What percentage of Prius drivers actually think about the driving experience?

my father has been saying that since he was 80 and now he's 93.

 

Good for him,
Way to go Dad!!!!!!
Two of my coffee buddies are 91, and they are in better shape than I am in!!!

 

i know, i was talking to the patriots former equipment manager yesterday, 96, still driving and looks better than me. makes you crazy.

 

i read a few posts per page and really want to give my thoughts...

I will start by saying this is my first non domestic car... so let me recap there..

1991 mustang 4cyl - wifes car that i made sure to get rid of as soon as possible
1994 cavalier rs 2.2L - 44mpg loved the car and 4 doors - comfortable ride
1996 camaro - 200hp v6 - 20mpg and meh power - comfortable ride
1998 GMC Jimmy - 4door 4wd - comfortable ride
2005 trailblazer - 18mpg if you do 30mph or 85mph.. wth!!! no matter what... but - comfortable ride
2008 silverado - 5.3L 15-20mpg - comfortable ride
2013 gmc sierra on 35's - 5.3L 15-22mpg- comfortable ride

with all that.... they all have been a joy to drive, ride shotgun in, feature riched and great build quality. Never an issue...

as of yesterday 7.7.2014 I am a proud owner of a 2014 Prius 3.
I am in it for the MPG.
This morning was my first drive... find my thread in newbie.. NJ Prius...
62mi to work... cruise set to 56mph in a 65mph area. I did this in my Sierra....

my thoughts...
1. objects in mirror closer than appear should be renamed to Objects in mirror will rear end you sooner than you think!!!!! wow never noticed people flying up behind me so much in my truck....
2. my phone runs waze gps app and it sits up against my speedo... ummm dash doesnt leave my phone in any possible position other than upside down in the front cup holder....
3. biggie for me... arm rest on door is 4-6" too low for me.. im a leaner and love resting my arm
4. another arm rest - it is cloth... umm i sweat.. or do yard work and clean but not the best.. i see the armrest getting very dirty...
5. center console - same.. cloth... gonna get dirty with arm laying there
6. center console 2 usb and 12v plug - power off when car off...great... dont like that
7. cup holders do not fit my wawa refill cup correctly. really bugs me on that....
8. dash such angle radio is tough to see with sunrise in AM
9. drives like a economy car
10. door feels like cheap sheet metal...
11. negotiations - heard so many times that domestic cars have a higher markup/profit range... then im buying the wrong car if that is your sales pitch
12. warranty bumper/bumper same as my gm's but drivetrain way worse... standard side.. need to buy extended if you choose to
13. park is a push button - wife was in drivers seat in driveway and im in pass seat. were both looking at radio and didnt realize we were moving in driveway.... she thought it was in park....
14. reverse beeps.. so annoying but backup camera is cool...this is not a garbage truck.. why beep like that...


These are minor things.. just thoughts... nothing as gripes...

cool stuff..
1. ran to shoprite and back on electric only
2. cost me $3.50 to get to work vs $11.50 - many scares with big rigs flying up behind me
3. has a spare tire - guy at work has a can of fix a flat and a pump in his malibu
4.


ill update more later... on my drive home...

 

I drive my somewhat smaller Prius c quite a bit in NJ, mostly west and south from NYC, and I find it a lot safer to just drive the Prius on the highway the same as any other car. Go with the flow and there will be far fewer irritated drivers coming up on your tail.

 

root, it sounds like you bought the wrong car! but, you know how things 'sound' on the intranets.

 

Not criticizing or trying to start anything, you're entitled to drive the way you want within the law, but I don't think this is Prius-centric. I suspect anyone driving a car much smaller than a big rig while going 9 mph under the spend limit will experience this sensation. Just sayin'.

 

it's just not as noticeable in a sierra.

 

I hear that. I was just looking at an mpg vs mph chart and it was telling, to say the least. It certainly supported your choice to drive that speed.

 

At what trade off though? The one yahoo who gets crazy for being behind someone going way too slow and doing something stupid that gets someone hurt or killed?
Of course it goes the other way too for someone going way too fast. Though I think the threshold for tolerance on each is different.

 

Hey, I totally agree. I'm not defending it, just saying the chart supported it from an mpg perspective. I personally think slow drivers cause too make people to switch lanes and set themselves up to be rear-ended by folks who aren't paying attention. I just didn't feel this was the place to discuss the merits. Of course, in most parts of the country, if you're going the speed limit, you're still going 10-15 mph slower than many.

 

what does it say about our society when we're more tolerant of those breaking the law than those obeying it?

 

Sorry, but I'm not being more tolerant of people speeding, I go maybe 72 in a 70 unless traffic as a whole is going faster, like in LA or Chicago. I'm saying going too slow is dangerous, partly because of the speeders, but I think 10 mph under the limit is too slow even if everyone else was going the speed limit. And don't get me started on the arbitrary nature of our speed limits. Try going 56 mph on I-10 or I-40 through Arizona (75), New Mexico (70) and Texas (80 & now 85) or I-95 up the East coast. IMHO, 56 is an accident waiting to happen and the person going 56 may not even be involved. And, I'm not picking on RootBreaker. It sounds like where he drives, 56 might work okay when he's on the road. It's a nightmare whenever we run over to LA. It's not the speed though, it's the weaving in and out.

 

Fyi 5:30am.. east coast.. ac expressway to rt 42 to 295 to i95... that is my commite. I am not the only one doing that speed. I am very cautious to not go too slow and be unsafe...

Now reverse that... i have been in a rush in my gmc.. 6000lb truck 6 in lift and 35s... rolling @75mph.. cops fine w it... that much mass get a blowout.. not gonna b good. Usually it is the weavers thats the problem..

Fyi im not in anymood from the discussion.... i like discussions....

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

And I agree the weavers are the problem and I suspect most of them would weave no matter how fast you we going, it's just want they do. May I ask which lane you drive in? I'm intrigued now.

 

Obviously on these boards you'll get a very biased opinion, but also some great information. I'm a pretty big fan of the overall driving experience, efficient handling, comfortable and brings smiles at highway speeds. I also like quality interiors, good ergonomics and all that. Still, I bought a new Prius v Three last year. It just so happened that with congested roads, my desire to have extra cargo capacity, get good mileage, that's what made the difference. The Camry and Avalon hybrids offer infinitely better driving experiences than the Prius, but lack the cargo room.

I did wince once or twice while hearing the engine groan up hills, a somewhat cheaper interior more on par with Subaru than Mazda, no power seats, auto dimming mirror, etc... Some little things I miss. If not for the cargo room desired, this would not be my car. If not for the gas mileage, I doubt the Prius would be anyone's car. Similar to Subaru if they had no AWD, there's far better choices.

But now there are many choices out there, and they get better all the time. The next few years will be critical for Toyota and their hybrid platforms. When you have to compete against the Fusion and Accord hybrids, CMAX in the smaller hatch variant, and more to come, Prius is at the bottom of the barrel as far as driving experience goes. I would have bought a new Cmax had they not lied about the economy ratings, and had it had more cargo space.

The Prius has dedicated owners because of stellar reliability, great dealer network, and great fuel economy. Period.

Time will tell how long Toyota can withstand the legions of potential owners looking for nicer interiors and much better driving experiences. That's what we'll be looking for when we decide to replace our 2007 Camry Hybrid, which also has a dead solid reliability experience.

 

I could live without power seats and fancy covers, I just think whoever came up with the seat cushion needs their head examined. PAIN should never be the result of sitting in the driver's seat for extended periods. That's just poor design.

 

I took a good long sit in the driver's seat of a 2014 Prius Five liftback which has the '10-way' power seat and for me, the sitting position is absolutely better than what I could possibly adjust to in my manual seat. .

The power seat allows a position for more legroom and to sit more upright because I could tilt seat bottom front edge down, lean seatback up (because of tilting base down) and scoot back a bit.

Toyota is putting power dr. seats in higher trim 2014 Corollas.

The higher end trims of Prius liftback should always have '10-way' power seats.

 

Ask yourself this question:

If the 2014 Prius liftback had a 55 MPG combined EPA rating** (and it got it), BUT, it looked and drove EXACTLY the same as now and cost exactly the same as now ... do you think sales of the car would jump 30%? 60%? or double?

** next gen target

 

Nah, that is fat people with years of poor posture.