Two months with a Prius V

We've had the new Prius V for two months now, so it's probably a good time to write a little more about it. I still find myself missing the sedan a little, because it was a nice looking car before that hilljack totalled it. At the two month mark, we've got a little over 2,100 miles logged. A lot of those are Diana, I'm sure, since I really only go out during the week to go to lunch. Perhaps she should be writing a review!

It's still weird to have a red car, but after countless white and black cars, I suppose some amount of change is good. As I said in my initial impression, it does pretty much drive like a regular 3rd-gen Prius, except that it feels heavier when stopping. Gaming the fuel economy works pretty much the same in terms of technique, though the results are very different.

Before I get into that, I'll say again that the controls are a huge step up. The dash makes more sense. The touch screen and navigation are still not particularly vital, but they're kind of neat to have. The climate controls make a lot more sense than the button wall of the sedan.

We opted for the V first and foremost because of the additional space. "More cargo room than 80% of small SUV's" was a huge appeal, and the reason I was willing to take the drop in fuel economy. It very much lives up to this claim, having made an Ikea haul and some other chances to move stuff. The sliding rear seats also make it super easy to install Simon's car seat, where the hook is on the back down near the floor. You can get in and stand enough to really tug on the straps and tighten it down. The lack of cup holders in the back seat itself is slightly problematic for Simon, but Diana bungeed a little plastic tote to the armrest, and that's close enough, if a little ghetto.

So about the fuel economy... that's the whole point in having a Prius in the first place. The sedan was rated for 51 city/48 highway, and I could routinely get mid-50's even driving through huge elevation changes east of Seattle. The V is rated at 44/40, and so far, I think that's pretty close to realistic. I've noticed a number of different things:

• Econ isn't as good when it's cold. I started to see this with the sedan before it was trashed, and a lot of it has to do with longer warm-up times, I suspect, when you first start driving.
• Toyota says it's the shape that hampers it, given it has the same drivetrain, and I believe it. A strong headwind on the highway will tank your economy by 3 or 4 mpg.
• Merging on to the freeway is expensive, and you need a good run to compensate for it if you want 40 mpg. In practice, with shorter freeway runs (about 6 miles, in my case), that segment of driving will leave you with 38 mpg. Otherwise, flat terrain and normal weather seems at 69 mph seems to yield 41 mpg.
• City driving can be gamed much higher than 44 mpg, but again, cold and short drives hurt it. The tank of gas that I'm on now I was able to get 47 mpg in the first 75 miles, and I think if it was warmer, I could get 50. The shape of the car is less of a detriment at lower speeds, obviously.
• Doing 75 mph (turnpike limit is 70) will drop your fuel econ down at least 2 mpg compared to doing 65 mph. Not surprising, but annoying when you're trying to hyper-mile.
• The first few tanks of gas ended around 38 mpg, and I was really disappointed. Now, with it warmer, and extra care, I think I can get it consistently in the low 40's.

I do enjoy driving it. It's a nice looking car, and oddly tall. The back is a pain in the ass to keep clean. Red paint scratches are way too easy to see compared to a black car. I can't wait to take it on its first big trip in a couple of months.