This past week, I had the pleasure of driving another hybrid car, the Toyota Prius v. I was very interested in driving this car. My mom has a Prius and she is always raving about it. In fact, I know several people that have a Prius and I’ve never heard a bad thing about them. The Prius v comes in five different models…the two, three, four and five. I drove the Toyota Prius v Five model, which starts at $30,935.
From first glance, the Toyota Prius v is a very nice looking car. Upon a closer inspection, I really liked what I saw. This car is spacious, which makes it a great family car. My kids are in sports and my sons lacrosse bag is huge. This hybrid car had no problem accommodating his massive lacrosse bag or anything else we had to lug around with us all week long! The rear seats slide forward and back and also recline (my kids thought this was the best thing ever!) so leg room was never an issue for them!
How the Hybrid Car Works
This part is really neat to me! This car has Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive System. In layman’s terms…it has an electric motor and a gasoline engine. As you are driving, the two will work together to give you exactly what you need. For example, when you are backing out of the driveway, you will utilize the electric motor. However, when you accelerate heavily (getting onto the highway, etc), the electric motor alone won’t cut it so the car seamlessly switches over to the gasoline engine. By doing this, you are saving  A LOT on gas! Since this is my second hybrid I’ve driven, I’ve had the opportunity to compare hybrid cars and the way the Prius v runs is way better, in my opinion! Definitely the best hybrid car I’ve driven!
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Driving the Prius is a little different than what I am used to. To start the car, the Prius has the push button start, however the gear stick is in front of you, rather than down where you may be used to it on other cars. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked that, but once I got used to it, it didn’t bother me at all. Once you’ve arrived at your location and need to put your car in park, you need to remember that you do this by pushing the P button. I will admit, even after driving the car for an entire week, I still never got used to that! There were times I would pull up to my sons school and just stare at the gear stick looking for a way to put it into park!
With an estimated 42 MPG combined, you can drive longer and spend much less at the gas station each month. For moms like me that do a lot of city driving, we know how each trip to the gas station adds up. After driving around in the Prius for a week, I put well over 200 miles, if not over 300 miles on the car and I still had just under a half a tank of gas!
Other things I liked about the Prius are:
Trunk Space
Like I mentioned earlier, the trunk space on this car is amazing. I was able to fit a lot in the trunk. It also had a shade where, when it was pulled forward, you are not able to see what is in the trunk from the outside of the car. The little clips you see (arrows pointing at it) clip to the back of the headrest. I also liked how the front of the trunk has those two little cutouts on the side. That was perfect for putting fruit you didn’t want to get smashed or your eggs!! Or…if you are like me, you can pick up this CleverMade CleverCrates
Cup Holders
At first, one of the things I was going to say I did NOT like about the car was the cup holders, but by the end of the week, I really started to come around. On the center console between the driver and the passenger seat, there is one cup holder. After a week, I realized that I really do like that more so than having two cup holders there. Especially when cars have the set up where the cup holders are one in front of the other. I hate accidentally picking up my husbands ice tea and taking a drink when we are in his car. Blech! With the Prius, there is a cup holder specifically for the passenger on their side of the car!
All in all, I really like the Prius v. When I am in need of a new car, I will definitely be looking at the hybrid car market. As a stay at home mom, I feel it is my job to save as much money as possible. With the hybrid cars prices as comparable as they are and the savings on gas, it makes taking a look at a hybrid car a very good idea!
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