Back in the day, I used to troll my readers with numerous Prius posts, featuring numerous Prii. They were guaranteed to get folks steamed up, such was the deep-seated Prius hate in this country. But then Prius hate seemed to just fade away, replaced by Tesla hate. Which also corresponded to many of Eugene’s Prii being replaced by Teslas, a process that continues unabated. Which makes this driveway with three Prii (shot yesterday) something of a rarity. Who would have thunk?
Given current gas prices, these Prius owners are probably glad they hung on to them, unlike so many that were traded in for a big SUV or pickup (not including the ones traded in for a Tesla). So come on, for old times sake, can some of you please arouse some of that long-dormant Prius hate? It’s been way too long…
This threesome features all of the most popular generations (2,3 and 4). I’ve been keeping my eye out for a shot including all four generations; no luck so far. There’s still a fair number of the gen1 Prii around (gen 1.5, if you must), but never in the company of all three of its successors.
So has the value of used Prii shot up, as it always does when gas prices shoot up? What about Chevy Metros?
Buying a new car to get better gas mileage never makes sense. Gas goes up and down. The incremental savings during an up period can never compensate for a $50k expenditure plus losing several years of use on the old paid-for car.
There seems to be more holding what you have now than there was in 2009. Part of that is that WFH has cut out the daily commute that was the lion’s share of a lot of people’s mileage, in stop-and-go peak traffic where going to a hybrid offered the biggest improvement.
The converse of that is that when buying new, if gas is cheap when the time comes around you should never assume that will be a durable state of affairs.
It made sense for the specific situation I was in at the time, but better fuel mileage wasn’t the sole reason. 10 years ago I had a ’98 B5 A4 V6 that got ~25mpg. Not terrible and normally would be okay to gut out $4.50/gal premium. However, I was driving 650 miles a week to work a job 3 hours away from home and drive back and forth on the weekends. It was about $140/week in gas.
But it was a B5 A4, so it kept breaking, and breaking expensively (rear wheel bearings, ignition cylinder, front suspension) and I was coming up to a timing belt and clutch replacement – about $3K. I figured that would be about $300/month with interest over a year to pay back for the *known* repairs, so I traded it in for a Cruze Eco at $300/mo. I *halved* my fuel cost to $70/week between 40+ MPG and regular gas. That $280/month savings almost covered the note so I saved money (and lost work time and aggravation) by buying a new car to get better gas mileage.
Agreed. My Silverado was becoming unreliable, so I pushed it to part time duty and got a Audi A3 While the Audi got about 12mpg more it took premium fuel so my costs were the same.
A friend of mine in the 1990s drove an Edsel. Unfortunately he lived in the suburbs of Vancouver and when he got a job in the city, he came to the conclusion that commuting in an Edsel was one of those things that was more fun in theory than in practice.
He sold it, leased a Honda, and said that the lease payments, insurance and gas all came to less than the gas alone for the Edsel.
So if you’re going from a very stupid starting point… it can work.
B5 A4, so I was coming from a stupid starting point.
Although that car was carlust of mine, so it’s okay.
Spending $50k on a new car to save money on gas doesn’t make sense. Buying a new car, for under $30k, to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and emission of carbon, as well as to reduce regular expenses at the pump, makes a lot of sense. Though 2/3 of our family’s current fleet doesn’t reflect that.
Most hybrids cost way less than $50K, so that’s a misleading comparison. Trading an old gas-only car for a hybrid of equal age is sure to save on fuel costs, and likely on brake and transmission wear
Wouldn’t it be more trendy to be doing Leaf and Bolt posts? And maybe find the one or two people who still have a Coda on the road?
I have to admit, it’s a smug feeling not caring about gasoline prices.
Almost 16 years ago (the last time gas got really high) I went with the herd and bought a Honda Fit. If only the vehicle market were something closer to normal, this would be a great time to sell it and buy an unloved land yacht someone has panicked into selling cheap. Maybe if this lasts awhile, it will be my opening.
It seems like it would be good time to purchase an SUV, but I don’t think they are a bargain yet because vehicles overall have been scarce.
Life is too short to drive boring cars…
I haven’t exactly been watching the prices over time, but this one’s 18 years old with 200k on the clock and still fetching better-than-beater dollars, apparently:
https://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/ctd/d/tampa-2004-toyota-prius-newer-hybrid/7456763367.html
I wonder if not only Tesla but Toyota’s range of hybrid vehicles are to blame? I mean why drive a Prius when you could have a spacious Camry or Avalon or a versatile RAV4? Or like my in-laws last year who test drove everyone’s electric offerings and ran straight for a CPO hybrid Lexus.
Not sure about Eugene but around here if you have a Prius you better be parking it in a garage. Cat theft is rampant here in middle America.
I don’t mind the Prius – or Tesla or Rivian or any EV or hybrid, come to that. The more the merrier.
But that Prii “plural, ” on the other hand… *shudder*
Somewhere along the line I learned the rule of thumb that proper names like brand names get standard English plural endings even when they’re words of Latin origin. So Ford Focuses, not Foci. I thought I got that from the AP Stylebook, but I just looked there and found no reference to that rule.
On the other hand: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toyota-announces-the-plural-of-prius-116564018.html
It’s true; proper names (capitalized ones) should just have an “s” or “es” added to pluralize, as in “Chevys” and not “Chevies”. Same for “Mercurys”, not “Mercuries”.
But since “Prius” is a Latin word, Toyota and others have deemed “Prii” to be as correct as “Priuses”.
FWIW, I prefer and like “Prii”. It saves…energy, both finger energy and verbal energy. 🙂
No one ever regrets owning a vehicle that gets excellent mileage, the reverse is of course
not true. I imagine there are quite a few irate individuals driving around lifted trucks
returning sub 10 mpgs, that are less than thrilled at the moment.
That won’t stop them from driving like maniacs and griping about the price of gas.
As the cheapest Tesla is twice the price of a Prius I doubt if there is much cross shopping going on. I hate neither vehicle. They both seem to meet the needs of their owners quite well.
I’m certainly no early adopter and I’m a bit skeptical of new technology until proven, but hybrids and EV’s are becoming more and more appealing. All that’s needed is an improved network of charging stations. Plan to replace my 2011 Acura MDX next year with a similar sized SUV. I hope Acura adds a hybrid option to consider. I also hear that Lexus will redesign the RX for 2023, adding three hybrid/plug in options, incorporating a standard 2.4 lire turbo 4. The V-6 is history.
As the cheapest Tesla is twice the price of a Prius I doubt if there is much cross shopping going on.
The Prius has been the #1 or #2 most traded-in car for new Teslas since the beginning. What lots of folks don’t understand is that Prius buyers’ income and education was significantly higher than average. Many could have bought a much more expensive car, but that wasn’t not their priority.
I’ve been watching (and posting) the many Prii in my neighborhood steadily being replaced by Teslas.
Interesting observation, thanks for sharing.
Used Priuses (Prii…) are going to start climbing in value.
Others have noted that fuel prices go up and down. Now we are in an up cycle, it will, or should, come back down again.
Perhaps. But I don’t think so.
But, to your other point, what I really hate about the Prius, is the god-awful dashboard and instrument panel. HORRIBLE!!!! If that was a Chrysler or GM product, it would be rightly vilified as such.
But, slap a Toyota or Honda label (10 years ago…Honda’s stuck is way down in my book), and then provide a vehicle that functions well for what it is, and all is forgiven….
“a vehicle that functions well for what it is”
That’s your key phrase right there. Something that works well, works reliably, doesn’t cause trouble, and holds its value can have plenty of other subjective unimportant quirks forgiven. Myself, I don’t mind the dashboard and IP on the Prius, both new and old. YMMV.
Emphasis added.
That’s an automatic deal-killer for me. Ergonomics matter more than sleek modern design to me. My Ford C-Max has the regular Focus dash and physical controls, which are ugly but very ergonomic. I even have a button to black out the dash screen, which is how I roll.
I’m so old, I remember when these cars were considered cool by the hippest people, or posers who claimed they were hip and cool.
I have these neighbors who are constantly flaunting their contrarian ways. They are like the Addam’s Family. They don’t act neighborly, but always have some signs posted on their lawns supporting this, or that cause. They fly flags with political slogans on them. They have to stand up and spout out during board meetings about how backwards the rest of us are. They follow the latest fads and tell us about how wonderful they are.
They drive a Prius. Sadly that fits.
They really try way too hard to be different.
Now that the Prius is old shoe, perhaps these morons will start riding pink unicycles.
I had a friend as a kid who once said he tried hard not to appear pretentious.
Took me awhile to get what he meant then I laughed.
Wolfcraft, you are a genius wherever you are.
They’re not “trying way to hard to be different”. If they were in Eugene, they’d fit right in.
Now if they had “Trump Won” or “Trump 2024” or MAGA signs, they wouldn’t fit in so well here.
The simple reality is that some folks feel a need to tell the world to what tribe they belong to. That’s on both far sides of the great divide.
I never said which side of the political aisle they were. It cuts both ways, I agree.
Sounds like the same people I remembered back in the 1950s and 60s who drove VW Beetles. They also boasted about their great gas mileage too.
Then the Prius came along. Deja vu all over again.
I disagree with description of The Addams Family”. They were friendly, but misunderstood. Average visitors would be treated well, but run when seeing something strange. Also, they didn’t “flaunt their ways”, “try way too hard”, “post signs” or “spout out”.
The premise of “Addams” and “Munsters”, were non-average looking/acting family, who were really regular folks.
It’s not that I don’t want to own a Prius; I just don’t want to be known as a Prius owner.
Get a Corolla Hybrid and a bottle of GooGone to take off the ‘hybrid’ badges.
LOL
It’s not the hybrid I have a problem with (I own a RAV4 hybrid), it’s the *Prius*.
You could always buy a hybrid Ford and vanish into the crowd. Driving my C-Max, I’m totally invisible.
I do own a RAV4 hybrid
I can`t generate any Prius hate, but I see others have taken up that tired torch, plus there`s still no shortage of hatred elsewhere. I was a battery life skeptic but I know a couple of owners and Toyota batteries have held up well through Canadian winters.
Small car prices seem truly nuts currently. I`m keeping a look out for a small student car, a co-worker`s daughter might need one in May for her engineering co-op. Fancy a 2005 Corolla for $7k?
I have a Prius. For some reason, the block heater plug, which also heats the (big) battery pack, wasn’t done right one cold spell this winter. The car acted weird for a few days, but seems fine now.
On the other hand, the lead acid battery under the hood is toast. It’s a small thing, and didn’t like the treatment it was getting (I’d be cranky too, if all I had was an extension cord to keep warm at -20). Anyway, when I bought the car, the 12V battery was dead, and it was boosted. One year old car, brand new on the lot. It’s only last four or five years.
You don’t want to know what a Toyota dealer wants for a battery. The service writer was saying that it should be about $250 installed. He came to me ten minutes later. They didn’t have it in stock, and, anyway, I may “want to shop around”. His words. For the 12V battery. I got a proper replacement for about one third the price elsewhere in town. And no, Canadian Tire couldn’t even order one.
But the big battery is fine.
Are you the Andre Roy from Montreal whose family vacationed in Colchester VT back in the 1960s by any chance, with a brother named Robert?
Hate is such a strong word, that I hate to use it.
As to the Prius, I don’t hate the car, although I am not fond of its weird looks. I don’t like the Leaf or the Bolt for the same reason. And I love the Tesla… cool looking car, so it has nothing to do with our electric future.
No, it’s not the cars, it’s the Virtue Signaling I can do without….
…especially when the Prius driver insists on camping in lane one (the fast, passing, or left lane for us yanks) doing the speed limit, or worse… less.
This is both unsafe and moronic behavior. If you aren’t passing, get the hell out of the fast lane. This is sound advice for ALL drivers, but for some odd reason, Prius drivers seem to be the worst offenders, and I have no idea why, other than maybe the aforementioned virtue signaling.
Apologies Paul for this negative post, but you did invite us to rant. 😉
Excellent! You’ve taken the bait. 🙂
Great cars. People hate what they fear or can’t/won’t understand or are willfully misinformed about.
I hate hypocrisy, bullying and dishonesty. Gotcha! 🙂
I also hate fish sticks and black licorice, but I suppose it could be argued that I won’t make the effort to understand them.
But you’ve tried them. You don’t dislike them due solely to what you heard someone else say about them or what you assume about others that you’ve seen enjoying them.
Are you suggesting that anyone who hates Priuii would like them if they tried them? I don’t harbor a seething hatred but I’ve got extensive wheel time behind a 2014 V and while it does it’s job of being a car well, I still don’t like anything about it, except maybe for the giant sunroof.
It’s slow, it feels heavy, the turning circle is absurdly large, the dainty plastic “shifter” is ridiculous, the center display is unintuitive, it makes weird whirring noises at low speeds, the starting battery is behind the rear hatch and if it goes dead from accidentally leaving a dome light on you can’t open said hatch because it has an unnecessary electronic button that needs power to work(yes yes, I since learned about the rupe goldberg auxiliary terminal under the hood for jumper access), and for certain commutes the mileage frankly isn’t spectacular unless you’re actively trying to maximize the mileage it’s capable of. I got 30-35mpg between fill ups when I was driving it, it’s my mom’s car now and she reports about the same.
No I did not suggest that at all.
And the turning circle of a Prius V is within 6″ of a 1992 Cougar XR7 or a current Ford Mustang so not sure what that part was about. It turns just fine.
I mean you said people hate what they fear or are misinformed about, where in particular does fear come in? Fear that they’d like it? Fear every other car would become like it? I understand there are a lot of dumb prejudices about the Prius and past owners from misinformation, but there is a lot to understandably dislike about the Prius if you have a personal preferences of how a car should be, many of the faults I personally found with it aren’t even unique to the Prius or hybrids, some are just Toyota things like lighting controls on a stalk which I don’t like. Some of the reverence and praise it gets is almost as irrational to me as the hate it attracts for no good reason.
Re the turning circle I don’t know the published figures but I have made a few miscalculated U turns on 4 lane roads in that car that I’ve never had an issue doing in the Cougar and especially the Focus, it’s not like I drove into the ditch but I slightly kissed the tire on the opposing curb a time or two, a few inches makes all the difference. Could be the streets in the south Denver area are slightly narrower than I’m used to though.
A “personal preference” for something should not translate to “hate” for anything, anybody, or any situation. It simply means you dislike that particular instance for reasons that you can presumably articulate. Many people “hate” the Prius for reasons that they have never themselves actually verified for themselves. Most times whatever is actually found to be legitimately objectionable to someone in a Prius would be the same objection that could be leveled at a Civic Hybrid, yet nobody “hates” those, they just ignore them or their existence somehow.
Lots of people “hate” other very specific but at the same time absolutely random groups of people, often because they are misinformed about them or their culture, have been insulated in a bubble of their own making their entire lives, listen to others that sow fear and blatant falsehoods about those people, or are simply too ignorant to believe there is any other possible way of being than what they themselves are or represent. (I’m not calling you out here, so don’t think that).
The Prius was the poster child car equivalent for that when it was introduced. Not too long ago there were still people (car people!) on this site going on about how the batteries must be replaced every couple of years at great owner expense (in a car with a minimum 8yr, 100k battery warranty, sure, uh huh…). Others still say they clog the left lane at below the limit (not around here, most Prius drivers seem to fly along I-25 at close to triple digit speeds. Seemingly the only car faster than a Prius around here is a rental Prius.
It’s too loud or sounds weird. Really? It just makes different noises than a V8 or whatever. It’s too small. Really? It’s the same as most other economy cars and far larger and spacious than most any real sports car.
There are people on here that “hate” the Prius. Yet they have never driven one. They “hate” it because it represents something that they somehow find threatening to themselves for some reason.
It’s perfectly fine to “dislike” or “prefer something else” for whatever valid reason one may give. I’m not surprised you personally don’t own a Prius. I’m even less surprised you don’t rock a Hybrid RAV4. Your vehicular preferences in general don’t predispose you to being particularly fond of them. Whatever. That doesn’t mean they are objectively bad cars or don’t do their job to many owners’ full satisfaction or that their owners are bad people or “different”.
And to that point I think most people throw around the word hate figuratively like any slang, me saying “I hate spicy food” should be interpreted as “stop trying to convince me to order the spicy chicken, it’s not up for debate” I think that’s how most people are really. Words only have as much power as the reverence they’re given. With the Prius it was the same story, whether real or perceived there was an offputting sales pitch whenever the subject of the car came up, that’s why hybrids of other cars don’t really get the hate the Prius does, it’s like a pushy salesman.
And you don’t need to tell me the car doesn’t define the owners as different or bad people, but it doesn’t always feel like that live and let live attitude is reciprocated, I don’t think it would be a stretch to say Prius buyers of the day didn’t likely have positive thoughts of Hummer H2s, and I’m sure there were prevailing generalizations about their owners.
I have a big problem with the word “hate” and its connotations. It’s a very powerful word, and the emotion it describes. There’s way too much hate in the world, and the use of the word.
Would a good car reviewer say “I hate xxxx car”? Would a food writer say “I hate fish sticks and black licorice”? Can’t we describe things with a bit more nuance than “hate”? “Sloppy handling; poor poor acceleration; Too salty; mushy texture”? It’s a lazy, purely emotional reaction, and as far as I’m concerned, the crux of almost all human shortcomings and the cause of so much of our misery, wars, injustice and a whole lot more.
I really struggle with the love-hate culture that seems to define everything and everybody. There’s more to life than just raw emotion, but obviously that’s not a widespread sentiment.
In 2017, I was skeptical of hybrids and particularly dead set against the Prius, mostly for its excessive futurism and extremelining. That year I was helping my daughter pick out and buy her first car. Searching for high MPGs and hatchback for low used cost and high reliability, I kept coming across an unfamilar Ford model that looked like a fat Focus. So we took a long test drive in a Foed C-Max, each of us spending time behind the wheel. She was just happy to be getting a car, while I was experiencing a rare movement of the tectonic plates of my mind. I liked this car! Great visibility, vast headroom, conventional controls, crisp steering and good power, it had them all- and my baseline and daily driver was a MkV GTI! (The C-Max rides on the same wheel and tire size as that GTI, which hints at the hidden virtues of the car.) Within the year, my tenth, and last, VW was totaled in a hailstorm and I’d bought my new C-Max Energi, which I drive still.
I’m not sure if I would have ever discovered the C-Max on my own. It was obscure by then, unadvertised and rare on Colorado roads. I still wasn’t convinced hybrids made sense. It was because I was looking for a car for her, not myself, I was able to consider a wider range of options. That took some of the ego out of it.
I really like the Prius. I think the technology is cool, and I am a cheapskate. They also have a reputation for extreme durability.
Just discovered today that our state charges $75 extra yearly registration fee on hybrids. I have been on the lookout for a new Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan for about 6 months. Inventory is nil.
I’ve never had a hybrid but after renting a Sienna for a 2000 mile trip I’m a believer. A giant van full of crap getting over 40 MPG is amazing. I can live with the noisy engine and relaxed acceleration for almost double the MPG of our elderly Odyssey.
Why oh why would anyone drive a car that looks mostly like any other car but is slow and more reliable to use less gas which is a Conspiracy anyway? Prius are just a signal that your mother’s virtue ate Do-gooder vegan sandals made in a world that is not America, and anyway, bacon cheeseburgers with Real Meat. Guns.
I vote – and I vote.
Admit it, you’ve been reading The Oatmeal!
I haven’t, mainly through never having heard of it, but having read that now, I think I work there.
Oops, I might’ve forgot to warn you the site is a sticky trap. You’ll look up and find days have passed—or weeks.
I’ve moved on to hating cookie cutter crossovers, the Prius is at least distinguishable.
I don’t consider the Prius a good-looking car, but when my neighbor bought one I was happy because it replaced an Aztek.
We drive a Auris Hybrid, simply a Prius without the Prius looks. And our other car is an Tesla Model S. Guess who is real happy with that decision now gas overhere is 12 dollar a gallon converted?
The Auris will be traded on a Model 3 asap, that is for sure.
Sorry, Paul, but no can do on the Prius hate. I dare say that instead, I harbor a certain amount of Prius envoy.
Back in 2009 I was driving 50 miles a day to work and looking for a replacement for my aging 2000 Chevy Malibu. (3.1 V6) My wife suggested that I consider a hybrid. We looked at used Prius, but the weird center pod dashboard, lack of an actual trunk and price vs accumulated mileage proposition put the kibosh on any deals.
Long story short, I looked at new Civic Hybrids, picked one out and the dealer made me a lease offer that I could comfortably afford. In two words, Loved It! It operated just like a regular car (CVT not withstanding) and got between 40 and 44 MPG any day of the year.
Still, I was jealous of the 50 MPG advertised for the Prius. The 2014 (or so) models were starting to look good to me… but then the Toyota designers went off the deep end with the current styling. I’d own one today, but I currently drive about 8 miles to work daily and we mostly use my wife’s CR-V for weekends. I can tolerate a 15 mpg smallish pickup for my solo driving and appreciate the carrying ability when the need arises.
Don’t fret that you could have gotten a couple more MPGs out of a Prius. Your driving style can greatly change the efficiency of a hybrid car. More importantly, let’s look at the math. Fifty MPG is a larger number than 44, but not by much, and it means less than you think. On a hypothetical 100-mile drive, your Honda would use 2.27 gallons of fuel. That’s just 1/4 gallon, or 13%, less than the Prius. Meanwhile your 44 MPG car is saving one full gallon compared a 30MPG car on that trip.
Moral: because miles per gallon is figured on a logarithmic scale, as the numbers get bigger, the actual fuel savings get smaller.
Back in 2008 when gas prices shot up, people were trading every gas hog in for something as efficient as they could. I recall one specific guy who just thought he needed to go for better MPG, so he traded in his Buick LeSabre for a Honda Civic at our dealership (we carried Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Honda). Well it only took him about 6 months to realize the very small savings in fuel and that punishing himself in that Civic was not worth it. So he came back in and traded the almost new Civic back to another Buick.
About the Prius. I have nothing against going green or driving something green. I have two things personally against the Prius. 1. It’s a Toyota and there will never ever be a Toyota in my driveway. 2. The Prius is one of the worst driving/riding/noisiest/pathetic excuse for a car to ever litter the earth. It doesn’t matter which generation, they are all pathetic.
Sounds like I dodged a bullet by going with the Civic Hybrid. Luckily, mine was an EX with leather seats. Yes, it could get buzzy at times because of the CVT, but overall, it was a fairly pleasant place to be. My wife & I took it on a road trip or two and enjoyed the drive. (Also, coming from a well-used Malibu probably helped present the Civic in its best possible light.)
I too had a Civic and then a Civic Hybrid, the first was immediately after a Mercedes 400E. The Civics were perfectly good cars, doing exactly as advertised and expected. The two Buicks I’ve owned were good cars as well. As was the Mercedes for that matter.
We test drove model year 2008 Civic Hybrid and Prius back to back. Neither my wife nor I liked the Civic driving experience … powertrain, steering feel, nor the packaging. She liked the Prius (2nd gen) which we bought and put over 100k miles on, before passing it on to our son who has 150k + on it. Over the years, I came to appreciate the Prius’s virtues and tolerate its weaknesses, and in fact it became my daily driver after I sold my Turbo Subaru. It’s funny that most Prius “hate” comes from people who’ve never even driven them. And I suppose the same is true for Tesla’s.
Trading to a more economical car is going to be difficult there is a shortage of new cars something to do with chips not being made fast enough, we are lucky I guess to be drowning in near new used imports from Japan lots are still covered in cars, and hybrids are not limited to Prius from Toyota everything from Alphards and Crowns in large size down to microscopic Aquas come with Synergy drive and with gas approaching local $20 per imperial gallon hybrids are very very popular as are pure EVs
Back in 2009 when I was in the market for a new car, I looked seriously at a Prius because I liked the functional hatchback design. The fact that it boasted 40+ mpg was icing on the cake. But I was hesitant about the battery replacement cost and the hybrid technology complexity at the time.
Also I couldn’t get the dealer to come down from their market-adjusted-inflated-above-MSRP price. Same with other dealers. Talk about “Green Greed”.
But I ended up buying a “gas-guzzling” 4 cylinder Toyota Venza instead, which they happily gave me a generous discount. Still have the car.
Talk about “Green Greed”.
You mean as in greed for greenbacks? Or something else?
Dealers will invariably tend to optimize their revenue from cars who’s demand exceeds the supply. They did/do it with trucks too.
Because a green car should be, y’know, green!
Glad I got a Mazda2 based Yaris.
Never realized there was Prius hate here. I’m on my second one, this one of the latest generation. It’s ugly but cute, and it drives like a BMW, my previous car. I didn’t buy it to save money on gas, I did it because it makes a difference, a statement to get others thinking.
Gotta tell you, every time I refuel, I never remember which side the tank is on – that’s how long these cars go between, and I don’t miss time wasted at a gas station. Hate all you want on these cars, they drive like SOBs, fast in Sport mode, and handle turns on Mulholland Drive like a 5 series. Love these cars!
I respect any quality auto that does it’s job well, and the Prii seem to have done that. Their owners love them, and that’s what counts I think.
Having said that, styling is subjective and all but that middle, newest Prius is not only the ugliest car I’ve ever seen but one of the ugliest THINGS I have ever seen.
It’s a perfect metaphor for mental anguish or extreme physical pain.
Doctor: “How do you feel?”
Patient: “Like that.” (points to new Prius)
Doctor: “Oh my! I’m so sorry.”
Agree. 🙂
It’s like Toyota stylists are trying to see how ugly they can make Toyotas before people stop buying them.
Hehehe! I like it, Mr Mann.
I don’t get Toyota’s thinking on the looks of the current AngryFolds* job either, but of course, I don’t know what they know, and they know that they know they have sold an unknowable amount of them, which is why I know that I don’t know anything and they do, thus providing proof that the old colloquy “But what do I know?” to be so doubly – if not triply – ironical as to leave its meaning as vacant as the known things that I don’t know that they do.
I do hope I have made myself clear.
*TM, but I have set the price of re-use so modest as not to exist at all.
It’s reached £1.60 per litre for petrol in the UK but I still don’t fancy a Prius .
I rented one in Japan a few years ago and wasn’t impressed.
Wonderful! 65 Comments already. Just like the good old days. Thank you Prii! You still have it in you.
The day is young.(Unlike some of the comments, but I digress).
Funny, but the vast majority of Pruis Hate I see on the net from EV True Believers. Most likely, they’re past Prius owners swoon over their new Tesla because it’s so much faster and more responsive. Almost every day I find myself in an online dispute with some unknown authority who declares hybrids are a waste of money, or old tech aged past it’s sell-by date. The anti-Hybrid scorn seems more prevalent than criticism of gas guzzling trucks and SUVs. This shows me it’s a religious impulse. Any organized religion clings to orthodoxy. False worship is more objectionable than no worship at all, because it undercuts the One Truth they’re advancing.
I often get a Prius as a loan car when my Hilux is in for its scheduled service, and I like the way they drive, and I appreciate their fuel sipping ways.
I don’t care for the way they look but that’s not enough of an issue to stop me owning one, they are just another appliance that do their job very well.
But I don’t care for the name at all, I instantly think of the word pious when I hear Prius,
but probably just me.
You think?
Try being brought up Catholic. Every time you see the badge, you start lighting a candle, and too often it’s inside spaces where that’s just not going to end well, such as one’s own car in peak hour, ask me how I know.
Luckily, We can then seek forgiveness.
I rode in the back seat of a Prius once. It got me to where I had to go without event. It was -20F outside. I was cold in the backseat. I don’t know what the heater was set at, but the back seat was cold, so there’s that. Haters take notice. Cold in the back seat at -20F.
When I bought my Cruze Eco, it was the perfect car for my situation then. It’s not ideal now, but far from terrible. I’ll still drive it because manual transmission.
I was driving a lot of highway miles (650/wk) so that car was better than a Prius. My situation now is mostly short trips, so I’m really looking to buy a Maverick hybrid because it meets my needs as well as the Cruze did 10 years ago.
I have never heard a single negative thing about these mechanically (or electrically). Whether you like the Prius or not, they seem to be really good cars.
Here’s some late hate. I chose one as a rental for a week once, and found all the excess monitors/bar graphs on a poorly designed dashboard to be nothing but gimmicky and a distraction. Not especially comfortable, nor fun to drive, and forever crossed off my shopping list. Over the years, increasing fugly styling, especially the rear end, made me wonder why people buy them. I also felt safer in my Golf TDI on the open road with semis bearing down all around than in the Pweeus, with comparable fuel mileage, versatility and much more tasteful styling. Perfect for wheeling around Iowa City but not the Greater Midwest.
I give Toyota a lot of credit for their groundbreaking, way back in ’99 for the US was it? We have a lady friend who bought one that very first year and traded it in about 5 yrs ago, still on it’s original battery I believe. A pretty significant accomplishment imo. More power to those who find it meets their needs, and major kudos to Toyota and Honda Insight for their foresight and innovation. When we buy an electric car it will be a Toyota.