A
Adam Albright
Check out one of many Prius forums to get more objective opinions.
Most owners are almost obsessive, often naming their "baby" and
fawning after it like a pet. No me, but others, well what can I say.
FACTS:
The car is no lower to the ground than similar cars. In fact because
of the design you ride higher like in a SUV. One minor negative is you
don't see the front hood at all, so at first that takes a bit getting
used to if you could in your prior car. Also the front pillars are
wide, again taking a bit getting used to.
My Prius is the 11th car I purchased, all new. It has one of the best
paint jobs of any including cars I paid a lot more for.
Traveling about 300 miles up to Michigan with wind gusts to 50 MPG
driving on I94 last fall and a particular gusty day my Prius was just
as stable as larger cars I've driven like a Mercury Grand Marquis or
similar sized Buick.
The Prius comes with anti-slip standard. Duh! Driving it this last
winter's snow and ice it never "slipped" more than a second or two
with the system automatically kicked in to prevent full blown skids.
People simply don't know what they're talking about...or they don't
know how to drive. Probably both.
Starting problems? That's more bull. This is by far the easiest and
most quite, smoothest running car I ever owned in 40 plus years of
driving. It literally has a push button to start it, when running on
the "battery" it is whisper quite. It does take a bit getting used the
first couple weeks when you pause at a stop sign or traffic light and
one of the Prius's several computers switches to the battery making
you think the engine "died", the gas engine starts again automatically
if you have a lead foot when taking off from the traffic light.
It cycles between it's small 4 cyl gas engine and the powerpack
constantly depending on load without you being aware unless you're
looking at the powertrain monitor on the dash. It never failed to
start quickly even in this year's rougher than normal Chicago winter
with several days near or below zero. The powerpack isn't a toy, it
delivers 20,000 volts, and is accordingly marked high voltage under
the hood with it constantly recharging by the gas engine when in use.
Smell? Doesn't smell any different than any other new car. Geez Carey
I know you're just a twit but get real. I've had the car for 18 months
haven't had a single problem and everyone that drives it and most
people I know that see ask to try it, LOVE it. It's quite, VERY quite,
has plenty of pick up, surprisingly so, both the electric and gas
engine run together if you step on the gas hard, and it has more room
inside that many similar models. The only thing I agree with that a
bit negative is the standard seats are a little stiff and not as
comfortable as they could be on longer runs. Leather is a option.