The Great Divide: Prius lovers are steadfast, but the haters

Kinda makes your blood boil, doesn't it!
I've had my Prius for 10 days now and got 52mpg in my first 500 miles. That includes some 70+ mph highway driving, two traffic jams, and lots of hilly roads (Waukesha County, WI). It's been cold in the mornings, too (my little snow flaky thing lit up ...freaked me out the first time).
Sure, I've had some fun coasting and trying for high mileage, but I've also shown off its acceleration to several people on 'demo' drives. If Auto Week is only getting 42mpg, they must be racing it constantly....in which case they should know that it accelerates and handles VERY well.
50% better mileage than my old Geo Prizm and double the mileage of my '00 Sienna IS significant and 'rewarding'. Maybe Auto Week is subconsciuosly feeling threatened and is getting defensive....I don't know

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scottw07071961\";p=\"84182)</div>

The Prius accelerates adequately... as far as handling.... I came from an '01 Jetta 1.8T with the sport package to my Pruis, and the Prius handles like wet soap in comparison... I'd say it's actually frightening in the corners.

 

Unlike the author of this thing, I've never enjoyed driving much. Driving a Prius is a way to get from one place to another with a reasonable balance between effeciency and convenience. And it's more environmentally friendly then almost every other car available, more than Honda's Accord, even more than the little Insight. So far, I'm quite happy with my Prius. It's not perfect, but it does what I want. And there are a lot of times when I do enjoy driving it.

I'm sure I'd be as unhappy with the author's favorite car, as she is in mine, but I have a feeling (a fear, actually) that there will soon come a time when the last question anyone asks when buying a car is how many horsepower it has. Conserving gas will be seen as a social virtue the way conserving water is in some parts of the country.

 

Re: The Great Divide: Prius lovers are steadfast, but the ha

I would agree with the review up to a point. My partner's Jetta TDI is "peppier" and has that distinct German hard suspension and tight feel when maneuvering, but overall, I don't see his TDI as a better ride than my Prius.
A lot depends on one's taste in driving experience. If you like the race car suspension, tight cornering, and high performance acceleration, then the Prius is probably not your baby. My driving taste is mellower than that. HUMU did great going down the coast last year at 65+, averaging 54 mpg for 2000 miles. Glenn Miller sounded great on the stereo and the car was comfortable and quiet.
A note about the Jetta. It's a well designed car, does well in crash testing, has great mileage, but, sadly, lousy reliability according to Consumer Reports. My partner's 2002 TDI lost air conditioning a year ago and the dealer wants 250 bucks just to open it up, parts and labor after that are extra.
The Prius probably appeals more to "softer" types of people, and, in fact, has "softened up" a few former hard drivers on this chat line who bought one.
B

 

I don't understand why 42.29MPG "isn't cutting it." Do they expect us to belive they get EPA in the other cars they drive? If the diesel VW didn't have it's own drawbacks, we'd see a lot more of them plus a bunch more diesels from other manufacturers as well. Personally, I never expected to get EPA in ANY car I've owned, and would have been happy with 40MPG, and am ecstatic with 45MPG in mostly urban, stop-every-block, short trip, fast & hard driving.

We all know the sour grapes. If this car was just hype, it wouldn't sell like it does for the price it does, now in mass quantity. And I certainly wouldn't get stopped every day so someone can see the "cool car!"

 

I guess I do not drive like a race car driver. I have not had any complaints from the handling. Although I have only driven trucks F250 and F150 so not really sure what a good sedan would be like. As for mileage, he must be a moron or something. I am getting 53 MPG (59 if you trust the MFD which is probably what they are looking at) after my 3rd tank. My wife is getting 48 MPG with a heavy foot. We did have to change our driving styles, initial tanks were low 40s.

The Honda Accord gets crappy mileage for a hybrid IMO. The VW TDIs are nice but are just as costly as the Prius I think.

It seems that all the review writers try to compare the Prius to a race/performance or luxury cars. If that is what they expected then they will be sorely disappointed. Toyota/Lexus is coming out with a hybrid luxury car to appease the other nay sayers but it will get about the same mileage as the Accord hybrid I think.

My wife's Honda Civic was POS compared to our Prius. It could not handle 4 people plus suitcases going up hills. At least my Prius can.

 

Re: The Great Divide: Prius lovers are steadfast, but the ha

Was wondering when you guys would jump all over this story. I agree with the story, I am a car enthusiast. No, I did not expect a sports car. I did expect better mileage, but its still good. Diesel would be better, but not until we get the good diesel.

The car is fine if you want to get from point A to B, I can think of nothing better. If you want more, this isn't the car.

 

Huh? I would agree only if Toyota was marketing "better performance" than a typical 4 cylinder mid-size. They're not, it's been tested for performance, and it's fits right there. V6's do better, there are some that do worse. Prius is very similar in performance numbers to the 2.4L 4cyl Camry.

Quite honestly, many of us don't choose a V6, even when the car has an engine choice. My car gets the 0-60 of 10.5sec, as I expected, and I'm happy with that. An enthusiast should have known the performance beforehand. I heard this about my last car as well (Saturn SC2 1.9L manual 124HP EPA 34/24) because they can't understand why anyone would be happy with that, especially in a "sports" car (Quotations since I don't think of it as a sports car) Prius is bigger, has more power and gets 2X the city mileage. Plus it has all kinds of buttons for me to play with when sitting in traffic. How could I NOT be happy?

If there was a "one size fits all" car, we wouldn't have so many models. Consumers are picky! Second most expensive thing I've every purchased! It takes me about as long to decide on a car as it does to find a house.

 

Re: The Great Divide: Prius lovers are steadfast, but the ha

I believe their point was that it isn't getting 60mpg for them, and it isn't much fun to drive. The novelty wore off. They felt the money would be better spent on a diesel that had more power and got around the same real life gas mileage they were seeing.

As I said, I think its fine for putting around, with the great benefit that it pollutes less.
The same issue reviewed the Hylander. Just said it was expensive, more or less.

 

If they think they're going to get 42 MPG in a VW Diesel driving it like a sports car they're crazy.

If they think they're going to get 42 MPG combined out of a Diesel Passat (the one actually comparable to the Prius in size/functionality etc), while driving it like a sports car, they're crazy and I want whatever drugs they've got.

I've owned two VW Diesels for the record.

I interpret it this way.

Headline: Auto Reviewers discover Prius is not a Sport Car.

Body: Auto Reviewers complain that trying to make the Prius into a Sports Car results in lower mileage.

My reaction:

Doh!

 

Re: The Great Divide: Prius lovers are steadfast, but the ha

They didn't say anything about comparable cars. While that might be unfair, I see the point. A car to get from point A to B cheaply can be had. Look at the Echo. I realize everyone here is buying the car for its "greeness". That wasn't the point of the review. The point of the review was "I was all psyched to have this cool car that got great gas mileage. Hmm, I'm not getting the gas mileage I expected. So, as car guy I'm now bored with this car because it doesn't handle better". Of course, they're not stuck having to pay for the car either.

In no way were they trying to make the car a sports car. They simply are having a boring driving experience. And, for the record, they did applaud the typical Toyota reliablilty.

 

They not only said they were unhappy with the mileage, but
"that we are getting 42.29 mpg year-to-date means the Prius ain’t cutting it. Any diesel Volkswagen can do that and still be a hoot on the highway—as well as offer the same utility as the hatchback on the Prius. "

Passat Diesel (Auto) is 27/38/31. While I'm sure it gets closer to EPA than the Prius, its common knowledge most people don't get EPA on ANY car. Even getting full EPA for Passat vs. their actual Prius mileage, how is 31 the same as 42.29? Of course, the Passat diesel is the most dirty car available, not available nationwide, and restricted delivery in every other state. How is this comparable? A car that you can't buy in the biggest state of the country? The Prius does have availability problems but it's due to high demand and lots are sold, and in every state. It's not a fair comparison.

I would expect a typical enthusiast to be bored with this car. I would ask myself why they ever thought otherwise?

Lots of Point A to Point B cars. A value oriented car buyer would get a used car with few options. Prius isn't one of these any more than an SUV is. I don't know many buyers who got this car because it's "cheapest" but many who valued MPG for more than just $$$

 

Just curious: Shouldn't a car magazine writer know the difference between a TSB and a recall? It's a pretty important distinction - think "possibly running out of gas" versus "car blows up."

 

hmm... that auto week subscription offer that got torn up and thrown in the trash last week now makes me feel even better. morons.

 

Huh?! Why does the list grow longer to get one of these "uninspiring, disappointing" cars? Why are used ones going for more than new? Why are diesels on the lowside of total sales in this country? Why does every person I let drive this car, wonder aloud "why isn't everyone building cars like this"? Why the 2004 car of the year in the US and 2005 car of the year Europe? Why do we as Prius owners even care a lick about some morons writing reviews that compare this car to "higher-end" sports cars with over-the-top HP? Why the 94% satisfaction rate? Okay, someone else take over, I've run out of the reasonable questions...

 

Re: The Great Divide: Prius lovers are steadfast, but the ha

Given the source, one shouldn't be at all surprised by the comments.

Something tells me that if the Prius returned 118.7 MPG, they would still find an excuse to p*** and moan about something. If the tires aren't squealing and the motor isn't roaring, they're not happy.

They didn't seem to mind the fuel economy of the Dodge Magnum (17 MPG).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kidtwist\";p=\"84194)</div>

Exactly -- I'm in precisely the same boat as you. So I give the editors of this articles some credit for pointing out that they're "car performance" guys -- so what they're looking for in a car isn't going to be something I'm looking for.

That said, the Prius is the first car I've driven that makes driving fun.

(I suspect the relatively low MPG they get is due to the climate they've driven it in. Michigan, right -- and over the Fall, Winter and Spring months? Yeah, that would explain a lot.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gschoen\";p=\"84245)</div>

Well, I have a friend with a 2004 VW Golf Diesel, and he's getting about 42 MPG on the highway. Not sure what the average is -- I'll ask him.

 

Re: The Great Divide: Prius lovers are steadfast, but the ha

42 mpg? Must be a leadfoot driving it on a three-mile commute.

Perhaps these magazine folk haven't learned how to drive so as to maximize mileage, or perhaps they feel they shouldn't have to do so. without hearing just what sort of driving they're doing, it's hard to lend much credence to the story.