I need to preface my remarks by re-iterating that I had never driven an automatic vehicle before coming to the US
1, so my impression of driving the Prius includes an amount of getting used to that still. The Prius transmission isn't really anything like a traditional automatic, but they have designed it to behave like one so that people have something familiar to deal with
2.
Driving the Prius starts like this - you sit down, put your foot on the brake and press the Power button
3. Then choose a mode - the 'shift lever' is just a little joystick in the dashboard, because it's all electronic. There are five modes: P - Park, R - Reverse, N - Neutral
4, D - Drive, B - Engine Braking (which is roughly equivalent to choosing a low gear)
5. After choosing, the lever springs back to a central position, but the dashboard display shows which mode you are in.
Reversing out, on come some beepers, since reverse only uses the electric motors and is virtually silent. We have the 'backup camera' option, so we get a fisheye view from the rear of the car come up on the screen when we engage reverse. It seems like an overly technical solution for the problem of poor visibility out of the rear of the vehicle, but I find it helps a bit.
The
sounds are the main indicator you are driving something a bit different: the eeriest being the silence when the engine shuts itself off after you stop in traffic or at a light. There's also a distinctive whirring when you brake and the motors regenerate power. When you start from a standstill there's a worrying moment when you are pulling away with no sound because it uses the electric motors at low speeds, but when you put your foot down you soon get a satisfying roar from the gas engine. There's a temptation to try and be efficient by not pushing the thing too hard, but we've tested that the car can accelerate pretty well when necessary.
Something else to get used to is the digital speed readout instead of a dial. I was skeptical at first, but having used it a bit, it seems to work fine. It's one of those which is set back so you don't have to refocus on something close.
Once you reach your destination, you press the 'P' button to engage Park mode - I'm not sure why it is not on the shift lever. The emergency brake is one that you push down with your left foot. Then press the Power button to switch off.
Next weekend we're planning a longer trip, so we'll see how it feels on the highway.
1In the UK, manual cars are the norm, and automatics are less common, but it's the other way around here.
2Like, there is no good reason that the thing should 'creep' when you don't have a foot on either pedal, but that's what a normal automatic does, so they made it do it.
3Remember the
Smart key.
4Why does it have a 'neutral' position? The manual pretty much tells you not to use it. I think it's another of those automatic vehicle hangovers.
5And is only for use when you need it, i.e. going down steep hills, because it wastes energy that might otherwise be recovered.
![[info - personal]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}