What percentage of Prius drivers actually think about the driving experience?

I care about the driving experience, but ultimately I care more about saving money. My commute is about 75 miles round trip so you can imagine how much I save at the pump by driving a Prius. You are absolutely right about the interior, and me coming from a Lexus was a bit of an adjustment. For a 36k car (package 5) I would hope that everything in the interior would not be made of hard plastic. The ride is choppy, its loud on the freeway, the SofTex is not nearly as supple as real leather and for me the seat is uncomfortable. I came very close to trading it in for an IS250 but I just couldn't do it knowing that I would be spending about $200 more per month on gas and $75 more per month on insurance. Despite all its shortcomings, I love my Prius!! If you take it for what it is,one of the most economical economy cars, you will love it. Regularly getting 50-60 mpg is great coming from a car that used to get 19!! I plan on getting a "fun" car when this one is paid off. Then I can drive the Prius to work and my "fun" car on the weekends.

 

Toyota just announced price reductions on the PIP both models. Perhaps the new price matches the experience

 

That is part of what makes terms like "driving experience" tough to use.
To me, what you described would be called "performance". "Driving Experience" would include smoothness of both the drive and shifting (if there is any), quietness, etc.

I would agree with you that the Prius is not a "cheap" car. To many, it does have a "cheap" interior. However, that does not make it a cheap car for the reasons you already listed.
It is my favorite ICE only car.

 

I've always liked the look and feel of the interior in the Gen III's. It's not corinthian leather by a long shot, but the cloth seats were fine for what they were and I really like the softex in the PHEV advanced. The power lumbar and seat adjustments make a very comfortable driving experience for me.

I must be in the minority here, but it's a very satisfying vehicle both in terms of economy and drivability. I made a conscious decision on the purchase and have been very pleased. If I had wanted a race car, I'd have gotten one.

 

I bought my plugin wholly in spite of the driving dynamics. It was really the only car that fit the desire for electric only operation in town, good economy on longer trips, and plenty of space for occupants and cargo. The 1997 Volvo that it replaced was a considerably nicer place to be inside. I still have a track-prepped Mercedes 190e for a fun car.

The interior I'm largely adjusting to. I still think the seats are bad, and the door and center armrests awful. The handling I'll live with. I do wish that they had left some, ANY, steering feel in the thing. That's the thing I miss the most dynamically. But in the city where I really bought it for that doesn't matter, and the small turning circle is a big improvement over the Volvo.

I'll be interested to see how it goes this winter. I place a lot of faith in my safety in the winter on the feedback that the car gives to me through the wheel, constantly communicating the level of grip available. That level of communication isn't present in the Prius.

 

Here in NJ, I go from one traffic jam to another, so the Prius makes my driving experience great.

 

Prius has outstanding reliability, space efficiency and fuel economy. Many other aspects (ride, handling, noise, and outward visibility) are sub par. If you want a nimble and quiet vehicle get a Fusion hybrid and pay a bit more at the pump.

 

Many professional reviewers like Consumer Reports, Car and Driver and MotorTrend, and more all concur that although Prius is very efficient and practical, it does not have agile handling and is not so luxurious inside.

When I'm driving home after day or work, battling traffic, hypermiling is about the last thing on my mind. Lucky don't need it to still indicate high 50s or 60 MPG.

Driver's seat is the lowest point in this car for me, it's squeezes me in the seat, like I'm sitting 'in' the seat, not just on it. Too much seat cushion tilt, squeezes the legs.

 

New Ford Fusion has compromises in driver view from the inside out: high beltline, doors, low profile windows with plastic perimeter that eats up view.

Want great view from the inside? Score the new Accord / Hybrid.

 

I actually avoid driving the Prius on a stretch of interstate where I have to enter on the right lane and fairly quickly get to the left -- all because of the poor lane-changing visibility in the Prius. Don't own a Fusion and thus haven't tried it.

 

I've owned some fancy cars in the last ten years (Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Audi). Believe it or not, my favorite car is the Prius. I still have my 2004 with close to 210,000 miles. The only money I've put into it was normal maintenance. UNBELIEVABLY RELIABLE!! As for my 2013,it suits me just fine. I actually find the seats comfortable. I just came back to NYC from NH and I had no discomfort at all. I can understand someone young wanting a performance car, but a VW GTI? The basic style of the Golf (that's what it is) looks the same as it did 15 years ago!! Don't get me started on the great reliability of VW automobiles. I had an Audi and I was on a first name basis with the service advisor. Instead of a VW GTI get a Subaru Forester with the turbo engine. Faster than the GTI, handles great and is MUCH more reliable than any VW.

 

I find the Prius driving experience to be really good. Before I bought my Prius, I rented one for a 3200 mile road trip. Since I had never driven a Gen III Prius before, and the last time I drove a Gen II Prius was a rental in 2006. Anyways, I found the rental 2013 Prius two very comfortable to drive, and I found myself going 3 hours at a time without needing to stop for a break vs other cars that I rented (or even my Mazda 626 that I had). The comfort and fuel economy were major factors in my decision to buy my own Prius. I especially enjoy listening to Pandora or XM Music and taking nice long road trips.

 

Betchya money if I had one of those new Accord Hybrids for a week, the 'experience' would handily blow the Prius away in power, comfort, and most importantly ........... desirability.

But wait and see, the Prius will continue to sell over 10k units a month here while Accord Hybrid will take off slowly, like maybe 1k / month and probably not get over 3 or 4 a month for years.

Why? Cost. ..... and people are already saying they will not buy a car that does not have a folding rear seat, like Accord Hybrid (see Truth about Cars, Autoguide responses to video reviews)

Prius has the edge on cargo room, hidden hybrid battery, lower cost and best MPGs. All downhill from there for me.

 

I kind of agree cycledrum. I have owned many Honda's and in general really like their engineering philosophy. Somehow they haven't been able to figure out their hybrids yet though. This one looks like a step in the right direction, but I agree that it's just too expensive. It starts at $7200 above the most popular LX model.

 

Have to wait and see what else it gets besides power seat, Smart Entry, PB start, moonroof (?), 17" alloys, 225 tires and 17 more MPGs.

Base Hyb said to be like EX which is $26k sticker, so about $4k premium for Hybrid. LX is very stripped down model.

Maybe some would like Hybrid with manually adjustable driver's seat, yuck. When test driving Sport w/ power seat, i used tilt adjust feature which is not available in manual seat. Far as I'm concerned, industry ought to make as standard, tilt adjustment for entire driver's seats, both backrest and bottom cushion, preferably moving together with separate backrest adjust of course.

 

Accord PIH is a few bucks shy of 40 grand. No thanks.


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I like the relaxed, calm, Zen-like experience of driving my Prius as efficiently as possible. But that is a very different driving experience from that of my old Miata which emphasizes road feel, cornering accuracy, shifting, power band, etc. Which car gives the most satisfactory driving experience depends on what the driver is looking for at that time, as I see it.

 

Just traded my Prius for a new 2014 Lexus IS250 AWD with the luxury package, navigation and cold weather package. While the Prius is a great car, and will be missed, the new IS just hit all the right notes for looks and creature comfort. Only driving 10,000 miles a year, the extra $700 will be measured in smiles per mile. The Prius had zero problems and at least converted me from BMW and Audi to the Lexus brand. It appears that the Starfire Pearl on the Lexus is the same as Blizzard Pearl. Perhaps one of the best paint colors available. We also have a 2013 Lexus 300h, and it's unfortunate that Lexus decided to skip the US market for the IS hybrid. That would have made the new IS even more desirable, but the silky smooth V6 is fun to drive.

 

Driving experience shouldn't be in same sentence with prius. I traded 2011 ML350. Driving experience was great. Handling was nice and precise for a big car. But that's where it all ends. Cost of ownership of it was almost eating me alive. Luckily I still have my 400ish hp 300zx TT to make things exciting once in awhile

 

I prefer a beautiful planet to a car with plastic that looks like wood, and dead cows on the seats. After all, I am looking *out of* the car not at the interior.