Why The Toyota Prius Is Hated By So Many (And Why Their Owners Adore It)
The Toyota Prius might be one of the most misunderstood and polarizing vehicles in the modern era (that is, aside from electric cars). Just mentioning the Prius is sure to elicit groans of disapproval from self-described "gearheads" or get glowing praise from its acolytes. There are a few middling opinions on the hybrid. Is the Prius a perfect car and the automotive savior the world has been looking for? Absolutely not. Is it the harbinger of the apocalypse that will bring in an age of beige, boring, and slow cars that force everyone to adopt a hybrid? Also no.
With the wide range of opinions out there, it's worth taking an honest look at the Prius and all of the good and bad the car has to offer. By looking at what makes people hate the car, along with input from people who have actually owned one, you can not only make an informed decision if you ever want to buy one, but you can also refute some common misconceptions about the car.
The downsides of the Prius
Likely, the first rebuke you will ever hear of the Prius is that it's slow. Such comments are only partially true, depending on which Prius you are looking at. The first generation Prius, introduced for the 2001 model year, had a zero-to-60-mph time of a leisurely 13 seconds, according to tests from Car and Driver. The second generation, the Prius that most people became familiar with, was only marginally better, with a time of 11.3 seconds. The Prius is firmly not a speed demon. However, the current 2024 Prius is much quicker at 7.1 seconds.
There's also the issue of styling. Although subjective, the Prius has never been a particularly handsome car, waffling somewhere between an egg and something as inoffensive as a doctor's office. It doesn't grab your attention like a Toyota Supra and hasn't made much of a stylistic impression for most of its life until recently. From a mechanical and electrical standpoint, the battery and electric motor components are typically on the expensive side, especially if the battery needs to be replaced.
It's not unfair to say the Prius isn't exciting. But it does the car a great disservice to say it's a bad car solely for boredom reasons. The refrigerator at your house doesn't garner the same praise as a Renaissance painting, yet it serves a vital role. Just because the Prius isn't festooned with spoilers, a supercharged V8, and a sub-11 second-quarter mile drag strip time doesn't mean it's worthless as a car.
What Prius fans think
The best way to get a feel for how Prius fans view their car would be to ask them. I reached out to my friend, automotive historian and documentary filmmaker Joe Ligo, and asked how he felt about his Prius ownership experience.
He said: "Back in 2017, we replaced my wife's old [Toyota] Solara with a used 2011 Prius. Because gas was fairly cheap then, nobody wanted it, and we got a great deal. My wife was nervous about buying a hybrid and wasn't sure she'd like it. Now, she says she never wants to get rid of it. After six years and 90,000 miles, the only maintenance has been oil changes, new tires, and one set of brakes. It's not the most exciting car in the world, but it still gets 52 mpg, no matter where you drive [or] how you drive it. That Prius has probably saved us thousands. I'd like to get something newer and cooler, but it's so good we can't afford to get rid of it!"
I owned a 2005 Prius for many years and found it to be uncomplicated and good at its job, that is, getting phenomenal gas mileage. It had 190,000 miles on the odometer when I drove it and had no issues besides regular maintenance annoyances. I would still have it if I hadn't accidentally hydroplaned into a ditch in 2020, totaling it.
The best hybrid around
The most prominent feature in the Prius's favor is the range's seriously impressive fuel economy. From the very first generation Prius to the current model, you aren't going to get lower than 41 combined miles per gallon. Every generation of Prius achieved better average fuel economy numbers than the prior generation, according to numbers published by the United States Department of Energy. Those numbers don't even include plug-in hybrid versions like the Prius Prime. SlashGear's review of the 2023 Prius Prime found it not only exceptional but an absolute miser on fuel.
Of course, the Prius isn't the only hybrid around; some cars achieve better fuel economy, and EVs don't use any gas at all. But there's something to be said about not only consistency over several generations of a vehicle but also measurable improvements with each successive iteration. It's even more impressive when you consider the fact the Prius, as a model line, has been soldiering for over two decades.
The Prius is a little like the Ford Model T. The Model T wasn't the first car of its era, but the best example of its type. The Prius wasn't the first hybrid, but it might be the best to ever do it.