City driving on ECO - Fellow driver's attitudes

The Prius around town is decidedly the champ. Of course, you can get a Fit for far less money, along with having far less cargo capacity. Most of the Fit owners I know that head in the direction I travel generally average 35-38 at most. Once we get out of Vermont, the mileage goes up. I had picked out a new Fit for my daughter, and a new Corolla. Both came in under $19k out the door. She ended up buying a 2011 Sonata. Oh well.

 

I have to say that driving in ECO mode in Maryland is horrible. For some reason, MD drivers are very aggressive and do not like Prius at all. Now, in Northern VA, that's a whole different story. Everyone around here seems to have a Prius or hybrid, you drive around NVA and see at least 1 Prius or a hyrbid or another at any given time. Especially in Old Town and Arlington, so driving in ECO or taking off a little slower does not yield any honks or weird looks.

 

I don't think I've ever run in Power mode. I prefer ECO simply because it provides a lower gain on the throttle than the other modes, and that lets me have finer control. I really don't care about what others think of me, although I personally try to avoid negatively impacting anyone else on the road. It is just that I do it for me, not to impact their opinion of me.