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

While those numbers look impressive, remember that the dimensions of all classes have cars have exploded over the past 20 years. The Prius may be slightly smaller inside than a modern Accord - but for the vast majority of people it is still quite large. It's something almost everyone comments on when they ride in mine. It can seat 6'-plus adults with car seats in the rear. We can fit two adults, 3 car seats, and a dog.

The fact of the matter is that we've long ago passed the point where even compact cars were plenty big enough for most people. The Prius provides ample passenger space for most people with far more cargo space than most other cars in its class. That's a combination that has proven extremely popular.

 

Prius has a way of sucking people in (me) with its stellar MPGs and 'seems just good enough' interior. Keep in mind Toyota introduced power seat offering in 3rd model year of 3rd gen Prius. Way to screw the 'early adopters' of 3rd gen Prius.

And like sfcyclist said ...... it's not like there's other Prius-like cars to choose from (Insight hardly counts)

Don't you find hybrid market pretty weird with Toyota having 68% market share, Prius sells WAYYYY above the rest?

Hybrid car market is immature, plain and simple.

 

That is certainly the case, and I'm certainly a case in point. There is a lot about the Prius that turns me off as a car enthusiast, and especially as one who likes really nice cars. That said, the Prius had enough going for it to sway me into buying my first new car ever despite still owning a car that I like a whole lot that had nothing wrong with it.

That said, I kind of liken it to the decade when Apple had a lock on the digital music player market with the iPod. It seemed so blatantly obvious what companies needed to do to compete, but year after year they kept coming out with the same terrible designs, terrible UI's, partnered to terrible software. It was like watching a train wreck. Eventually the smartphone changed the market, so to a degree I kind of agree that the market is immature.

Still it's funny watching companies come out with new hybrid models year after year that kind of dance around the formula that has been so successful for Toyota rather than take a look at the things that actually made it so successful and just doing the same things. Just like with the iPod in the old days, for the last decade there hasn't really been a market for hybrids, there has been a market for the Prius.

 

Trying to visualize this as I have three grandchildren and they have two dogs, so with DW I may have your situation some time. What kind of dog? A Peke I could just sit on the center console, and a dachshund maybe lay in the rear seat well below the child seats as that's rather flat and long enough, but I can't see where to stash a Newfoundland, Great Pyrenees, or that size dog. Do you exile dog to the cargo area? (I'm imagining unhappy dog and unhappy grandchildren.) Now a husky or malamute, they could be downright useful if the traction battery got depleted and you didn't want to turn on the ICE in a traffic jam--as Sergeant Preston of the Yukon used to say, "Mush, you huskies!"

(Who says we're an immature market?? Remember , old fogies take "you're being immature", like "you're looking spry!", as a compliment!)

 

Mixed breed of average size - 55lbs or so, yes, in the cargo area. She can sit or lay down plenty comfortably. She's used to riding in the cargo area as our other cars are wagons. If I could get a good cargo/pet barrier for the Prius, I would. I probably wouldn't put her back there for too long a trip, although she usually sleeps during those so that'd probably be fine too.

 

Whatever the measurements of The Prius are...they are.

To me, since it's getting better gas mileage than a smart car? It's still miraculous in relationship to it's size. I find it plenty roomy....of course my last car was a Honda Fit.

I also remember the last advertising go round, Toyota paid special attention in some of their advertising to announce that The Prius was classified as a Mid-Size vehicle. So if it's classified as a Mid-Size....that's what I'm calling it.

 

Why do you think it's "weird"?

Toyota with Prius and their commitment to Hybrids as a whole HAVE as they themselves say "Built The Bridge" in the Hybrid market. To expect that they wouldn't be dominating it would be weird.

The fact that Honda is trying to get back in the game, in a new way...and you have manufacturers like Ford competing with Fusion and C-Max- shows that the market is maturing.

The driving world, especially in North America, is still dominated by the common ICE vehicle. Hybrids for all Toyota's amazing success are still an alternative and specialized product. But I'm not sure without the success of Prius, you have a lot of the products already now available. Without the success of Prius and Hybrids...do you have The Leaf? The Volt? Certainly The Fusion and C-Max?

Toyota has clearly put the greatest investment into mainstream hybrid vehicle production and offerings. They should be dominating the market. But the fact that today we even recognize that there IS a market...is indicative of a maturing of the hybrid market.

I'm speaking about my lifetime...in the USA. But Geppetto I've watched The Prius go from being a wooden and mostly misunderstood perceived joke or gimmick, to becoming a REAL flesh and blood viable automobile for a great number of people.

 

I'd say exactly 100.00000-percent of them.

This of course is because the driving experience, like everything else, is a verrrrry very subjective thing.
My idea of a driving experience, good or bad, is going to be very different than yours and as vanilla as the Prius driving experience is to me, others find it to be very rewarding---otherwise I wouldn't be one of 100,000 PC members.
I've taken HEAT rounds in the past for bagging on the Prius Driving experience.
It's noisy....it turns like a toad...it has a zero-speed transmission, it has X-Box 360 inspired steering, there's more sound deadening material in Barby-Doll corvette, aaaaaaand the seats ought to be used in the interrogation cells in GTMO.
Valid as these claims might be to some, others in this vibrant community will have to wipe the spittle off of their Gorilla Glass after furiously tapping out a 500-word retort to my complaints.

Whether they're being driven as a semi-rolling hazard to road navigation, or some newly minted driver is discovering the fact that Priuses aren't electronically speed limited.......I think that their drivers are all thinking about the driving experience.
Americans are not talented drivers, but we ARE passionate about our cars.

 

I feel very fortunate. The Toyota salesman that took me on my first Prius test drive did a very good job of letting me learn about the car & letting the car sell itself. He also let me drive it on a good test loop. We started on a 30 MPH nice smooth street. Then he had me go on a bumpy twisty road. From there we went out onto the freeway for some 70 MPH driving and hills. Then he let me do the same with a Prius C. After those test drives my car search was narrowed down from finding the right car to finding the right Prius. I didn't end up buying Prius from him, but my fiancee did. Her & I now have matching red 2010 Prius cars. One of the later "selling point" is how someone non-technical, like my fiancee, is getting 60+ MPG within a few weeks with a few simple tips.

 

(Starts counting words ...)
Mmmm, vanilla!
Noisy, especially that roaring exhaust system!
Not sure toads turn, but they do jump. How do I get my Prius to jump?
Zero-speed transmission?? That's even worse than the one-speed transmission I thought it had!
What's an Xbox, where you mark your vote on a paper ballot?? Since it's a "360", does that mean it turns in circles? So it's a good thing, right?
Barby had the Corvette??? Did Ken get the Prius?
Who ever heard of interrogating someone in the front seat of a GTO? Hard enough to snog up there!
Wait , I thought Gen III was electronically speed limited at 112 mph! Was I misinformed?
(Wipes spittle off The Gorilla's glass.)
(Apologizes profusely to the Gorilla.)
(Stops counting words.)

 

Hmmm. I find that could say much the same things about my DW! To wit:

Did I mention that DW has a fine sense of humor?

 

See I have a different philosophy on this. If I'm going to spend a good portion of my life in a vehicle, I want it to be as pleasant and comfortable as possible. MPG is very important to me but it isn't everything.

 

Every month, Prius liftback sells about 12k or so units in US while 2nd place finisher is in the 4k range and everything else is less than that. Such lopsided results. Yes, it's good that there are more offerings in the market, but nothing really stands out as, bang, that's thee hybrid to get. I like the new Accords better than any other sedan, so I'm Really hoping Accord Hybrid sells well and remains very reliable, so I can partake in x years or so.
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I have adjusted and tried to fine tune that gosh dern driver's seat for almost 2 years now. It just flat out has somwhat too much tilt in the seat cushion where my knees are forced up higher than I would like, and to relieve some pressure off my thighs, I hike up my legs a bit such that I'm using gas pedal with something between toes and ball of foot, not just ball of foot.

In design Toyota makes crucial decisions about how much tilt will the seat take on at certain height adjustments, and as said before, they opt for quite a bit of tilt at low settings.

Too bad I can't relax the tilt a bit, 'cause it would help a lot. Then my legs could reach pedals better.

Do you see how, if front of seat cushion is up too high, it forces knees up too high and can make it hard to reach the gas pedal?? It comes off feeling a bit awkward and weird.

A lumbar cushion might helps things a little, but it won't take away the fact there is too much cushion tilt which is non-adjustable.

Alex Dykes of Truth About Cars said of the Prius Plugin that 'he would definitely get the PiP with power seats cause he must be able to adjust cushion tilt. A female friend of mine with '89 BMW 535 said she often fine tunes cushion tilt while setting out.

Said before, I'll never buy another manually, limited adjustable seat again. Tough lesson.

 

I think the Prius v* is a wonderful driving experience. On the traffic clogged highways and city streets I drive on every day it handles just as well as that bmw 3 series driving next to me. Unfortunately I don't live next to any of those traffic free(and law enforcement free), twisty, canyon roads that you see in car commercials.
I'm sure that bmw driver would be having way more fun in that fantasy world than me in my prius.
Oh well, i will never know.
I personally can't afford to drive more than one car, so a practical car is my only choice, no money or space for a "weekend" car. I enjoy mountain biking, which fills my need for thrills and danger.

*FWIW the liftback Prius might look cooler and sportier but the big v wagon despite its bulky look handles way better IMO. On the test drive the regular prius just felt floaty and disconnected from the road. The Prius v felt more planted and stable in the corners to me, one of the main reasons i chose it over the liftback.

 

Especially if that BMW happens to come whipping by you on that bike

 

Haha, totally.
Honestly thats one reason I never got into "road cycling". Those guys are nuts! I feel alot safer taking on rocks and trees in the mountains than sharing road space with automobiles, especially when all your wearing is a lycra suit and a little plastic hat.

 

I assume you miss the point of the posters post, why a motor other then one's own?

 

You missed the subtle humor. I can appreciate his point and respect his decision to own a single vehicle.

 

Your 2011 should have driver seat height adjustment which mainly adjusts the angle of the seat cushion by raising and lowering the height at the back the cushion. The handle to adjust it is below the tilt for the back of the seat. I have my seat set as low as it will go to give the seat cushion a tilt down in the back.

 

Ummm, you didn't see cycledrum's other hundred posts complaining about his seat? I suspect he's tried all the adjustments, some of them more than once...