Renting cars is part of the job when you travel full-time, and this time I ended up with my first hybrid - a 2008 Toyota Prius. My friend Kostaki got a Prius right before I left my old job, and I was suprised at how roomy it was. So I was looking forward to driving one for a month to get a real feel for the car.
I've been getting high-30s, low 40s mpg for day-to-day driving, but I was most interested to see what type of milage it would get on extended highway driving. We've taken it on two long distance trips - one to Orlando, FL, and one to Dauphin Island, AL.
The Orlando trip was driven at slighly slower speeds because we couldn't take interstates the whole way. At the end of the trip, the trip computer was reporting 48.5 mpg average, and totalling up the fuel used and the actual milage, we actually clocked 50 mpg! I was impressed, to say the least.
The trip to Dauphin Island was almost exclusively interstate driving, and the increased average speed took a toll. At the end of the trip, we had an average of 41 actual mpg. A little disappointing, but only because our first trip raised expectations so high!
I have to admit that I'm addicted to the little energy monitor display in the Prius. Cindy keeps telling me to just buy one already. Besides the cool technology behind it all, the Prius is actually a roomy comfortable car. The only complaint I really have with the rental is that it lacks a telescoping steering wheel. Not a major issue for some drivers, but it's a necessity for a car purchase for me.
Overall, I'm pretty impressed. Next time I'm in the market for a car, the Prius will definitely be on the short list.
