My 4-wheel computer gets good mileage

My new car reportedly has 40 computers. Regardless of the number, it's the first car where, just to start up or shut down, I've needed instructions repeated more than once.

The process isn't exactly intuitive, at least not for someone (me) who's been driving quite a few years. It's more like learning a new piece of computer technology. In fact, stored in the compartment beside the driver there's a pad of printed start and park instructions for valets.

My "Gracie" is a 2006 Toyota Prius. Before her, I drove "Ducky," also a Prius hybrid (powered part by gas and part by electricity), but with fewer computers and "easier" (read: more familiar) startup and shutdown procedures.

I love the gas mileage on a Prius (35 to 50 mpg) and its small size, so choosing another was a no-brainer. In fact, I wouldn't be buying a new one after only four years if my older daughter's car wasn't dying, so she now has Ducky.

Luckily, driving Gracie around a bit is all it takes to get used to her unique procedures. Again, it's a little like learning some computer technologies — confusing at first, then easy.

What else is different about this car? First of all, I don't need a key to lock/unlock Gracie's doors or to start her engine. If the "smart key" with controller is sitting in my purse, it sends a wireless command to open the door (or doors).

Then I get in, wrap and click the seat belt, adjust the rearview mirrors, release the emergency brake, put my foot on the brake pedal (the car won't start if my foot's not there), and press the Power button (which even looks like a computer's Power button).

Gracie starts, and the green Ready light appears on the dashboard. I move the little shift stick to R (Reverse) and a beeper goes off, sounding like a cement truck backing up. The screen on the dashboard displays a videolike view through the rear window as I back up.

When I shift to D (Drive) the loud beeping stops and the car begins to move forward.

This unusually small automatic gearshift has R, N, D and B options. B isn't a gear, but I'm supposed to go there when going down a steep hill and need extra braking capacity.

Still, that's not the biggest difference between this gearshift and all others I've met. On this car, when you shift to any of the letters, the car obeys, but the gearshift lever jumps back to the black star in the center, where it rests.

Driving Gracie on roads and highways is the one thing that's very familiar. After driving Ducky for four years, I'm used to the Prius' screen displays — from an Energy Monitor that watches over the gas and the electric-power systems and the multiinformational screens with alerts, air flow and other information, to the audio system that displays the radio stations and CD player.

There's also a new screen for people who have cellphones with Bluetooth support. They can use the screen display to make and receive calls, and also to view/use the cellphone's contact list.

If I had paid for the GPS navigation system, maps and directions could be displayed on the screen, with driving directions from where I am to my destination. However, my husband loves to hold and read paper maps, so I've resisted that high-tech option, at least for now.

OK, when it's time to come home and shut down, I'm supposed to put on the emergency brake (an old habit), press the Park button (though Gracie goes into Park by herself, if I forget), and then press the Power button to turn off the engine.

After driving Gracie around town, I find her quirky procedures easy to remember and almost natural.

But, when I leave the car and go into the house, I have to remember to keep the smart key and controller that are in my purse away from a TV, computer, cellphone charger and other such devices. So, I park my purse on the mail table, which is far enough from anything high-tech in our house.

I also have to remember to replace the battery in the little controller every couple of years, or I might not be able to unlock the car or start it.

Plus, I can't continue my usual habit of keeping a hide-a-key on the car, because the car automatically unlocks when the key is near. Now, I absolutely can't lose or forget my key.

This car isn't the only new piece of high-tech equipment I've had to learn recently that has nothing to do with a laptop, printer, external drive or any of the usual computer technologies.

I've also had to learn how to use a high-tech hearing system that has two computers, runs on three batteries, wirelessly connects to my auditory nerve and brain so that I can hear, and leaves me helpless if the computers don't work.

Well now, I wonder how many things we use, drive, watch, listen to and depend on in our lives that have embedded computers. I can't count them all.

Write Linda Knapp at lknapp@seattletimes.com; to read other Getting Started columns,

go to: www.seattletimes.com/gettingstarted