Why I don't like the Toyota Prius
Let’s start off with this. If I have to choose between losing a limb, or owning a Prius, I would choose the Prius, only because I treasure my limbs more, the Prius however, would make a very nice dog kennel. So it’s not all bad for the Prius.
I have driven the second generation Prius back in 2004, when it was still rather new here in SA. I didn’t like it, as a car at least. It felt big and slow. I was not allowed to go more than 40 Km/h, so I never could feel what it had to offer, but I did feel all the pebbles on the road. It was bumpy, noisy and not a good experience in general. I will do a full review in the near future on the car itself, if I can find one to drive.
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| Second generation Prius - |
So why don’t I like the Prius? Let us forget about the comments above for now. I don’t like the Prius because it became a symbol for hipsters and tree huggers, idiots trying to save the world by looking down on the rest of us who cannot, or will not fork out that amount of money on something that essentially gets us from A to B.
If you are a true motorhead you enjoy driving, you don’t want any computer screens flashing, and you certainly don’t want to argue with a computer when you want to do something reckless. You want a steering wheel, a gear lever, comfy seat and ballsy power, something almost like a wet dream, but without the mess.
Now the Prius is the father of the hybrid and in many ways paved the future of the electric car, but it’s lacking in so many ways. Every car that changed the future of the motor industry in some way had some form of appeal, some form of personality to it.
The 1936 Mercedes Benz 260D looked like a proper car of that time, it was not screaming “look at me, I am different!” it was demanding, Mercedes also advising it may make a four door version, back then this was a huge thing! It also was the first commercial car to be powered by a diesel engine. It was successful, just like the Prius, the difference is the fact that Mercedes Benz didn’t stop there, the innovations list included crumple zones in 1951, multilink suspension in 1982, the smart key in 1997, and these are just some small innovations from a big list during the course of the last few decades, all of which are now considered standards across all makes of vehicles. The Prius? Not so much. They are still working on the Prius name and model, giving it more space and trying to get the price down.
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| 1936 Mercedes 260d - |
Reading on what it’s like owning a Prius by scanning titbits on the internet, the general consensus is that it seems to be a good car, but not what they expected. The Prius works with two engines, one normal combustion engine, and one electric motor. The two works together to save fuel, though it seems the “normal” engine always seems to be doing the work. (If you own one, or care to explain how it works, please let me know!)
One would think Toyota would trump the world of Hybrids as they were the first, but somehow McLaren got it right on the P1 . Yes, they are not the same, but the way they work, deep down, all the way down to the basic levels, are the same. One conventional engine, one electric.
Since its launch many have followed suit, and outright copied the Prius, and many of them are quite successful. Why is this? Frankly, people don’t care about how it works, just as long as it does, we are simple minded creatures who want to be seen, and the Prius does not do that. It does not draw attention like it should. Instead of saying, “wow, that’s gorgeous”, you go, “what the fuck is that, oh, it’s that Prius thing from Toyota”. You think about it for a few seconds, and your life goes on.
The second is the price, and let’s have some true fun with this, let us find something for about the same amount the money, now I will not be looking at the cars class, just the price, the amount of green stuff that comes out the back, and general information.
The finalists are:
Now I did this on purpose, I did not factor in running costs, just purely on price, and yes, the finalist are all way over the fuel consumption indicated by the Prius, BUT, the level in detail, and the finishing on these finalist cars are just so much better, and, dare I say more featureful.
To some up, I do not like the Prius because it’s something different, not at all, different is good. I don’t like it because its potential was smothered by hippies, and commercialism, I don’t like it because it’s dying a slow death, I don’t like it because it started something but never really finished it. Is it the Prius fault, or just me that is too reluctant to accept the future of motoring? I don’t know. I do know that until the Prius is where I, and everyone else feels it is value for money, I will rather opt for the modest Kia Rio. Way cheaper, and just as economical, and feels better to drive too!
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