A Negative report on Prius V and its owners

It's a Toyota. Most auto journalists hate them.

 

I saw that too. I have a v and I thought it was pretty funny. To each his own. You can't force him to like it.


iPad ?

 

Conspiracy theory, Time-Warner revenge for Toyota not giving them enough ad revenue. I too was disappointed in the video review. Most of his pieces are just too short to provide enough detail about the vehicles he is reviewing. He misses the mark for the most part, my Prius V is my transportation appliance. I bought it to hall my family and stuff in stop and go traffic. For fun I also own cars with big V8 engines, but I mostly drive the Prius V because it does a great job, quiet, comfortable, roomie and low operating costs. I didn’t buy it to go zooming around the back roads. One last question why wasn’t he test driving a V5 fully loaded model?

 

I think a thread was started on this article in the Prius V forum a couple of days ago http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-v-main-forum/104299-prius-v-total-buzzkill-cnn-video.html

 

Thanks for the heads up. Definitely a downer of a review...

 

Yep. It's pretty negative from a person who obviously doesn't care for the car. In the end it doesn't bother me. I would be much more concerned if people who actually bought the car posted similar reviews.

 

I saw the video too. They started with the the preconceived notion that the Prius V should be a "fun car". Well, It's not -- if you compare it to a BMW, Porsche, Mustang, or other cars that are just personal transportation vehicles that don't have much interior space but do have a lot of horsepower. If fun transportation is what you are seeking, look for something else.

If your priorities are lots of interior space and good fuel economy in a mid-size vehicle, then the Prius V deserves consideration.

Keith

 

Transportation appliance -- I like that! Most of the reviews don't focus on what is actually going on while you drive a Prius -- and never give you the "to achieve "X" we had to do "Y" .... and that is the reason for a given perceived fault.

The Prius most likely does suffer from inherent Toyota blandness. That can't explain all of the misses. I was pleasantly surprised at the brake "feel" on the Prius considering what is actually occurring.

 

Wrong forum and nobody can get the V / v right!

 

Depends how you define fun. If fun is stomping on the accelerator and getting a more immediate response, then I guess the Prius v is not "fun". I use the money that I save on gas driving the v to pursue really fun things. Some of these reviewers are so tied to what their idea of a car is that they would probably like it better if the v simulated a reving sound when stepping on the accelerator.

 

"I do not want to hang out with any of those people who have passion for this car: those people are really boring"...

Hey, I feel the same about street racing journalists.
Besides boring, they have a lot of nerve, and behave badly/illegally on the roads that are supposed to fit every driver's need.

 

He must have been passed by a Prius at the pump. I remember seeing all the car magazine reviews about the Prius: Its boring, its slow, its this, its that. I saw those and questioned what they were comparing the Prius to. Yes compared to a BMW it is slow, but a BMW is a sports car and the Prius is a hatchback. Their priorities are all wacked when it comes to cars.

 

yhea.. toyota builds so good cars thats it boring to write about them so they just look for negative stuff

 

The most important thing is that "it gets you there."

If you can't afford the car or the gas, it doesn't matter how much fun or thrill it is to drive, it is only an expensive decorative depreciating "knick Knack," if it sits in the driveway or the parking lot.

 

The guy can't make an objective review, hence he's a really horrible reviewer. Good reviews are kept objective as possible and can see the thing from various points of view. In fact, I don't really consider it a review at all.... If this douche was writing a review about a car seat he'd probably say something like, "What kind of seat is this?! A SEAT FOR ANTS?!!?"

Oh and I like how he took a shot of the MPG display right when it was at 33.5MPG.... I get that mileage when I go up a hill...

Anyway, no hate for bad reviews of the v in general, but this guy is just a troll... only CNN will pay someone to be a troll.

 

Most of the auto literati don't seem to like Prii in general, I think because they drive them right after they get off the plane from Germany after test-driving the latest beamer sport-prototype. The technical elegance, simplicity, and practicality is lost on them. If a car can't break blood vessels from high g-force, they call it boring. The same can be said for consumer oriented magazines. but from a different perspective. They expect the car to be like all the others, so THEY drive it like a dumb-as-a-post lowest common denominator driver who might treat the accelerator like an on-off switch and brake at most lights about 10 feet before the intersection. Consumer reports, for example, rates the Prius hatchback at 32MPG in the city. I don't know what I would have to do to get the kind of mileage, since I have never seen anything less the 52, although some on the forum report numbers in the 40's.

 

Most of the auto reviewers actually like cars Toyota does a number f curious things in the Prius that as one reviewer stated "the prius was designed by someone that hates cars". Objectively my gen III puts out an engine note that whines in hideous tones when pushed. This may be partially responsible for better gas mileage as accelerating is no fun. I put on after market wheels and tires - similar to the ones in the v?V? 5 you know highest trim - as the stock ones really gave one lack of confidence when turning at normal speeds. The bigger wheels/tires gives it a little more steering feel, but really the Toyota engineers tuned out most if any feeling of what is going on.

And yet many like the fit, other than the high revs needed. No toyota is definitely doing something car guys don't like. But responsable people at mags like car and driver do note the good points, and talk about what people like about these cars as well as what they don't. CR, well they aren't car guys, they are appliance guys. I can't imagine how they hire those reviewers CNN, probably gets the reviewers that were fired from other places.

T

Short trips, non glides. I got 17 once on the dash that reads high. My normal city with hills and short trips is high 30s.

For those that like the prius, don't really listen to the nay sayers, but that does not mean that there is no there there.
Toyota seems to be trying to satisfy the car mags with the camry hybrid and ct200.

 

I honestly don't care if a reviewer likes or dislikes something.

That's a review, it's opinion. It's clear before anything even get's said, with the bumbling cartoon like musical notes, that the review isn't going to be good.

This guy doesn't like the Prius V and that's okay, not everybody will. That being said? Even against the tide of a person that clearly wants to give a negative review, he's forced to admit "it checks all the boxes". His "negativity" is reduced to a lot of subjective aspects, and boils down singularly at the end to he doesn't find it "fun to drive". Okay...fair enough for him. Prius supporters certainly have to admit that criticism has been levied for years and years. Personally I find that criticism tinged with a bit of desperation. If all you can find to raise as a flag to dislike, is subjective comparisons to sluggish acceleration and doing you parents laundry, I honestly don't think you have a lot of bullets in your gun. Sounds desperate to me.

Sure it's your typical "negative" review. Those are just going to appear. Since all his negative points are just his opinion, hard to argue. HE doesn't like The Prius V. So what? I don't care.

The only really unfair moment in the review IMO, came when he says because of the increased size mileage takes a hit...then they show as shot of the MPG gauge reading around a 33 mpg reading. That was disingenious, and suggests that is the mileage one should expect. I wouldn't of included that shot, and if you are going to? I would follow it up with the actual EPA numbers. To simply show that shot, and not present the actual MPG numbers was manipulative.

An Anti-Toyota CNN agenda? Who knows? Probably. I found it interesting to watch the video that followed "Confessions of a Volt Owner"...inwhich CNN decides to LARGELY illuminate the owners statement that for over a year he has averaged over 200 MPG...and also show graphics comparing that mileage to his Volvo.

If there is no Anti-Toyota agenda? I find it interesting that the VOLT report becomes nothing but a doting owner of a VOLT exclaiming how much he loves the car. No accusations or questions to the VOLT owner about the vehicle not being fun, or how it accelerates...or does he enjoy doing his parents laundry. CNN seems fine with simply letting the VOLT owner enjoy the party.

Evidence of bias and a secret agenda? ....Do your own review on that.

For all Prius, success has been the best revenge. Let those with whatever agenda dislike the Prius, Prius V, Prius C, and PiP...Toyota keeps expanding..adding bullets to their arsenal. Meanwhile critics? Are left with less and less. When the negative reviews get so impotent that they are just sophmoric attacks on the supposed nature of the owners? Then you know you have the critics on the run.

 

The only time I read reviews is when sometimes they have access to a new vehicle before the rest of us. I am not sure I heard anything objective from his reviews and from what I just watched. Certainly there is no skills involved in his line of work, just his opinions!