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

I owned TDIs before the Prii and all I can say is what good is a driving experience when the car's always in the shop? The last two TDIs were at the dealer more than any cars I've ever owned.

 

I agree with you on many things. I can see how this Prius might be comfortable for people much shorter than me, but at 6'2", my legs hang so far over the edge of the bottom cushion, there's not much chance for good leg support. Plus there's not much room for my knees to move around underneath the steering wheel.

The power seat would allow me to lower the front edge of the seat cushion. I've done measurement to find the vertical distance between the seat cushion and the steering wheel greater in the power seat when flattening out the tilt in power seat. Said it before, but I'll never, ever buy another car that does not have a power seat, at least 10-way adjustable. I don't car if the car is new or used, it will have a power seat.

My mistake, should have picked a larger car. Funny thing is the 'experience' is ok sometimes, but othertimes when I expect another ok experience driving, it lets me down and honestly, I find myself squirming in the seat more than I'd like to try to get comfortable.

 

I hate thinking about the "driving experience" as it, please pardon my french, blows the underside of donkey balls during mating season. It's a small tin can at best, rattles, road noise, some of the hardest plastics on earth, all combine to take away every little ounce of good experience...

 

5 million sold, including to all the people that dont like them in this thread, says they dont have to.

 

I'm currently car-less while I hunt for my Prius. The bike in my avatar is what I commute with for now (with street fairings and lights put back on, of course). My dream is to have a reliable vehicle that saves me money in the long run, and is great for road trips. After reading stories of people folding the seats flat and sleeping in the back, I was sold. I've got many fond memories of sleeping in the back of my Subaru Legacy, and I wanted a vehicle that could be slept in if the need or desire arose.

Reliability - check. Economy - check. Utility - check.

As an efficiency nerd in general, I'll have loads of fun keeping an eye on various information in my attempt to maximize MPGs. While my TSX (wife is driving) is a pleasure to drive, the Prius will be entertaining in a different way.

I noticed the disconnected feeling while driving my friend's CR-V. Nobody told me it had electric steering, and I wasn't really aware that it's becoming standard in most cars, but I could feel that it was notchy, electric, and lacked the proper feedback.

 

As stated the Prius does what it was designed to do very well. VW makes a Hybrid that get worse MPG than the diesel. They do not advertise the car getting good MPG but performance. Why make a hybrid then?
This is the best car I have owned. For me it's a pleasure to drive. The best short trip MPG I have done is 8 miles in city traffic at 25 to 35 MPH & got 95MPG. But I am averaging 47 to 51 MPG per tank.

 

This car is a marvel to drive. Besides the gas mileage (I'm pretty consistently in the high 40's/low 50's in combo highway/local road trips), the technology (I'm driving a big gadget!!), and the seats which are both comfortable and provide support for your back, the audio options (broadcast radio, hd radio, Bluetooth, ipod compatability, Pandora, satellite radio), help make long trips easy. In the eco mode, I have no problem summoning up adequate power on the highway. What's not to like?

 

Can you suggest some others cars that average over 45 MPG real world, not just EPA, start around $25k and are not 'mild' hybrids?

 

Everytime I start trying some 'hypermiling' heading home from work, I get bored with it in a minute and just go back to regular driving.

 

to dude above ....

What's not to like?? Being 6'2" tall and driving this car. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 6'. My nieces cruddy old 2002 Civic 4 door is more normal to sit in than this Prius.
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It's always about the MPGs with the Prius.

My stance is, since Toyota did not offer the 10-way power in 2010 and 2011, they ought to have worked double overtime to get the manually adjustable seat right.....

They went to a 'slim seatback' design to make more rear seat legroom. Where is the lumbar curve in the seat?? Anybody know?

Consumer Reports Video Hub - Cars - Hybrids & Alternative Fuel - Toyota Prius review

Reviewer says handling just ok, steering vague, visibility blown by rear spoiler, nothing plush or luxurious inside, caps on floating bridge console, wheel doesn't come out far enough.

It's a perfectly viable family cars as reviewer says if you don't mind its unusual front interior design.

 

Maybe this site can help you Fuel Economy
You are the poster child for my comment, even though you go on and on about whats wrong with the car in your view, you bought 2 of them. Toyota is in the business of selling cars. They make changes to keep that happening and the numbers support their choices work. Why should they make the changes you say they need to make? They clearly didnt need them to meet their goal of selling you a car, twice. No matter what the bottom line is, if you dont like, dont buy it. If you made a mistake in buying, sell it. There are millions of cars for sale in the US right now, pick the one you want and turn that frown upside down.

 

I guess Toyota shouldn't need to make changes to this train wreck either cause it's the top selling sedan and there's a whole lot of people who like driving around with there arms skewed the right, huh?




here's list of 40 mpg or above cars....

Fuel Economy

Prius c - blech
Prius -
Accord Hybrid - not out, unproven
Fusion hybrid - I'll check it out again
Jetta hybrid - oh no
Civic hybrid - not a hybrid
Insight - seriously?
CR-Z -
C-max - yuck
Prius v - blech
CT200h - too small
Camry Hybrid - see train wreck photo above
ES hybrid - $$
Avalon hybrid - $$

We'll see if my hardware case fits in the trunk of a Fusion Hybrid.

Next step is back to a 28 MPG conventional car like used Accord, that's the choice.

Now what?? Hybrid market is jacked up. That's why it's lopsided like 68% market share for Toyota.

 

Curious. What don't you like about the C-Max?

Volt?

 

It must really suck going through life so unhappy.

 

Very different reaction here. DW and I took several weeks to learn the basics of hypermiling and 9 months and 13000 miles later we are still enjoying it and trying to improve more. We find hypermiling endlessly challenging and interesting because we have to adjust to ever-changing traffic situations. But we are retired and don't have to drive during rush hour congestion and that might make a critical difference.

 

I guess Im one of the drivers that could never get over the lack of driving performance and quality in my Prius. The tech is great, radar cruise, lane assist and mileage was great , even driving it hard I always got 41 + mpg. But the lack of driving enjoyment I could not get past.

So 15 months later and 40,000 miles I traded it in on a Mercedes C250 , immediately the joy of driving came back. I am in in a car that is quiet and comfortable, has great stopping ability, handling , reasonable power and still gets me 31+ mpg on my freeway commute since its the little 1.8 turbo 4 cyl engine.

Its been an experience owning the Prius and over the time I had it it saved me about $ 3600 in gas but if I had it to do over and if I new that I would not enjoy the driving experience that the Prius gave me I would not do it over again.

Thanks to this forum I learned a lot and enjoyed the journey.

 

I was passed by a Sequoia about 25 miles into my drive today, way over any speed that he should be going during harvest season. (Corn and rice are done, cotton and soybeans are in full swing, peanuts have not begun)

I passed the Sequoia in a school zone getting a ticket about 33 miles into my drive to a client.

Just passed the private prison about 40 miles on my way to a client, the same Sequoia passed me doing a speed that would get him in trouble when he meets farm equipment.

My theory is that my driving experience today was better than his. I left with time to get to my destination, he seems not to have.

On the road they detach the front unit and carry it as a trailer
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8e33-wRWNhY/UJ-xxopSZvI/AAAAAAAAAh8/oHdhmhYmupQ/s1600/fen3.JPG

 

And this wasn't seen in your test drive?

 

This highlights the difference between spenders and savers. Some people get enjoyment out of spending money on more performance, and others get enjoyment out of saving on fuel and vehicle cost.

I'm certainly a saver. It causes me more stress to see the bank account get low than the enjoyment I derive from owning something new or expensive. That said, we are all spenders and savers, just to a different extent. Even I have my go-fast performance machine

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