Today I had the pleasure of riding in my first Prius, courtesy of Paul, who attended a Hybrid Lovers Rally in LA. You must
understand that in the remote area in which I live I know of only one or two other Prius drivers I see on the road, so I know little first-hand about this beautiful car.

Riding for just a few minutes really opened my eyes and expanded my understanding. I still think both the FEH and Prius are outstanding cars but in many ways they are totally different animals.

The Prius (2004 I think) is much roomier than I thought both in the front and back seats. The keyless entry and starting is nice but I would have a hard time getting used to and I see why Ford chose to stay with the old turn-the-key thing. The visibility is great but I think the FEH is better. The dash and the recessed speed display is neat but so futuristic. I see what people mean when they say the FEH Nav display is small. The one in the Prius is about twice as large but that may be distracting. The display of wheels turning is fun but
I could do without it. The price is much better than the FEH but
since I wanted only the attributes of a medium sized SUV with
all-weather traction and towing I would still pay the extra $6,000 or so and give up the 15 MPG.

What really impressed me was how Paul drove his car! He drove it aggressively just like it was a normal car and still got 48-50 MPG on the display. I may be wrong but it looked like the display reset everytime the power was turned off.

We are now almost finished with our 3rd tank of gas at 32-34 MPG. Our car has about 4500 miles after two months. All of these tanks include mostly highway and freeway and only the first was under the warmer,
dry weather. The last two were 30-55 degrees and rain and wind. Speeds usually here at home at 4,000 feet are under 60 miles per hour but today in going from home to LA and back we were at freeway speeds most of the time and still got over 32 down and back. Impressive and getting better.

Back to Paul. He drove his car like I used to drive my Mustang,
partly I am sure, to show off the great acceleration and handling. A comparison might be that he drove it like a grandfather might play with a four year old child. Kinda rough and tumble.

Me, in comparison? I have learned to maximize my mileage by driving like I am playing with a week-old baby. Gently gently. Easy on the starts more like a continuous light-footed nudge, braking gently and coasting after anticipation, and sometimes (whoops!) rolling through stop signs to keep momentum. I don't mind losing some miles per hour on uphills and don't increase power until I just have to. It has been a constant embrace of me and car and it has responded with probably the best
mileage anyone has reported, even better than EPA, and wait until it breaks in and warm weather comes.

I know someone will say they have no love for driving like this but I do do it safely and I do enjoy the game and understand most people may not want to do this. But I hope this explains why I am getting these results. I really am not lying! And I think, over a year's time and all weather, your own MPG will average out (with normal driving habits) to be figures closer to what Ford said they would.

Mike

Mike Maline - Sdctcher
2005 Ford Escape Hybrid Owner
California School Teacher