The December Car Update

I missed the November Car update, but I was too busy with the PASS Summit to get one done.

However last night I got gas for the Prius and got inspired. Delaney, my son, was in the car with me and he was asking about how much gas the Prius takes since I was trying to calculate the cost as we drove up.

I know gas is cheaper, we paid $1.59, but still it was cool to fill up the car for $12.70 We weren't below the "add fuel" warning, but we were on one bar.

It's not a complete fill up since the Prius isn't like other vehicles. The gas tank is a flexible membrane to cut down on the vapor that gets in there. So whereas my other vehicles have a fixed size tank, the Prius tank contracts as we use fuel and then expands as we fill back up.

Supposedly I have an 11 gallon tank, but with it being so cold (1F as we drove home tonight), I think it's not expanding quick enough and it cuts off the pump. The other day it was low, the add fuel warning coming on and I drove another 10-15 miles in the mountains and still only filled up 8.7 gallons.

After nearly 21 months and 38k miles,  I still think this was a good deal for us. It's not as beneficial with gas so cheap, but still it's nice to fill up rarely and get 50mpg or so while driving around. I don't think we'll get to 50k miles in two years, but you never know. If the weather stays mild on the roads in the mountains, I'll be taking this car skiing quite often.