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If you paid $34K for a Prius, then you got taken to the cleaners right there. A Prius is not going to drive like a $45K sports sedan or a $50K fancy pickup, but neither is most any other compact car that costs less than $30K. For what it is, the Prius does pretty darned well.
Oh, I drive other vehicles, too, besides my Prius and I get cut off and otherwise bothered by moron drivers just as much in those other vehicles as I do in the Prius. For the record, Texas drivers, as a group, have to be about the stupidest incompetent drivers of any state in the Union--I think that if you can fog a mirror, you can get and keep a Texas driver's license. So, I wouldn't blame being a victim of clown drivers on the fact the you were driving a Prius.
I didn't read the rest of this thread but I was in your situation a couple years ago.
Went from a 5yo Audi to a fully loaded Prius 5.
I checked out all the forums and read tons of reviews, especially from people who had gone from a luxury car to a Prius. Porsche, audi, bmw, etc. None of them missed it.
Well I'll tell you what....
THEY LIED!
I'll give the Prius this much... it is (was) a technological marvel.
I'd easily get 60+ mpg on my way to work.
But that is ALL it has going for it.
Other than that, it's just a $34k Tercel.
Wind noise, scary as heck emergency braking, scary in heavy rain, rattles, so much road noise in the cabin, cheap interior materials, idiotic annoying extra noises like interior backup buzzer... chimes from door/hatch ajar and the seatbelt that NEVER turn off,
It's about 10% longer braking distance than Accord, 60-0. Mostly tires.
I had to do a not that emergency stop when a little old lady in a Buick turned left in front of me. Again, not much of an emergency stop, but enough to engage the ABS even if I didn't come particularly close. I mean, an old lady in a Buick who knows what they're going to do if they say you, probably stop in the middle of the road. This one drove pretty sprightly so I only had to brake down from 50 to 20 or so before she cleared the road and I would have had enough distance to come to a complete stop. But 10 feet can make a difference.
Basically, it drives like an economy car. Which really shouldn't be shocking since it's an economy car. People that expected it to get 50 mpg, ride like a Cadillac DTS, and perform like a BMW M3... well, no, surprisingly it doesn't. Compared to other economy cars, though, it's really no different up to about 7/10ths and then it is slightly worse, imo. Just compared to the Mazda it's quieter and smoother. It isn't quite as confidence inspiring and does not feel as planted.
Longer braking, yes... and squirrelly handling during the hard braking. It was hit the brakes and pray.
Whereas with my other cars, they are very sure footed and confidence inspiring under the same exact conditions.
Cars emergency brake on the freeway all the time. One minute you are doing 70 and the next second traffic is dead stopped. So it's a common occurrence and there were many close calls with the Prius.
Same with torrential rain... just feels light and squirrelly in comparison.
But like the poster above says... not really out of the realm of any economy car.
But that loaded prius cost the exact same as my loaded A3 that I had before it and they are in two completely different leagues.
Which was my point to the OP. If the OP likes the bmw or is at least use to that level of car, the Prius is quite the downgrade and you'll need to drive it a very long time to see any real savings when you look at what you are paying for it, vs just getting a much less expensive economy car that has all the same bells and whistles and gizmos except the mpg's of course.
My wife has a Prius as well, and shares all the same feelings as myself. She had an Infiniti prior to the Prius (two actually) and an Audi TT before those.
Just like so many other times the majority of these issues raised comes down to tires. Give up 1-1.5 mpg and decent tires transforms economy minded cars like Prius. Just as tires transform a horrible winter car into a virtual artic tank or so many of the economy cars with little to no mods and great tires racing in production classes allover the world.
Longer braking, yes... and squirrelly handling during the hard braking. It was hit the brakes and pray.
Whereas with my other cars, they are very sure footed and confidence inspiring under the same exact conditions.
Cars emergency brake on the freeway all the time. One minute you are doing 70 and the next second traffic is dead stopped. So it's a common occurrence and there were many close calls with the Prius.
The problem isn't with the Prius, but with your driving style.
You should be scanning the road well ahead of you to read upcoming traffic conditions. That way, you will always have more than enough time to brake gradually. There should be no reason to suddenly slam onto the brakes on the freeway. If you do, it means that you're either not scanning far ahead enough, or you're simply not paying attention to the road or traffic conditions.
The problem isn't with the Prius, but with your driving style.
You should be scanning the road well ahead of you to read upcoming traffic conditions. That way, you will always have more than enough time to brake gradually. There should be no reason to suddenly slam onto the brakes on the freeway. If you do, it means that you're either not scanning far ahead enough, or you're simply not paying attention to the road or traffic conditions.
This sounds a lot like the reasoning people use to justify not wearing a seat belt. "But I'm a safe driver!"
Bottom line, the energy conserving features on a Prius - regenerative brakes that slow the car before pads contact rotors, low rolling resistance tires - DO compromise safety in emergency situations. Regardless of how safe you are, there is always going to be some chance of another driver doing something careless or stupid. It's only a matter of chance as to whether you are in the vicinity when it happens. Deer run in the road, ladders fall off construction vehicles, people decide to cut across 3 lanes when they miss an exit. Staying 10 car lengths from all other vehicles isn't a practical option unless you do all of your driving at 3 am.
This sounds a lot like the reasoning people use to justify not wearing a seat belt. "But I'm a safe driver!"
Bottom line, the energy conserving features on a Prius - regenerative brakes that slow the car before pads contact rotors, low rolling resistance tires - DO compromise safety in emergency situations. Regardless of how safe you are, there is always going to be some chance of another driver doing something careless or stupid. It's only a matter of chance as to whether you are in the vicinity when it happens. Deer run in the road, ladders fall off construction vehicles, people decide to cut across 3 lanes when they miss an exit. Staying 10 car lengths from all other vehicles isn't a practical option unless you do all of your driving at 3 am.
Yes, 5 feet is a compromise. It could matter, it's just not likely to. Again, with the LRR tires (which aren't on the loaded Prius), there's more of a compromise. PHEV Prius was 131 feet, about 10 more than a run of the mill family sedan. About what you'd expect from a pickup like the F-150, America's best selling vehicle. 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Prototype First Test - Motor Trend All Pages
I don't have any trouble staying 10 car lengths behind traffic. Try it some day. You might be surprised. Average car is maybe 15-16 feet long. Even at 60 mph, a two-second gap is more than 10 car lengths. I usually follow about 2-3 seconds, more if someone is tailgating me such as yourself, apparently.
Yes, 5 feet is a compromise. It could matter, it's just not likely to. Again, with the LRR tires (which aren't on the loaded Prius), there's more of a compromise. PHEV Prius was 131 feet, about 10 more than a run of the mill family sedan. About what you'd expect from a pickup like the F-150, America's best selling vehicle. 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Prototype First Test - Motor Trend All Pages
I don't have any trouble staying 10 car lengths behind traffic. Try it some day. You might be surprised. Average car is maybe 15-16 feet long. Even at 60 mph, a two-second gap is more than 10 car lengths. I usually follow about 2-3 seconds, more if someone is tailgating me such as yourself, apparently.
But when comparing to the OP's 328i it's about 23 feet longer. Bringing the pickup truck into the mix is a bit of a red herring as it's not the kind of vehicle people typically use as a replacement for a prius, and the trade off is inherent in the design/utility. Bottom line is the gas saving features of the prius do make it slightly less safe than a similarly sized 'regular' car, especially one that puts performance over gas mileage. I'm not saying drivers can't adjust, just that the extra margin isn't there in cases where it's needed.
This sounds a lot like the reasoning people use to justify not wearing a seat belt. "But I'm a safe driver!"
.
Quite the opposite actually. If anything youre the one being oblivious to safe driving. If you truely are encountering as many "emergency braking" situations as you allude to I promise you its because of low eyes. I can count my "emergency brakes" over the course of a year and well over 100k + miles driven in that time in multiple countries on one hand.
Everyone THINKS theyre a safe/good driver. Truth is, "good" drivers are a rare breed these days.
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