On a lark I dropped by the local Toyota dealer last week to see if the AT-PZEV rated Prius was easy to get in Virginia. It turns out that all the Prius cars being sold at the local dealers have the AT-PZEV rating in case you have to move to California after you buy your Prius here in Virginia! Awesome.Then I dropped by a second time with my HP Velotechnik Street Machine Gt (recumbent bicycle) in my Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon to see if it would fit in the Prius. It does! It is a very close fit, and I have to load the bike in rear end first (the Prius luggage space narrows at slightly at the back of the car), but it does fit. This is great news, and we put one on order this past Saturday.
The main goal is to dramatically reduce my personal contribution in greenhouse gasses, and with an AT-PZEV rating the Prius is vastly cleaner than my not even LEV rated 2001 Saab 9-5 Aero. Additional benefits are:
- approximately double the mileage (~57mpg versus ~27mpg)
- Prius uses regular unleaded versus the Aero needing Premium unleaded
- CVT transmission instead of the Saab’s manual transmission (traffic)
- having a real, turn-by-turn Navigation system instead of crappy On-Star
- wireless key system so I can leave the keys in my purse
- bluetooth phone connection for my wife’s mobile phone
The only drawbacks I see at this point are that I am giving up the Saab’s wonderful ventilated seats (a six pack of “muffin” fans in each front seat behind perforated leather, very cool). It will be hard to survive hot summers in Virginia without the cooled seats, but perhaps I can aftermarket something into the Prius. I’ll also be giving up some unneeded horsepower (I should never have bought the Aero), possibly a few other luxury features (climate controls for each side?).
I am re-negotiating price with the dealer now, but look forward to swapping out the Saab for the Prius once our special options package comes in.
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