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Maybe it's time for an 'upgrade' from the e46. A friend has been telling me that the current 3rd generation Prius is an environmental & engineering marvel. On this lazy Sat morning I was nearby UMW showroom so I pop in and yes there was a demo car sitting outside in their lot. Took it for a short ~15min drive passing downtown and a bit of highway. Here's my experience:1. First impression: cheap feel when opening the rear passenger door. The door is extremely light.2. What's the arc bridge in the middle where the gear knob is located, a spaceship? No idea about the purpose. Forget about climbing from the passenger seat over to the driver seat or vice versa... quite obstructing.3. Fancy console display. Very cool. And the energy flow chart is still very addictive to stare at.4. HUD (showing kph) (projection height is adjustable) works even under bright sunlight.5. The fuel consumption was showing ~5-6 liter / 100km while I was driving in downtown with quite a bit of traffic & traffic lights. Sales person said ~60% savings vs non-hybrid.6. Acceleration, what acceleration? It's a firstly an advanced fuel efficient automobile (not a sporty car). Secondly it's a Toyota family car. Don't expect anything about acceleration. 7. Handling. I guess typical of a family car. Fairly good no complains on the flat as wellas bumpy roads. Didn't have chance to do any moderate speed cornering even, nothing to expect here actually... remember it's NOT meant to be a sporty car.8. Super quiet during fully electric motor mode except the noisy air condition.9. The 1.8l 4-pot petrol engine is no way as smooth as any of the BMW engine.10. Spacious interior, front and rear, with pretty nice finishing everywhere except there's no leather seat for a RM175K car. Steering wheel has leather 
11. Rear view is split into 2 horizontal segments... it's a hatch back by the way.12. UMW service's waiting area is like a business hotel's coffee house. There's a wall with water flowing down... calming I would say. Free flow of drinks with maid service, 3 computers available for surfing the net, all spread in a fairly big & comfortable environment. If I only show you the waiting area and ask one to guess what type of automobile is being sold here, most likely one would guess it's premium cars. Really put A.B. waiting area to shame. The sales person said UMW has the best waiting area in Malaysia.Overall it's a great test drive experience. It is obviously a premium item (RM10.00 more than the 2.4L Camry) considering that it's the most successful hybrid car. Not sure if there's any re-sale value of this car. Maybe "It's a Prius For Life" like Volvo.Anyone here has a Prius ownership experience to share?
11. Rear view is split into 2 horizontal segments... it's a hatch back by the way.12. UMW service's waiting area is like a business hotel's coffee house. There's a wall with water flowing down... calming I would say. Free flow of drinks with maid service, 3 computers available for surfing the net, all spread in a fairly big & comfortable environment. If I only show you the waiting area and ask one to guess what type of automobile is being sold here, most likely one would guess it's premium cars. Really put A.B. waiting area to shame. The sales person said UMW has the best waiting area in Malaysia.Overall it's a great test drive experience. It is obviously a premium item (RM10.00 more than the 2.4L Camry) considering that it's the most successful hybrid car. Not sure if there's any re-sale value of this car. Maybe "It's a Prius For Life" like Volvo.Anyone here has a Prius ownership experience to share?
