Liking cars is cringe- but I’m cringe for the Toyota Prius. My grandpa had one of the first gen ones and it’s like driving a compaq. I drive a newish one and it’s my favorite; barebones, but solid, perfect for a country still developing its electrical vehicles and supporting infrastructure (US). It’s got so much room (I literally fit an electric organ in here the other day) - and camping in it is bonkers. I wish I was knowledgeable enough to beef up the suspension and I’d move the world with this thing lol. Never been stuck 💪
Yeah priuses are actually kinda great. Ive used and abused them and they held up (gen2 priuses). Only issue i have is the visibility. I cant just turn my head to look, i have to move my body around to check blindspots and whatnot when turning or changing lanes.
Yeah it’s one area where the extra bells and whistles (safety features and proximity sensors) are super nice - unless they get mucked up and then everything starts beeping at you lol. So much beeping with this car. But I also regularly tweak my neck checking blind spots so I’ll take the help I can get.
And the version I have has an automatic parallel park and is a life changer in the city, while also constantly outhauling the truckcels at the hardware store.
Basically almost scratches my itch for a cute lil flatbed truck from Asia
Edit- and pup friendly
(random pic I found online)
Why is this in badposting? Second-gen Priuses are excellent commuter cars, provided you price out replacing the hybrid battery within a few years. Third-gen (2010 to 2014 model years, especially 2010-2011) had all kinds of engine reliability issues with the switch to low-tension piston rings and some frequently catastrophic issues with the EGR cooler, but the fourth generation (2016 to 2022) models are extremely reliable overall, and have absolutely absurd fuel economy, even with batteries getting on into the double digit age range.
Shame about all the environmental devastation to get all the lithium needed to make the damn things (nickel on older models), but those two generations are great, provided you can find examples that aren’t being devoured by rust (mostly a problem on the pre-2014ish years). Of course, the Camry and Avalon (and Lexus ES300h if you’re cosplaying as bougie) hybrids use a lot of the same tech and have almost the same fuel economy with more interior room and overall cargo space. Either way, going 100,000+ miles between brake pad changes is nothing to scoff at, especially when that’s roughly a quarter of the life of the car (if you keep up on regular scheduled maintenance).
Edit: I had the generations off by one. Fixed.
