Terry Blanton wrote:
>I used only premium
> gasoline. I do not know whether this helps boost mileage significantly,
but
> I wanted to measure optimum performance.
The Prius engine was designed for 87 octane fuel. You could trigger an
emissions sensor alert using premium (check engine light).
Ah, well, then it is a good thing they do not even have "super" premium
high octane fuel in rural gas stations. I should read the manual more
carefully.
> seems the sensor does
> not work well when the tank is full,
This is likely because of the float mechanism. It probably pegs before
the tank is full.
No doubt. The analog fuel gauge in my Geo Metro goes measurably above the
"F" mark when the tank is full, or overfilled. That's something you don't
see with a digital instrument!
Speaking of ROI, payback between the Echo and Prius comes at about 68,000
miles (40 mpg vs. 50 mpg @ $17,000 delta) at $2.50 per gallon. Of course,
the Prius is nicer!
Yup. Also bigger and considerably safer. As I mentioned, it has airbags
galore and anti-slip programming for the steering wheel. I triggered that
when driving over loose gravel, grass and mud. The one thing this car is
not good for, by the way, is off-road driving. It has about 6 inches
clearance underneath, so I drove at a walking pace, slower than a tractor.
(Nobody in his right mind drives off-road the way they show in TV ads,
bashing through rivers and mud. I suppose that would be like a demolition
derby, and they would scoop up the car with a coal shovel at the end of the
day.)
It is ironic that there are hundreds of thousands of SUVs and
four-wheel-drive cars in Atlanta, and I am practically the only
middle-class person in the whole city who actually could use one a couple
times a year when visiting my country cousins. But I would never buy one!
It is a matter of principle. My sister has a 4-wheel drive Outback, I think
it is, which is handy in the middle of nowhere in Virginia when it snows. I
drove it to the lower field to pick up firewood. It is remarkable -- like a
tractor. Around 1965 my dad drove a white International Harvester pickup
truck, which was like a tin can inside, with vibrating steel plates, noisy
as all get-out. My mother called it "The Reactor."
- Jed
