So I've had my C for 9 months now. Love it. I have changed my driving style to suit the better fuel economy, meaning I now drive more within speed limits and whatever my C tells me is within the ECO zone. But I can't help but notice lots of people tailgating me. (Just go around!!) I drive mostly in the city so there is not really a passing lane but I still try not to hold up traffic just to keep my mileage. On the highway I'm in the right lane so I'm not bothering anyone. But in the city, many times I've had other drivers follow closer than they should (meaning they want me to go faster). Is this also your experience driving a C?
Nope... Only on "starts" do I tend to see this. But once up to speed, I drive with the flow of traffic.
Always. I drive the same in my Prius as I do in my Chevelle (sometimes) and they never do it to my Chevelle. 4 lanes of traffic, I'm in the slow lane doing 3 over the speed limit and I'm still getting tailgated with open lanes to my left. I usually flip my mirror down and enjoy my music when this happens. Not my fault if they can't concentrate on the road while on their phones.
Several times Ive gotten teslas drafting off of me. but then again I am driving in LA traffic Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I remember many years back, with our first car, driving to work for a while, I seriously thought the speedo might be broken.
Yes. Not only with the C; any car. And not only at or below the speed limit. Some people don't understand the concept of "tail gating". Screw them. Note: I often wish I still had my old junker pickup truck. An occasional "brake check" is good for a chuckle.
Here in the Bay Area it's my experience that Teslas are super aggressive drivers, even worse than BMWs.
I alternate my daily drive to work between the C and the Camaro SS (~3 days in the C and 2 days in the Camaro) and I definitely feel the difference of how people treat you when you drive a Prius, they tailgate, get mad at me all the time for going 3 to 5 over the limit on the slow lane, I've even experienced a middle finger for driving 48 on a 45 lol. I want to clarify that I drive the Camaro the exact same way as the C and other drivers treat me WAY different when I'm driving the Camaro. I don't mind saving money driving the C, but it's starting to get annoying (and dangerous to a certain extent).
What you need is a large "Danger: High Voltage" sign on the back. I could use one on the front of mine for folks who insist on driving slow in the fast lane ;p
CleanMPG members contributed a number of bumper or back-window stickers along this theme, including something like 'Research vehicle, please go around'.
That gives me the idea of buying on ebay large white letters that say "TOYOTA TEST VEHICLE, PLEASE PASS AS NEEDED" and putting them on the rear windshield. That way we could drive at speed limit (or below if feeling like hypermiling) lol. For me it would be great because I live on top of the hill and going to work it's literally all down hill just coasting for about 4 miles. My record on that 4 mile drive is 87 MPG. Going uphill is when the little C only gets 31 MPG. Hey, that's a 59ish MPG average for my daily work commute.
Calling it "drafting" as opposed to "tail-gating" is being too generous to the offenders, as if one of those dually F-350's is actually going to benefit from being in the slipstream of a Prius. The car we drive most of the time in downstate New York is a Gen 2 Prius with Florida plates on it. I think half of the tailgating we get is because we are driving a Prius, half is from driving a car with Florida plates on it in New York, and (as Yogi might say) the third half is because we are both now retired and not in a hurry to get anywhere, but we are staying in the right lane while all this is going on. My wife is telling me that I am just imagining all of this.
My problem is people pulling out in front of me. I guess they think I'm small enough to stop quickly without hitting them. smh. Didn't happen this much in my Camry.
Size does matter. I don't have any trouble with any of that in my 37 foot RV. People give it a WIDE berth.
