Why do people hate the Prius?

I can't help but shake my head in wonder that someone can claim such a thing and think for even a second that it is somehow cool. People are weird.

 

I drive mine like a bat out of hell and get low 50's high 40's. Now in the winter and perma-snow roads, low 40's. Babying it and driving smart, it is easy to get high 50's. I should add that I live on a mountain and have a couple miles of heavy high grade terrain to get home. I do this 2 or more times a day and get less than 8mpg on the way up. On the way down my battery is full barely 1/3rd of the way down, so even my averages are extremely negatively slewed by probably the worst possible case of driving for the Prius...

But 48 is pretty darn close to 51... 48 is 94% of the EPA average. Most cars with a sticker of 21/22 are expected to get 19/20 when driven "normally". Only 1 mpg difference, but that is about 95% (20/21) of the EPA average or only 90% if you get 19. Our RX is rated for 19/24, and we get about 22 on the highway, down to 18 on the highway at 90+ mph. That's 91% to 75% of EPA average.

So as long as the Prius gets above 38.25mpg, it is doing fine.

 

That's the difference between science and religion.

True Story: I spent a year on a NOAA ship doing hydrographic survey work in the North Pacific. They had more than a few scientists embarked whose world view (or lack thereof) influenced their field work. I came across some subversive right-wing bumper stickers with the Earth First! logo and the parenthetical addition "we'll rape and pillage the other planets later!"
You see...back then, Earth Firsters were the folks that were too radical to be involved with namby-pamby outfits like Greenpeace. These folks were bettering the planet by spiking trees and painting cracks on dams.
I had a lot of fun with those bumper stickers!

This speaks somewhat to the issue of Why do people hate the Prius?
(hint: it isn't Priuses)

REAL eco-minded people are folks who try to do everything that they can to minimize their impact on this oblated spheroid thingy that we call home....just like real scientists are folks who gather and analyze data not to validate their preconceived beliefs, but to learn and inform society.
When religion and science collide, you get weird things like the imprisonment of astronomers for saying that the earth revolves around the sun, or folks questioning years of geophysical data about climate change, because some idiots had to 'adjust' the data---to site polar opposites.
This is why there are 30-some-odd pages of rancor in this very forum about sudden acceleration incidents for Priuses...something that anybody who has spent more than 30-seconds actually driving a Prius knows is the fault of the driver. You know....just like Prius 'hatred'.
Hey....JMHO. I gsve up on being 'cool' when I turned 40....or was it 45?
You're right about one thing though....people ARE weird....

 

My route had tons of stoplights, but the freeway would often be congested with a top speed of 30mph, and I found surface was quicker. Being able to coast certainly helps the situation.

 

The EPA on this vehicle is actually 45/48. Not 51/60 - those were the older inaccurate ratings that are no longer used.

 

I think I'm pretty far from even being a moderate liberal and I drove one for 4 years.

 

Can't agree with all of your post, but I do concur - some people are weird... and beyond that. And with the gas pedal mod, I think it's stupid - never had problems with sudden acceleration or the floor mats interfering, and the pedals seem small for my big feet (but then the seat is cramped, and I'm 6'4").

 

ETCss. I actually enjoyed reading that. :thumb:

 

So people don't hate my car? They hate me?

I think I'm going to go cry in the corner.

 

They hate you and your car.

 

EPA on the 2010+ Prius is 51/48 city/hwy, has been for at least a year...

 

I personally hate many things about my Prius and I berate myself at times for buying it, but there is one overwhelming offset and that is gas mileage. I have been predicting $10 per gallon gas in our lifetime and its is now starting to inch up past $3, and I may be right before long. So I have been learning how to obtain $60 miles per gallon round trip to/from work and I think I have mastered it, even though it takes a lot of patience. I read today that the head of the CIA drives a Prius because he says it is patriotic not to let the oil-rich countries (and indirectly, Al Queda) profit from all the gas gusling vehicles currently in use. I guess he's right, but keeping day-to-day costs down with ever increasing commodity prices is my main motive. What do I hate about the Prius: 1) I had to go into debt to buy one although a 0% interest (I prefer inexpensive used Camrys) 2) engineering complexity which translates to increased maint. costs eventually 3) I always have the sun in my eyes because the visor is so poorly designed 4) The large expense of replacing the key FOB (I double seal mine in plastic to prevent accidental water splash damage from ruining it) 5) lack of privacy and security of a hatchback vs locked trunk 6) Poor radio reception due to bad antenna design 7) spark plugs under the engine where they are not accessible 8) starter battery in the rear where it is not accessible ... I could go on, but these are minor inconveniences at least for now.

 

There is a trunk cover if you need it. Maintenance for the Prius has typically been seen as quite small; it's an inexpensive and reliable car.

In the grand scheme of things if you are SURE that gas is going to $10 (in my lifetime, sure, but I expect to live several more decades), then the better return on investment is probably to buy commodities or other exchange-traded items. That way if, say, oil doubles in price you may have a literal doubling of your money. Going into debt on a gas sipping car is a questionable way to hedge against increased oil costs.

 

The more I drive mine the more I like it.

TED

 

People hate the Prius because they think you are all a bunch of latte-drinking liberals.

 

So if gas will be $10 a gallon, and we don't want to rely on Arab and South American countries, why don't we tap our own reserves? There's tons of oil in the US, especially offshore and in Alaska.

 

U.S. reserves would hardly make a dent in our needs. You are talking about a few years at the most. Why not save that for when oil gets really scarce?

Tom

 

Yup, James Woolsey. I doubt Michael Hayden would drive one.

 

I have no doubt that I will see $10 gas in my lifetime. I also seen 35 cent gas in my life time. If gas went from 35 cents to $4 in 40 years what makes you think it will not go from $3 plus to $10 in the next 30 or so?

But I hope I have a new car by this time.

TED

 

Sorry but that's no one's fault but yours.

You must be referring to the hybrid battery myth. Well do some more reading here and you'll see it's really not a problem.

Use sunglasses. Also, guess what, if you have sun in your eyes, so does everyone else.

Seriously? What kind of water do you encounter daily? Unless you get pushed in a pool you have nothing to worry about. I've been to theme parks on water rides and gotten my jeans soaked. My key was fine.

Window tints.

Before I had my shark fin radio reception used to be crystal clear, in fact, the best of any car I've used. In fact a couple times while the radio was on, people asked me if it was my CD player.