Why does the Prius make so many people angry?

I’m just reporting what I see

I’ve not experienced so much of the a$$-hat Prius drivers on the road as those that bring it up in conversation, EVERY conversation, to let everyone around them know that they are Prius owners saving the planet. I asked one of my employees, after he stopped at my office, to tell me he just bought a Prius why he bought one. He bought it to save gas, since he drove 30,000 miles a year, but didn’t run the numbers. It would take him 250,000 miles to pay off the extra cost over a Corolla. After going through the other hybrids or diesels that he could have purchased instead, it boiled down to wanting to own a car everyone KNEW was a hybrid. The Civic, the Escape and others ALL looked exactly like their non-hybrid brethren (the insight and Volt weren’t out yet). Because of these folks, the nickname for the car is the Toyota Pious!

"I’m just reporting what I see "

Just as I am.
When Priuses first began to appear in my area, I didn’t notice any difference between the way that they were operated and the way that other cars were driven.

However, that was then, and this is now, and over the past year or so, I have observed a large percentage of Priuses in my area being driven very aggressively and…not very economically.

I have noticed a distinct lack of driving courtesy if I drive the 02 Saturn, vs driving the 03 blazer. I drive the same in both cars, but find there is a definite lack of respect for the Saturn. It is hard to quantify, but essence would be people are more willing to shoot the loop, if you are approaching an intersection more likely to turn in front of you, will aggressively tailgate or pass illegally, though only 7 over limit, will be willing to take you out if they are turning left and you are turning right at an intersection where both I and the other driver have a stop sign but cross traffic does not.

@VDCdriver That’s just Clarkson’s shtick , he mocks pretty much all nationalities. National stereotypes are a staple of Top Gear. If you’ve read his books, you’d see that much of antics are just to get a rise out of people.

I certainly don’t hate them but will never own one.
I agree with others that state they seen them tearing it up like racing on a road course. All they while their nose in the air because they are the only people smart enough the own one.

Keep in mind this does not include everyone.

Here in the SF Bay Area, Prius’s are one of the most common cars on the road. Seen similar in frequency to Corolla’s and Civics. Me, I don’t drive one, but I don’t notice the Prius drivers generally behave any differently than any of the other variety of cars, or that they are treated any differently by drivers of other cars. The smaller Prius, Prius-C I think it is called, it seems like maybe it is a little slower to accelerate from a stop light, maybe that is what is bothering other drivers.

One thing is for sure. Prius drivers in general are very satisfied wih their car. ( according to CR) Maybe, those that don’t drive them get that and are just jealous.

I am neutral. Here in Southern CA we have a lot of Prii. Some got it for the HOV sticker back in the time. Some are long distance commuters, some are in some sort of Hollywood industry and have it for the image. Some have sport rims on them.

We actually test drove one fr my wife as a potential replacement for her minivan. It is a nice car and gets good gas mileage esp since my wife does a lot of local driving, so that was a bonus. But she somehow got used to my Camry and the Prius purchase is postponed for now. We were looking at a 3 year old CPO-that was the sweet spot vs a Corolla and made financial sense for gas mileage based on my calculation (4 years to break even at the time).

Right now I can tell that when I am in our large Mazda CX-9, I would get the right of way almost all the time and nobody complains of my driving. The new Focus Hatch I have gotten for my commute, not so much. All the big lifted trucks think I owe them the road.

Most of the Prius owners that I know are in their 40’s-60’s with the exception of my co-worker who got a great price on his mothers 2005 Prius (she upgraded to a new one) and drive like everybody else. In the Olympia area there are lots of Prius’s around and I haven’t noticed any being driven any different than the other vehicles on the road.

The problem that My mother has noticed ever since she bought her 2010 back in the summer of 2009 is people cut you off or pretend not to notice the car much more than when she had her little Mazda Protoge. The agression usually comes from other drivers. The group of Prius owners i know bought the car for other reasons than just the mileage, and a few of them have more than one.

In my opinion if you’re driving in an agressive fashion in a Prius you should consider a different car. It’s not really designed for performance,it works for some people more than others and those who seem to hate the Prius with a passion are entitled to their beliefs. But not to intimidate other drivers.

Rick, good driving practice is to maintain a constant speed regardless of whether one is ascending or descending. In my old Beetle that required flooring it. And even that didn’t always work.

The current generation of Prius has a power mode that we have found to be the answer to getting up most steep hills, without it you would possibly hold up traffic but if you switch to power mode then you’re cruising up the hill.

When i was helping mom pick out a new car after 19 years with her Mazda she wanted a vehicle that was comfortable and would get even better mileage than the car she had. The Prius was just about the only vehicle that met all her expectations and she bought hers when there was a sales-tax exemption so the premium for the hybrid wasn’t as much as it would be otherwise and she plans to own the car for a long time.

The Prius does not make me angry. I consider it amazing technology. As with all methods of transportation we have about 10% of Cars, Pickups, SUVs, Trucks, Cyclists, and Pedestrians making a bad name for the remaining 90%…

All the people I know who own hybrids…I think 2 saved themselves money. The rest either don’t have the right commute or they drive too little miles.

I think the Hybrid technology is GREAT…if you have the right commute and drive enough. If the price comes down 3-4k then more people will benefit from it.

If I had the right commute I’d buy one. But my commute is mostly highway…so I cant’ justify the purchase.

My area (NE PA, about 20 east of Scranton PA) is pretty much “bubba” and pickup territory. Even here seeing a Prius on the road is getting more and more common. Perhaps some people see it as another example of “they are taking over America”. I don’t think a Prius owner around here bought the car as a political, or even ecological, statement - they are just trying to save money on gas. I do get a chuckle when I get passed by a Prius doing about 80 mph on the interstate, not really getting the best mpg at that speed.

For me a Prius is just a car going from point a to b like any other car. The Prius is still the easiest to identify hybrid car on the road. The hybrid Camry, Fusion, Lincoln MKZ, Lexus, etc. just blend in with the crowd. If someone has an anti-hybrid bias then they are going to take it out on a Prius driver.

"maintain a constant speed"
To that end, using the cruise control where ever practical can not only set the mind at ease of fellow drivers but save you a bunch of speeding tickets…it has me. I’m not sure how practical that is a hilly area with a Prius.

People are strange,around here there seems to be a practice of of wanting to overpower the “little guy” I dont really understand that.I have noticed the the"Bullies" wont even struggle against someone approaching thier size and strength,for the most part-but on someone half their size they will bust a gut trying to put them down,then sometimes someone will get their headbusteed or worse,The bad thing about this is the higher ups sometimes view this as entertainment.
Anyway back to the subject,I’ve never been heldup by a Prius,my friend who owns one really takes the trips now(so I guess her carbon footprint is about the same now as it was with Her old Chevy truck)Around Charlottesville you see a lot of Hybrids of various descriptions and a few Nissan Leafs thrown in for good measure and on the balance I’ve never had any trouble with Hybrid drivers,but there was a Orange Prius C running around I would like to have,I think the Hybrids are the best solution right now and if circumstances were right I would have one-Kevin

I don’t see signs of Prius rage you speak of, @WheresRick.

When it first became popular, the Prius was a niche vehicle for tree-huggers, but even the most staunch conservatives have begun to see the value of them. I’ve even seen a few with Romney/Ryan stickers on them.

You shouldn’t be spending the money you save on bullets though. You should save that money for when the battery pack needs replacement. The sticker shock Prius owners get when they realize how much it will cost to replace the battery pack is the new Prius rage, and we see it sometimes in this forum.

"You should save that money for when the battery pack needs replacement. The sticker shock Prius owners get when they realize how much it will cost to replace the battery pack is the new Prius rage, and we see it sometimes in this forum. "

True, but it’s rare. On a percent basis the Prius batteries have typically been a ‘life of the car’ (250k miles or so) item. But there are some failures, sure. Similar to when folks post about their transmission going out at 100k. It happens, but not to most of us.

@UncleTurbo: “The Prius is still the easiest to identify hybrid car on the road.”

Not necessarily. The new Honda Insight looks very similar. In fact, if you don’t notice the brand symbol, it’s easy to mistake one for the other.