Enough With the Prius Love Fest, Already?

I think Hannah Elliott must have driven the wrong car before writing up her thoughts on the Toyota Prius, here. Because the one I’m familiar with isn’t notably larger and more accommodating inside than the Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf, as she claims.

In fact, I find the Nissan Leaf, which Hannah says is more cramped than the Prius, way more comfortable, especially when it comes to headroom. I can barely get into the back seat of a Prius without hitting my head, and that requires significant contortions. And forget sitting upright in the rear of the car, if you’re tall — the roof is too low.

I also don’t agree that the new version of the Prius looks a lot like the old one, as she says. OK, so the basic shape of the car is the same; but the two models look quite different side by side. The new one is much more attractive, I think. But I know people who hate it.

I personally think the new Prius even looks sporty—almost—and feels sportier to drive than the previous one. And that’s a real compliment, because the old one was painfully boring. But then that’s a Toyota thing, not just a Prius thing, I guess.

Yes, the Toyota Prius has cornered the market on hybrids, as Hannah accurately points out. And not just because it was the first hybrid, but because it is consistently the best in key areas—most important of which is fuel economy, of course, with reliability a close second. But let’s not get carried away. Sometimes it feels like people think the Prius is so great that it can magically clean the air around it.

To be fair, I don’t think Hannah is one of those people. But I do know that I’m not the only one with an axe to grind against Toyota’s hybrid. Check out the unprompted vitriol hurled at the poor Prius by a random passerby toward the end of this short clip:

SOURCE: FORBES.COM

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Posted in: tOYOTA Prius