Performance more than adequate, great reliability, am I missing something?

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Bob Wilson

 

Good that you haven't test driven a Volt then because it has excellent EV performance (0-30 is Tesla like) that would give you a very different outlook about hybrids. The Ford plug-in/hybrid offerings are also strong especially in hybrid mode. The more powerful drivetrains comes at the cost of efficiency. Cross the Prius Prime off the list as it only seats four.

If you want to know why Prius has a rep among the press, drive a gen 1 or 2 back to back with a more modern hybrid. Finally, there are performance hybrids where the EV side is designed to supply additional power not economy. Many of the next generation supercars will technically be hybrids.

 

I have to agree with soldier guy's very accurate description of the Gen4 Prius. Doesn't make it a bad car, and I'm really enjoying mine, but he was right on with his comments. He's just telling it like it is.

And eustachio has his opinion, and much of it is also accurate. But maybe he's been eating a few too many mushrooms? The Prius is not all that! (He'd make a great salesman). One area I would disagree with, is the Gen4 Prius is certainly not "bulletproof." Just read through these forums, and you'll see many of the problems and issues and flaws that are popping up. (I still haven't taken care of the three(?) recalls yet. Nor the TSB for the loose strut nuts.-- And Toyota needs to add cracked windshields to that recall list!)

 

Was that a 2017 Camry hybrid or 2018? There are major upgrades in the 2018 Camry hybrid. But sometimes you have to chose from what is available.

Bob Wilson

 

Ok, I will agree with the mustachiod one on this point... The great gas mileage of the Gen4 Prius outweighs any little flaws or issues that may pop up with that car. (Makes it a bit easier to overlook the huge crack that just occurred in the windshield! )

Except for the recalls, my '16 Prius has none of the rattles or issues that so many other owners have mentioned here. I just got lucky, I guess, with my plain ol' Three model. Runs beautifully... even at 91mph last Saturday! There is definitely more positive than negative about the new Prius. But at the end of the day, it's just a car. A very good car, that just so happens to have an expensive battery under the backseat. It gets me where I want to go in reliable & economical fashion, and that's the most important thing to me.

 

When I was looking for a car, the Youtube vids from the car guys were careful to point out the features as pros and cons. They seemed to be very good reviews. Even though they didn't like the car, they did convey to me the features I wanted. So don't read too much in a thumbs up / thumbs down review. A good reviewer will give you the details you are interested whether they like the car or not. It's like that with movie reviewers. I follow movie reviewers who have vastly different tastes than I do but I can tell from what they do and don't like whether I'll like the film.

 

Just as a side note...it doesn't really bother me at all that the Prius isn't a car that driving enthusiasts love, although the brake feel does bother me quite a bit...hybrids have been around for quite a while, so there's no excuse for the poor feel of something that is so integral to the act of driving. I used to be all about the feel and fun of driving, but two things have changed my views on cars, into what are more practical views:

- My commute has made me look at cars more like a tool, rather than something that I get passionate and excited about.

- Riding motorcycles has ruined me for being able to appreciate a good-driving car. The performance of what are considered mundane bikes is FAR beyond all but the most extreme high performance cars. For example, for around $8500, you can ride away on a machine that will do 0-60 mph in around 3 seconds and will hit 125 mph in the 1/4 mile... I'm using my husband's Kawasaki Z900 as an example, but there are many bikes out there that perform better. Even the most antiquated (and one of the slowest) motorcycles currently available (Kawasaki KLR) will still do 0-60 in about 6 seconds. Motorcycles are engaging...you're intimately aware of every bump, every change in surface grip, every change in temperature, every roadside smell, you're constantly thinking about the act of riding, you're constantly tempted to open the throttle and feel the relentless shove of torque & power rocket you forward, and you're hyper-aware of things going on around you.

Anymore, I drive because I have to, but I ride because I want to.

 

Bravo! I'm always confused whether you're you or your husband on here, not that it makes any difference. Anyway thanks for that excellent comparison for the non motorcycling members. Sadly, only a biker would truly appreciate the merit in what you said. Again, bravo!

 

Last time I checked I was me...

 

Same here! I have stopped riding only because so many drivers in this area have become intolerably stupid.

But all through this thread, I've been reminded of when the first Goldwing came out. Reviewers were most critical of it's "lack of character." One day, on the way from Denver to Iowa on I-76, we were passed by a Wing that was doing well over a hundred. All I heard was the whoosh of the wind. (They soon opened up the exhaust a bit, but that first year was QUIET.) It was just before or after that that I read one reviewer who said that any bike that could do what that bike did has all the character a prudent man can stand.

No car will ever do what a decent bike can do unless you spend at least a quarter million bucks on it. Even though, I'm now driving a cage, I still have to fight the urge to look down my nose at "Oscar Grope, hermetically sealed in his Belchfire V8." I just roll my eyes at car snobs.