About Prius, why do you think this is ?

One word… stereotype. For those who need to compensate for something or find their identity in the vehicle they drive, maybe Prius is your cup of tea, but when gas goes up, that all seems to go out the window. Personally, I don’t care what someone else thinks about the car I drive. They don’t have to look at it, drive it, or pay for the gas or service to fix it, so it’s water off a ducks back. If the car is reliable and gets fantastic mileage while being very utility friendly, then that’s what matters. After all, a car is a tool to get you from point A to B, it doesn’t live and breathe and have real life (though sometimes I wonder if Priuses actually purr a bit on startup).

 

MPG has always been important to me and in 2011 I bought a, what turned out to be, diesel gate car, VW Jetta TDI. In late 2016 when VW was buying them back and I had to get a new car, my assumption was that the Prius would be slow and sluggish, but I fell in love from my first test drive and no looking back.

 

Three reasons why:

1. Reliable. I've owned my 2017 since new. Have had to make zero repairs.
2. Fuel economy. My MPGs have always been between 60-70.
3. I love it. Its practical. Doesn't draw any unwanted attention.

 

for a lot of prius haters, they simply see it as a political statement they don't agree with

 

We've been a Toyota family starting way back in the late-70's with my Mom and Dad's 4-door, baby blue Cressida. Only two things kill a Yota...rust and car accidents. Rust killed her, after being passed down to the 3rd generation, around 300,000 miles. Our family has own just about every car and truck except for the hybrids. I've owned a Tacoma and now a Tundra.
We were the first to get a Prius in 2017 when my wife's 08 Corolla was sold to our daughter who got t-boned in her Honda Odyssey and only got $6,000 for it. We went looking for another and she spotted a green Prius so we drove it around, she loved it, and I stole it from the dealer. (They wanted $25K and I gave them $21k.) It does have a learning curve...lots of electronics....but our daughter drove my Prius a few months ago and her only complaint was all the beeping...backing up and has lane assist and will beep if you go over the speed limit.
I'm seeing a lot of Priis on the roads these days...even some older ones. I suspect people are parking their gas guzzlers and getting them out of the garage. (I don't drive my Tundra very much, either....Biden's war on gasoline is killing our economy but that's another rant.)

 

My first car was the frugalest station wagon made at the time. My subsequent cars have been as well.

Some other drivers want a car that can compete in NASCAR, not a priority for me. I do not see them liking my Prius v even after they drove it for a month.

Station wagons are hard to find these days, I suspect I will have to get a small PHEV SUV next.

 

Yeah, at my workplace I was one of the first among a handful of Prius drivers in the employee lot. After a few years there's a lot more now.

If you drive around SF bay area, you'll notice there's a lot of Teslas. Along the PCH, you see Mustangs and Camaros. Prius are also more common in the LA area.

 

I've had mine since 2016 - been looking for a new car recently and checked out a few others. TOYOTA has between 9 and 18 months delivery times listed - and a good chance the next PRIUS won't come here. So I've checked similar 5 door hatchbacks.

NOTHING has impressed me as much as my PRIUS when I got back in. Yes, some had better seats, some are "sportier".

But none are as practical - I have ½ the back seat folded semi-permanently as a mini-van. None have the same size load space. One other thing I noticed first was the big bin between the seats - which is great in PRIUS - some have about as much room as an oversized Coke Can. And all use about double the fuel my PRIUS has averaged.

 

I used to say "you have to be a very secure person to drive a Prius" but frankly it doesn't make sense having interacted with other Prius owners who seem to have a lot of chips on their shoulders and too much spare time to create or fix issues that really aren't issues to begin with... like modifying or complaining about every little thing on a new Prius they just bought...

I'm a truck guy. Always have been. From 9 to 5 I'm a contractor and a land-lord, evenings and weekends my hobbies include hunting and "overlanding" (which is a stupid bastardized term for off road camping). The Prius is good for work days where toting large quantities of materials around is not required, generally getting around town and all pavement road-trips. It's cheap to own and I am frugal when it comes to transportation. Don't give two shits what other people think about my car.

The Prius saves me enough on fuel every month to more than cover the insurance premium and it allows me to save miles on the stupid expensive tires and suspension parts that my trucks have due to my hobbies. The Tundra gets about 10 MPG in town, the GX470 gets about 13. Tundra tires are just under $2k a set. Prius gets high 40s/low 50s driving like a normal human at over the speed limit, tires are $400. I use it on road trips where off-roading isn't in the plans as well. Every trip to see the fam, it saves me about $500-600 just in fuel.

It's also easy to park and drive in the city. If I could have only one vehicle it would NOT be a Prius, but only because it's completely incapable off-road and doesn't fit a dead elk plus gear. That being said, the Prius is a great f'n car if you don't care what other people think and it's a better investment than a Tesla or other fully electric jobby with the current state of our country's roads and infrastructure.

 

Yeah, I've seen other Prius drivers drive crazy and fast. Sure you will still get 40-45 MPG, but driving fast defeats the purpose. I have yet to meet another Prius driver where I live who hypermiles.

Word. Although it hurts sometimes to see a nice car being driven by a douche.

Yeah, the Prius really shines when it comes time to open up the wallet. How are your Tundra tires $2k a set? The tires for my Land Cruiser are only about $1400 from Costco when they are on sale.

 

They’re 35” tires which are very useful 0.5% of the time, and a headache 99.5% of the time.

 

Fuel economy! It's a big plus in 2022...