I just done what some might see as a green move.  I bought a 2010 Prius.  I drive about 30k miles a year so if in fact this car makes a difference, I’m a good candidate as I drive 2-3 normal commutes.  I was concerned that my driving profile really did not fit the hybrid market, but I was told that’s no longer the case.  I drive mostly highway miles.  My commute is 50 miles each way and with my company building a disaster recovery site out near Hagerstown, this number will increase.  I thought that hybrids only benefited city dwellers but they get great highway mileage.

I’ve had it for just over 24 hours and my first impressions is that I love the car.  I’ve already put almost 400 miles on the car.  (That’s a story for another time )  I spent a lot of time looking at each of the four models available to consumers.  The only thing that I really wanted was the navigation package.  This eliminated the II.  I wanted the heated seats and the auto-dimming mirror but really did not care if the seats were leather or not.  I really did not think it was worth an additional 3k so I did not get the IV.  The package V added 17″ tires, LED headlights and washers, and fog lights.  Again, another 3k bump.  Toyota offered a really cool technology package but I was not going to buy a 36k+ car.

I almost had the dealer throw in the remote start.  What I found out was it did not do what I was looking for, I.E. warm the car up, defrost the windows, etc.  With a hybrid, the engine most likely would not even start to turn on these accessories until the battery pack got low.  So instead, I got the dealer to throw in an auto-dimming mirror.  If I really need to have my butt warmed, I’ll stop at one of the specialty stores in the mall and by one of those massage + heated seat accessories.

Here’s what I bought:

2010 Prius III – Winter Grey Metallic
Interior is dark grey
Navigation Package

I found a site called Prius Chat http://priuschat.com/ about two years ago when I really started looking at the hybrids.  I fell in love with the car due to their forums and everyone’s comments.  They also saved me a LOT of money when it came to the 100k extended warranty and the 54k pre-paid maintenance.  I walked into the dealer with the prices off the internet of three other dealers in the area, a quote for the extended warranty and pre-paid maintenance through Toyota Financial and really got a great deal.  Ok, it was also the end of the month and I don’t think they were doing as well as they wanted.

So what’s next, maybe I’ll tackle global warming