[Mabosa]

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to 48-hr lease an '04 Prius while by regular car was in for major repairs. I'm currently # 11 (sigh) on my dealer's waiting list. At the same time, the weather here in upstate NY decided to break some all-time cold records! :shock:

Day 1: morning temp was -11F, with overnight sustained wind chills up to -33F. Car in driveway, pointed away from wind direction, but no garage.

Prius started immediately, no weird warning symbols. I wasn't real clear on how to best-use the cabin heating system, but it was too freaking cold to worry about MPGs. I wanted HEAT! Car ran well, although MPG for 70 mile trip (city & highway driving) was 31.4, with heavy use of heat and defrosters.

Day 2: morning temp was - 8F, with overnight wind chills of -20F. Same parking conditions.

Again, started immediately. Noted the number of stalled cars I passed on way to work. Also noted number of fender-benders (attributed to increased brain-freeze among the SUV crowd). Daytime temps peaked at 20F. Trip milage (city plus constant highway) was 50.2, which surprised me.

Sadly, had to turn car back into dealer and take back my '93 Corolla. This lease confirmed my original feelings. . . can't wait for my 'real' Prius to come in. BTW, wife and kids loved it (kids thought it was 'cool').

 

[Mabosa]

The temps were in F, not C. Albany NY tends to get cold periods each winter, but this period (although brief - 3 days) was intensely cold. The schools closed for one day due to the extreme wind chill (my kids were happy).

In regards to the car interior heat, it seemed to me as though the Prius didn't get as warm inside as my old Corolla, but that may be due to my inexperience.