I’ve driven a few as fleet cars, I think mostly slightly older models. It takes a minute to figure out how to start it (hopefully they’ve improved the not-intuitive controls), but that’s the biggest difference. The rear visibility wasn’t as bad as I expected, given the shape, and was decently roomy inside (I hit the ceiling on most cars when I straighten up all the way). I agree with Renee about it being annoying/potentially distracting having to switch modes on the display to change the climate control. It’s a little disconcerting the first couple of times you stop at a light, when it’s so quiet you think somethings wrong, but easy to get used to. I never really found myself driving with any more fuel-efficiency-consciousness.
Driving it in general is just like any other automatic transmission. Less difference between driving a Prius and any other standard transmission than there is between a generic standard and a generic stick.
Well, the majority of people I’ve ever ridden in a car with, and I myself, get pissed when people don’t accelerate leaving a stop light or on an on ramp (in our cars we advise the car ahead - out loud but unheard by anyone not it the car “that big long pedal on the right - if you push it, the car moves faster”) - so its sort of a golden rule thing - do unto others…
I’m really happy when I end up behind panel trucks at red lights. I know everyone behind me will blame the panel truck - and I’ll keep up with that rate of acceleration just fine.
In the '10 model the key fob comes with a normal key hidden inside, so you’d be able to open the door even with a dead battery. And ditto on the steering wheel controls, which is great for changing the radio and volume. My family also loves that when they sit in the back seat their knees aren’t under their chin, the way they were with my old and beloved Saturn. I also like being a bit higher off the road.
But the rear visibility does suck, and the Prius has the worst blind spot of any car I’ve ever driven. I just have to be very careful when changing lanes.
I drive a 2004 Prius, and overall I love it, especially the gas mileage. I drive from client to client for my job, and I now I pay only a third of what I was paying before for gas in my old Ford Taurus.
General temperature and radio controls are on the steering wheel in my model. If I REALLY want to fine tune the temperature, I can wait a few seconds until I hit a stoplight.
I love, love, love the smart key. No more fishing for keys to open the door while trying to shuffle my briefcase and materials ever again.
As others mentioned, rear visibility is poor. I also hate the side curtain airbags in the front- they are thick enough to obscure my view of pedestrians at certain angles. Speaking of pedestrians, an unforeseen downside of the quiet Prius is that pedestrians in parking lots don’t hear you behind them, so they don’t walk to the side so you can go past. You end up with the choice of inching along behind them like a child molester, or being rude and honking at them.
And yes, other drivers apparently loathe Priuses. The most common thing I’ve had happen to me is this: I will change lanes in front of someone. They in turn, will change langes, accelerate, and then change lanes in front of me, sometimes with an accompanying middle finger. I am like, “WHAT?! What did I do? I didn’t cut you off! I’m not driving slower than anybody else! What the fuck is your problem?!” This type of thing never happened to me before getting a Prius.
My MIL had one and I’m not that big on tiny cars but as far as they go, the Prius was a nice car. I liked it. But did you press your foot on the brake when you pressed the “start” button? If not, it’s just like turning an old-fashioned key one notch–you turn on the accessories but still can’t drive.
I have a Gen 3 Prius (2010). I don’t know how many complaints are specific to earlier generations.
Rear and side views seem good to me. The lower half of the split rear window is darkened so that headlights are not blinding. I don’t notice any blind spots–the rear and side mirrors give good combined coverage, and pylons are not too wide so it’s easy to see at any angle. The rear camera is for checking for objects below the level of the windows (i.e., children). I glance at it, but always point my head to the direction I’m backing.
It took some getting used to the center display, but it’s easy enough to see. The controls for audio and air are all buttons, both on the console and steering wheel.
It is strange having the engine turn off at times, but usually there’s enough noise from the air fans, radio and other traffic that I don’t notice it anymore.
The car can accelerate decently fast. I’ve found that in regular traffic, I get the best mileage by quickly accelerating to the speed I intend to maintain, and then setting the cruise control to that speed. Slow acceleration isn’t helpful because the engine is engaged for a longer time. When in cruise control, the car is quite good at maintaining speed with minimal engine power. When I can stay in cruise, I average about 55 mpg over a trip.
In stop and go traffic, slow acceleration wins out, of course. And slow braking is always best, if possible.
I’ve discovered it depends on the terrain, uphill in general is bad for mileage, uphill from a dead stop is deadly - and how far I can get in EV mode. You can’t accelerate quickly in EV mode - dumps you out and into gas mode. I do a lot of driving where the speed limit is 35 - so I accelerate to 25 in EV mode slowly, then the last ten mph on the gas engine faster. But that behavior is pretty much guaranteed to cause road rage if the person behind you is driving anything other than another Prius or a panel truck.
My husband drives an Audi, and that car pushes you back in your seat when you step on the gas - even if I floor the Prius, relatively speaking, it stands still.
I also have a '10 Prius. I drove a long trip over the Labor Day weekend, and even though I wasn’t able to stay in cruise control for more than about a third of the trip (we drove through the mountains most of the time), I was astonished to find how much the gas mileage climbed. I didn’t get 55 mpg but did hit 50 mpg for a while and stayed more or less at 49.6 the entire time. Sweet!