Why do other drivers seem to hate me and my Prius?

My experience has been people don't care about the car, they react to how cars are being driven. In other words, it's not the Prius that is causing this change in driving experience it's your change in driving style. I'd wager a very high percentage of people don't even know what a PriusV is when seeing one on the road. My 2 cents.

 

On two lane hiways, I drive so that I pass as many vehicles as pass me,
On four lanes I drive with the trucks, 71 MPH in the right lane.
I drive with traffic in town, but where there is no traffic behind me I coast to not stop at lights.

I have no issues with other drivers except those who have to pass me even though they won't maintain that speed.

 

You have to stay with traffic and don't let any big gaps develop. Around here they think you are a demented old person that can't see if your slowing them down. You can drive an Escalade or Tundra and get the same reactions by not staying with traffic. Or by leaving your blinker on. Or by driving without lights at night.

The one thing I do see occasionally are people who are turning onto the road in front me and misjudge my speed.

 

It varies drastically by area. For those of us in areas with severe infestations of Prii, any anti-Prius rage dissipated long ago. But for some areas where they remain scarce and novel, some rage still festers.

I passed through Ontario last fall (Sault Ste. Marie - Sudbury - Ottawa - Montreal - VT) without breaking posted speed limits, and with no problems. But compared to your hometown, my route was quite far away from the North American automobile production plants where some displaced workers might be unfriendly to foreign branded models.

 

Hey I am from Sudbury... people hate my Prius here haha. I drive the limit and hybrid coast to lights and stop signs... people don't like how I actually stop at a STOP sign or a red light... most people like to roll and go. But yeah, as long as you are not crawling you should be OK, and stay in the right lane if you are not driving like a crazy person.

 

It's gonna get interesting when (law abiding) autonomous cars get thrown into the mix. My take, the speeders, and the match-everybody-else's-speeders, will eventually go away.

 

With so many folks from certain areas insisting that driving just at the speed limit is hazardously slow, I found it quite interesting that the Delphi self-driving car was able to perform last year's coast-to-coast run without breaking speed limits, and without experiencing the purported problems.

While I don't really expect the speeders to go away, I do expect the perception of peer pressure to go faster will sharply diminish.

 

Proudly display this bumper sticker:

 

it's called anti prius rage. based on the number of threads here about it, i have no question that it exists. even if you go over the speed limit, you can get those reactions.
there's a lot of anger out there on the roads, this is just one form.
heck, there are plenty of prius drivers here that will tell you that if you drive the speed limit, you're breaking the law.
i'm used to it, and try to ignore. and just hope no one shoots me.

 

It's not the speed you should be concerned with. It's just that the Prius accelerates and decelerates differently enough you will stick out a bit. Unfortunately herd mentally rejects those that don't act like the herd.

So forget about speed, just keep with the flow. Don't let too much space get between you and the car in front of you so the blame falls on them not you. When slowing to a red light, don't widen the gap too much EV coasting ( unless there are no cars behind you).

In stop lights give a slightly longer space in front so you can accelerate a bit earlier to keep up with the lead foots, but not enough space to piss those behind you. Regular cars accelerate in a predictable linear speed whereas the Prius has this initial EV seconds before the ICE kicks in. Unless you compensate a bit for that, it looks like you're slacking on a green light.

I do all of that and more, and still get 62mpg via computer (58mpg calculated) on my regular Prius (not a V). I'm sure I can do wonders if I'd wear a mask and a fake grandma outfit and just ignore other people. But whatever gas savings I'd make would be more than burnt by people accelerating around me.

 

OP may not like my response, yet

I'd venture a guess from OP's post he is not driving with the flow of traffic.
So, moving road block, slow acceleration, coasting to long...maybe that's the reason other drivers are complaining about the OP driving?

IMO Prius drivers have a stereotype of hyper-mile fuel driving which typically ignores the flow of traffic.
OP may fit that stereotype.

Plus a v is a tall vehicle perhaps blocking the view of cars behind and beside you.

Good luck stopping those road ragers.

 

These threads invariable polarize into the usual two camps. Ah well.

 

Even this varies enormously with the local driving culture. I am fortunate to live in an area with a much less aggressive culture than you describe, so Prii fit in just fine most of the time. Prii can easily out-run and out-stop typical 1980's econoboxes, which are still rather commonplace here. Though the region's new-found love of winter salt may soon put an end to them.

 

I still frequent the forums of a sports car maker and people there would occasionally post about how they were getting hate. In 6 years with the same car, in urban, suburban and semi-rural areas I never had a single incident.

Now drive a v in semi-rural good-ol'-boy country. I don't either unless I am wool gathering so it is my driving style that invites it.

 

In my small town, I take note of these idiots and always get them back when I'm driving my dirty whire gas guzzling POS truck.

LG-H901 ?

 

Love the hate. I push my secret disintegration button on all who tailgate and speed/weave in and out of traffic. Idiots need to be taxed off the road.
Wish I had a giant flip off sign that I could pop up.

Actually I use road rage as a guide on how well I am driving. One road rage for short trips is good.

Speed limit is the maximum not the minimum. Drive 65 on the interstate, and 55 on the non congested back roads.

 

Could be worth checking your speedo (do it with a GPS, they're very accurate). If it's wrong, compensate so you're driving at the actual limit. (if it's wrong, check your tyre pressures first, they can make a difference).

My FORD reads 100 km/hr, but is only doing 93 - so I drive at an indicated 107-108, otherwise I drive other drivers CRAZY. My son's first car was a Mitsubishi which read 100 and was doing 89 km/hr, the worst I've run into. My last FORD and my Dad's Camry are almost perfect.

 

Exactly, self solving problem. Hey car, take me to lunch.

Noticed my speed was real low behind a truck. Radar cruise works well.