still get a little nervous. I bet that'll go away soon. It's geared so differently than any car I've had, I'm used to 0-12 for 1st, 13-26 for 2nd, 27-39 4th, 40+ 5th. I've always been a slow driver too, nothing over 70 on the highway, & I'd actually prefer to keep it that way. I'm also used to flooring it to get up hills on the highway, so I expect most of this to be different.

Some questions:

-I know they recommend adding a quart every other fillup, but I've gone through 3 tanks & it's still at the full line. I'm assuming it's got a low oil light? Does anyone not have to add oil every 2 tanks?

-I've got to dig up all my cd's (never had a car with a cd player). Does the stock player/changer handle CD-R's well? I hate radio & I'm considering XM/Sirius, but I haven't heard any rave reviews on either of those. I've tried multiple FM adapters & they've all sucked awfully.

-Is there a way to change what the steering wheel stereo 'Up' & 'Down' arrows do? I thought 'mode' would change that, but it doesn't. Am I stuck with them controlling the presets?

-I've got a 6 hour trip this weekend. Other than checking oil & tires (don't quite trust TPMS yet), anything I should be aware of? It'll probably be in the 80's, will I need to let it idle a little when I get there or can I turn the ignition right off for the night?

There's just so much reading up to do...

Shinka-Dono

Check the oil every other fill up. Put oil in as necessary. I do about .5 to 1 quart per 3000 miles. The low oil level light is pretty sensitive so it'll come on long before you cause any harm.

Don't know if they changed anything with the post 2005 stereos (they damn well should have).

Don't know.

Check tire pressure every other week or so. The TPMS will only warn you if the pressure goes below 26 psi or exceeds 49 psi. It is a dummy light.
There are no special shut down procedures necessary if you let the car run for more than a minute or so. The only thing you should not do is start it then shut it off seconds later while its cold.

Shinka-Dono

Congrats OfficeNinja. Good review. I'm glad you enjoy it even if you're so uncouth as to impiously insult the clearly superior comfort of my car.

Keep in mind the car show coming up soon.

Double post ftw.

OfficeNinja

Awesome. Thanks for the car show post. I'll put it on my calendar!

Oh, and I like my interior now. I told you fools that I would get used to it.

Astral

welcome welcome to the club! enjoy the car and check out the northeast section