This extended weekend has seen quite a few firsts, starting with the test drives of 2008 Toyota Prius and 1964 Ford Falcon. I've rented the Prius, and my friend owns the Falcon.
Prius It's the future, and so far, I like it. I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around the concept of starting a car via "Power" button. 44MPG in traffic is f'ing wonderful, by the way; my current ride (the beloved Crown Vic) gets 18 in those conditions, on a good day. The bad: Prius' seats are too high, and has several annoying "dumb driver" features that may be standard on new cars these days. Weird: The selection of which features were implemented as powered/electronic or manual seems a bit schizophrenic; for example: the windows, locks, and shifting is electronic, but the cruise, wipers, and lights (interior as well) have the same manual control found in the smaller cars for the past 20 or 30 years.
So, I made a round trip from Atlanta to Oxford, MS, including 4 hours of Atlanta traffic and 3 days of driving around Oxford, on 17 gallons. This sounds like a lot, but 17 gallons is usually enough for a one-way trip plus change. I got 48.x MpG going out, and 52.1 MpG coming back, while largely driving 65-70 MpH, with a few periods of < 60 and > 70 MpH. Prius' sweet spot seems to be in the 55-65 range; that's where I ended up getting the highest mileage (65+MPG). Also, there's much to be said for puttering around a parking lot on battery power.
I've heard the tales of how Prius' stats are skewed in some way; after this test drive, I can say the complainers are Doing it Wrong(tm).
Falcon
Old-school cruising: The 289 V-8, 3-speed column-shifted, 2-door Falcon Futura, fully restored to former cruising goodness. It has manual steering and brakes, bench seats, a steel body, dual-pane windows, and dual exhausts. The field of view of the rear-view mirror is actually smaller than the rear glass; that's something you never see anymore. Seriously, I kept thinking I was driving a convertible, because there wasn't a post or roof occupying most of the mirror's field of view. It's a reminder of what it's like to drive a heavy car with a real motor, and a definite throwback to a simpler time. There's a bit of lost art in letting a car drive itself, particularly out of curves.
New Beetle
This car was ok to drive, and awesome to sit in. I have never driven a car with so much visibility that wasn't a convertible. It's like driving a spaceship of some sort. The 5-cylinder engine sounds like a regular engine with a timing problem, so that could take some getting used to. Also, there's no diesel option available until at least '09.
After these drives, I'm officially in the market for either (a) Prius or (b) diesel Bug. |
