Small rant

We each carry the 'baggage' of our previous experience. (My major bias againist the Volt is every previous GM vehicle I ever drove, not the car itself) Some folks will judge the Prius by what it is, some will judge it for what it is not and some will judge it for what they wanted.

If they had no desire to conserve, (less pollution, better mileage, cheaper operation) then the Prius is much less compelling to them. (automotive reviewers rarely pay to operate what they review)

Without a scangauge, you are limited to information Toyota thought you would want to know, for gearheads bound to tradition, those are not the gauges of their youth. (3/4 of my selected gauges are 'traditional': RPM, water temp, voltage)

Priuschat is also biased. (This week you can hear the gnashing of teeth over the Prius v. There is serious range anxiety here about the Leaf, by folks who apparently have never tracked their daily driving distance) You need to assess my objectivity just as much as the objectivity of your other sources, as we all have biases.

 

I think I went through the phase you are experiencing now. But I have kind of moved on from it...

Sometimes if you are a fan of Prius it can be frustrating. I have good friends that I have known for decades that when I told of my desire or investigation of Prius, came back with almost venemous fallacies and misunderstandings. In one case, when I calmly exposed every supposed thing my friend thought he knew about Prius and what was "wrong" about owning a hybrid, his final response was a hurried and put off, well "Someday Hybrids might be good, but he just didn't feel they were ready today". I didn't further debate it with him, asking how he came to this conclusion given he had never owned or even driven a Prius.

In many ways, in some crowds I've just given up. Prius is Iconic, and Toyota has had great success.

Given it's mechanical, technological realities, tied also to the varied stereotypes and imagery attached to Prius, I think what it comes down to basicly is some people are just afraid of change.

Prius or otherwise, to embrace something new or different, you have to be willing to embrace something new or different. Sometimes the addition of a battery, and a Hybrid Synergy Drive is too much for some people to grasp.

In anycase, I agree, some reviews from some automotive "traditionalists" are IMO ridiculous. But we cannot force the tempo of change.

I know many of my friends who are currently driving large SUV's and almost ridiculously powered trucks will complain like the world has ended when gas inevitably breaks that $4.00 a gallon barrier. I will resist the temptation to ask those that were most venemous against Prius if that too expensive, not ready for prime time vehicle is looking like a better bargain and far more acceptable.

Unfortunately change sometimes has to manifest from "pain". And one thing most people who own cars and trucks like more than even an overpowered engine, or a sports car like drive...is driving PERIOD. When the bank account starts to be a significant barometer of available accelerator play, I expect many of the criticisms of Prius will vanish like the ghosts they really are.

 

Reviews are simply opinions, whether they be based on reality or not, and we all have opinions.

From a safety perspective I personally prefer a vehicle with decent horsepower that is rear wheel drive. However I grew up driving construction equipment in all kinds of weather and have spent a considerable amount of time competing at race tracks. I am very glad the average driver today has front wheel drive and computer assisted "everything" to assist them with safe driving.

The Prius to me is a marvel of technology and I am a geek by trade, having designed and implemented data networks for 25 years.

In my "opinion" the Prius is a well made vehicle that is economical without being "cheap". For pure price point a Yaris might return a better ROI, but I prefer the comfort of the Prius, the technology, and a longer wheelbase for daily work. I like to conserve fuel in my daily endeavors so I can better afford race gas on the weekends (and racing is where a lot of green automotive technology is initially developed).

Attitudes are just reflections of an individuals perception. I have tacky little chrome skulls for valve covers, and eight ball for a shifter, and an NHRA (National Hot Road Association) on my Prius. I think it is just my way of not wanting to grow up and letting folks know that many types of people could benefit from driving a Prius if they would take the time to try one.

Bear in mind that as a teenager in the 1970s I had a rather wide open view of many aspects of life as well so I greatly enjoy trying new things and the Prius, in my opinion, is an enjoyable ride.

 

Perhaps they aren't being paid for an unbiased review. In today's world, much of what passes for news reporting and reviews is really opinion editorial, which is tuned and spun for the audience. If you want a conservative world view, you watch Fox News. If you like sports cars and power, you watch Top Gear. If you like the Prius, you come to PC. It's unusual to find anything close to unbiased these days.

Tom

 

I know what you mean about automotive reviewers who you would think were unbiased and professional. Our local paper carries a car review every weekend by a supposed expert who is horribly biased towards large size and excessive horsepower.
He recently wrote a review about another small car that didn't match the Prius's mpg. He said he liked it "Although it doesn't get the mpg of the Prius, it doesn't have the ugly eco-toad looks or the expensive maintenance and battery problems."
This is accurate and unbiased?

 

I guess I was lucky. In November of 2003 the reviews I read about the 2004 Prius were very positive. Once I had mine (January, 2004) I quit reading reviews.

The trick to product reviews is to find a source that shares your outlook. And to read both professional technical reviews and owner reviews, understanding that the latter are not likely to provide reliable technical information, but rather real-world experience, while the former can give such things as test results.

The Prius stirs up a lot of emotion because it is so different. I've never encountered the anger I read about here, though. In the early days I got a lot of honest questions, and now it just goes unnoticed. Cars are many things to many people. For some they are transportation, and they just want economy and reliability; for some they are works of art, and they want looks above all else; for some they are expressions of power, for them a car that lacks serious muscle is pathetic; for some, they are a necessary evil, and they want a low carbon footprint; for some they are toys, and they want features, gadgets, and nimble handling. Then there are the "economic patriots" who walk the aisles of Walmart cursing people who buy Japanese cars.

People who denigrate the Prius for having insufficient power or poor styling, when Toyota intentionally put power and styling below pollution rating and efficiency, clearly have other issues with the car: strong emotional issues that will not fall to logic or common sense.

Welcome to Prius Chat, Spiritgod. You'll find everything you want to know about the car here, both good and bad, though some of the bad is hard to admit. The depth of technical knowledge here is amazing.

I know nothing about the 2010 or 2011 Prius. I rode in a 2010 once. Never drove it. But for reliable, economic transportation, based on my experience with my 2004, the Prius is the best gasoline-powered car you can buy. (Though my Zap Xebra is a lot more fun to drive and never uses gas!)

 

As long as they the power to make decisions.. people have a right so speak what they like.. but then again people who listen or hear this need not to be ignorant to the truth they find for them selfs and not on what someone else says and just take it for what it its.. People need to think for themselfs and if the truth is still unknown then seek the truth and ask the man upstairs...if its a negative world you want to live in.. what do you expect.. Yes theres good and bad things about anything but you might want to look at the brighter side of life as its outcome is always better then something negative.. Let your own decisions with out the ignorant facts cloud your judgment

 

A couple of comments.

First I think that anyone that gets published has a personal agenda. If you work for Fox News and try to favor a liberal viewpoint, you're on the street looking for another job and the same is probably true for favoring conservative viewpoints on MSNBC. If you're Phil Lebeau working for CNBC you have to say nice things about Chevy and Ford so you can be granted interviews by their executives. If you work for Readers Digest, better not say anything bad about drug companies since they are responsible for the overwhelming amount of advertisng that keeps the magazine afloat. If you're an announcer on the Golf Channel, you better throw a bunch of softball questions to Tiger Woods if you ever want him to talk to you again since he's the guy people tune into your network to see. Published journalists need to make a living and they can't bite the hand that feeds them.

There are lots of complaints in this group for a couple of reasons. One because human nature dictates that people are more likely post how difficult it is to replace a lightbulb than how easy it is if that were the case. The other is because Toyota employees lurk here and it doesn't do them any good to hear that everything's ducky when sometimes it isn't.

Finally, I have to put down $20-35K when I buy a Prius or something like it. I would rather have a list of the 10 things mentioned above so I can research and form my own opinions about each of them rather than to find out after I buy it that something on the list is a showstopper and I wished I'd have known about it before I signed on the bottom line.

In all cases whenever you read or see an opinion by anybody you have to consider the source and figure out what's in it for them.

But...this is only my opinion.

 

I actually like the styling. Am I weird?

Look, it's not just the Prius getting hate these days. Any car that boasts a battery is immediately written off among "car enthusiasts" and their circle of family/friends. Just read some comments regarding Prius or Leaf or anything green on jalopnik or car blogs. It's the most disgusting and idiotic stuff I've ever read.

Here's what I see: New car design has hit a point where if it's not the same-old design, it's labeled “ugly.” There’s nothing new-looking out there that people won’t call ugly. It's a HUGE shame. Time to move on people.

 

BTW, Spiritgod, you should watch Robert Llewellyn's review. He's the real deal. Clarkson is a tool.

 

MacMaster05, nice Youtube find! I seem to have run out of folk in my area asking me questions when I occasionally pull into the local Shell Station! Oh well, life goes on!

 

I don't think you're weird (but maybe we both are). I just don't comprehend the "ugly" tag at all.

What bugged me was when the dealer who sold me the car talked down the Prius -- of course this was after he had the check in hand. But it was just standard ignorant gearhead nonsense.

 

For a main stream automotive journalist, Road & Track's Dennis Simanaitis is a alternative vehicle proponent.

2011 Nissan Leaf Road Test Review - First Affordable Zero Emissions Car Tested
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/drives/2010-toyota-prius
Road Test of the 2009 Tesla Roadster - Full Authoritative Test of the 2009 Tesla Roadster at RoadandTrack.com
Recalibrating the Toyota Prius - Find the Latest Auto News at RoadandTrack.com
2011 Nissan Leaf Review

Reading his work may calm your nerves some.

 

Yes, but how does that relate to the styling? :huh: