Mileage and heat
[winter time]

I have enjoyed reading your comments on the Prius. My wife and I had a chance to test drive one at our local dealer. It took a while as they did not have a demo car available. At any rate, my wife is always cold and we live in Michigan, hence, long, cold winters. How is the heater in the Prius?

I am definitely the *wrong* person to ask that question, Rob! I like cold. For two years straight I've been wearing shorts (except the handful of times I had to wear long pants for business or some big-deal social function. Being self-employed affords me the chance to rarely wear long pants.) And for the two? three? years before that, I've come right up to winter wearing shorts.

However..... My spousal equivalent likes warmth. I noticed during the winter that she would either drop the temperature of the heater or put the fan to a slower speed when the car got too toasty inside. (Also for the reverse condition, she closes the vents on her side when I'm running the air conditioning nowadays.) By the way, we in New Hampshire had a cold winter this past winter, so even with wearing shorts, long socks, and a heavy sweater, I would need the car to keep me warm. It did.

It seemed to me that my previous two cars got warmer or cooler from the heating/AC system faster. But then again, those were "sporty" cars, not mid-sized 4-doors with the back seat down for that hatchback feeling.

Conclusion: The Prius' heating system will keep your wife nicely toasty.

Note that cold weather causes the gas mileage (fuel economy) of conventional cars to drop. Battery power will also drop in the cold. However, let's say you get 40 mpg for six months out of the year in Michigan, that's still better than 30-33 mpg with the conventional car. And then during the summer, your mileage will increase to the upper 40s.