Y Do Prius drivers drive like their 80 years old?

I don't even want to appear I'm tailgating a big rig due to all the twisted reporting on drafting...the PR is just as bad a poking in the passing lane in a Prius.

Too many to count hypermiling stories declare all hypermilers are tailgating 18-wheelers and it's EPIDEMIC. So how many dozens of hypermilers did you see kissing Peterbuilt butt today?

 

i'm not 80, but am 73...i've owned porsche, austin-healey, and plenty of big american made lead sleds.... i have had my day with fast driving, and paid plenty for citations.... i find it very inteesting to actually see the approximate mileage i am achieving with my prius.... with traffic tickets in calif running over $300 for anything, it is kinda nice to make a complete stop and keep within the speed limits most of the time....i do drive 70 on the interstates and feel like i'm standing still....but at $4.50 per gallon,,,,who's the dummy?
i do wish toyota would soon offer a lithium ion replacement battery or add on so we could drive a few miles on EV.... that's the one "flaw" than i find in the prius....Volt and Leaf can go a good distance on EV....why not the prius? i am american, and would love to see american car makers match toyota in quality and price, but it hasn't happened yet.... i put
300,000 miles on a camry, and 250,000 on a maxima, so if i live long enough, i hope to put that amount on this beautiful blue 2010 prius..... good luck with controlled driving...

 

Yes, but you have to register on a lengthy waiting list.

 

umm.... What, they will drive behind you until you die of natural causes?

 

Hi there Prius owners,we bought our 2011 Prius for Economy,not for raceing or cornering(i have an 08 Mustang g/t convrt.for that) ,when i travel to work it is mostly four lane,i try to stay in the outside lane,although i notice the drivers behind me will move over and pass me but a mile or so down the road i will catch up and somtimes pass them,i drive approx.5 to 8 miles over the speed limit,i am averaging 52 mpg and reley injoy our Prius,my point is choose the right tool for the job you wish to accomplish,the Prius is the right tool for great economy,ther is no very good multi purpuse anything.

 

Why the snarkyness? You have given a good hint of which side of the posted speed limit you are on and if you are a bit defensive.

 

Right on my friend, I'm 65 and don't drive like I did in my 20's but is do avg 5 over sometimes more as I live in a rural area. I do have a radar detector (yes in a prius!) I keep it down not so much for mileage, as I can't afford a ticket. Minimum tickets in this area is over $150 thats a lot of gas in any car. Our new v isn't fast but it isn't a slug either.
We do have 98 cobra SVT that satisfies our old age need for speed. Lol

 

Ha, I car pooled with my wife this week a couple of days due to some commuter train issues (we went to another train line). I used to get yelled at for speeding, now I get yelled at for doing the speed limit, wich to her seems like i'm going to slow...


I was annoyed by an suv on the way home today driving 5 under speed limit and couldn't get around them.... I'm sure I got cursed for driving to slow...

 

It's either that or get run over.

 

Your probably experiencing the new owner of a Prius. Alot of new owners
start out trying to learn hypermilling usually wrong at the very first.
Super slow off the line.
That's irritating.

But there's truly an idiotic epidemic of the who can reach the red light first.
I'm driving 3 abreast. I see the light clearly turning red a 1/4 mile up ahead.
I back off and start to glide. The other 2 drivers punch it to the light including the guy behind me (I'm in slow lane) who's instantly pissed he can't get around me to join the other idiots.
I roll up 2 seconds later to a red light and look at them. Really dudes?

Can you imagine how many gallons of fuel could be saved nationwide if we could just stop that event.

Speaking of pissed I got a F-150 driver back yesterday. I pulled up to a light and waiting to turn right on red with traffic. Waiting there in my Prius an F-150 pulled up behind me. Apparently he was pissed I didn't jump into traffic and cut someone off. He really raced his engine and slipped the clutch lurching at me. I finally joined traffic when it cleared. As I turned he punched it and burned out around the corner behind me trying to catch up basicly chasing me I guess to cut me off.
I punched it hard...I had my window down a little and could hear he was floored too. Big red neck truck with huge tires. He couldn't catch me. I was on it hard. I was dying laughing. He never came close. Our cars are actually pretty torqy and not really slow at all if you punch it hard and stay with it.
I joined the on ramp to a fairly empty highway very fast. He turned off never coming close to me and he was on it loud.
How did you feel red neck boy outgunned by a Prius. Bet you never tell story to the bro's.
I felt great all day.

 

Driving home the other night I drove up the Gap which is a steep hill with the cruise set to 85kms/h in a 100kms/h zone. As I drove over the crest I had to brake like crazy because there was a 1960s chevy impala (Quite rare in Australia) being driven at 40kms/h by a 20 something hot rodder who doesn't want to scratch his Precious.

 

I drive 4 MPH over the speed limit and speed up when I need to get out of the way. Seems to keep everybody happy. So from the OP's perspective I would have seen him coming and got out of the way before he got there.

DRCC really helps too.

 

I wish people would learn to spell.

I drive my Prius gently, but certainly not like an 80-year-old. On the 70-mph freeway I drive 65 and stay in the slow lane. I do not jackrabbit, but I don't P&G either. I "just drive it."

However, the Tesla begs to be driven hard. I like the feeling of acceleration, and use it at every opportunity. I do not drive more than 4 mph over the limit, and I do not drive faster than the flow of traffic, unless when passing on the freeway. When I'm first in line at a stop light, I accelerate hard up to 35 mph, which is the speed limit on major surface roads here, or to 25 on the residential streets that have the slower limit. I don't mind it that other cars catch up at the next light, and I don't mind that speeders catch up with me before the next light.

The other day there was a guy in a nondescript small sedan. I left him behind at the light, hit 35 and stayed there, and he zoomed past me going at least 50 mph (15 over the limit). We did this for 2 or 3 stoplights, until I turned and he went straight.

Even driving it hard, the Tesla uses about 1/3 the energy of a Prius, and here in WA electricity is a lot cheaper than gasoline per unit energy. And it's hydro. And I charge it after midnight, off peak. With 245 miles of range, I never need to worry about opportunity charging. Charging once a day, in the wee hours, is all I ever need. (Charging in Standard mode, which uses only the middle 80% of the battery, and running the heater hard, and driving hard, my range is about 150 miles. Even that is more than I ever need in a day.)

My number one priority when driving is safety, and my number two is courtesy. I only floor it when the road is clear, or when passing is safe. When behind a slow driver I match their speed from a safe distance back. I pass only when safe and legal to do so. I've seen people using the turn lane to pass. I never do that. The Tesla can merge safely with less space than can a Prius or Xebra. But I wait until it is safe. I'm seldom in a hurry, but the clean, quiet power of electric is fun, and for torque, there are very few cars that can hold a candle to the Tesla.