The Toyota Prius was the go-to car if you wanted to save the environment. This was back maybe a decade ago or so? Every celebrity who showed a hint of interest in the environment had one of these cars. The Prius was probably the most pretentious man-made thing ever created. It was launched in the USA in the year 2000 and has been with us in North America ever since. The first generation car didn’t really make an impact but the second and third-generation cars really did. It was not the first hybrid car in the USA. That was the incredibly weird Honda Insight. The Prius just sold a lot more though and was so much more popular.
However, in 2021 the Prius is pointless. It starts at $24,200 which is reasonably cheap and it is a hybrid and it does do a 50 combined MPG (52 city/54 highway) so it is a very economical car. The most expensive Prius starts at just over $32,000 which is slightly higher than the cheapest electric car which is the Mini Cooper SE. That’s a small little city hatchback. However, let’s face things. The Prius is mainly used as a city car. Of course, people use these as taxis in New York but the rest of them use these mainly as city cars. Some use these as motorway cruisers but nowadays, the people who owned a Prius now own a Model 3 Tesla.
People who buy the Prius new aren’t usually the poorest of people. In fact, they’re usually professionals who can most likely afford something twice or even triple the value of a new Prius. Hence why practically all of them have replaced their Prius for a Model 3 Tesla. The Toyota Prius used to be the equivalent of the Model 3. It was the car all the technology fans and celebrities drove. it was also pretty much the car of California since the Californian government loved this car.
There Are Better Cars For Prius Money
Suppose you want a Prius then because it’s in your price bracket, it’s good on gas and it is somewhat spacious. However, for similar money, you can have a VW Golf or a Mazda 3 hatchback. You can even get a Corolla for $2000 less and that thing is a hybrid. What’s even funnier is that the Corolla Hybrid does a higher average MPG than the Prius and it looks far better. Hence why the Corolla is the best selling car in history and its the best selling car in America.
If you just want a normal car that is great on gas, great for the family, and all in all a good solid safe car then the Corolla is for you. The Prius is just pointless compared to the Corolla Hybrid. The Corolla may be less interesting but who cares? Most consumers who want these sorts of cars wouldn’t care about what these cars look like. As long as they look acceptable and normal. that’s fine. the Prius looks a lot more interesting but the latest car just looks weird. It looks too weird for the average consumer hence why it’s overlooked.
Then there’s another Prius owner. These owners can practically afford any car they want yet they choose a Prius. Why? Well because it was the car to have if you wanted to please people. It was stupidly pretentious and it was more of a status quo than a car. If you had a Prius, you deserved a Noble peace prize. It was a car also loved by tech fans especially tech CEOs as ex-Google CEO and founder, Larry Page had one. Actors such as Leonardo Di Caprio and Harrison Ford.
The Prius was the car of California. You think California you think Prius. It was also an extremely popular car in New York since these were the key Taxi replacement for the Ford Crown Victoria. However, all this changed when Tesla came along. the Model S stole the celebrity owners of the Prius and the Model 3 stole everyone else who had money. The tech-heads prefered Tesla and it seems that most actors and actresses have sold their Prius cars for something a bit more upmarket.
Tesla has stolen the key Prius owners. Those people would most often buy a brand new high spec Prius every few years. These people would also pay cash not lease, cash. A cash buy for any company is the one they want as that’s where they get the most money. These people would also spend the most as dealerships too and be the most vocal about their Prius cars. The dominant model for NYC Taxicabs over the years has changed to the Toyota Camry hybrid and soon it will probably be an electric car of some sort.
The Prius will probably be dropped soon. Toyota is making many new hybrid and electric vehicles that deem the Prius useless. It’s not the first choice for anyone these days and that’s pretty obvious by the declining sales for this car. The thing is, Toyota makes so many other great cars with the exact same tech as the Prius. These cars are more popular in the current market. Things like the RAV4 SUV, the Corolla sedan or the Camry even. The Prius is just too strange for 2021 and it tries too hard to be the car it once used to be.
If you’re pretentious you can always have a Tesla Model 3 which is faster and better in every single way compared to the Prius. If you don’t have Model 3 money then the Nissan Leaf is the best choice. It seems like the days of the Prius is finally over or so and we reckon in the next decade Toyota will either turn it into an EV or axe it altogether.
It did revolutionise the car world but nowadays its dated technology. Everyone’s doing it in normal cars, and the Prius with its eco reputation and weird looks just doesn’t fit in anywhere anymore. If you have a Prius in Hollywood, you’re seen as old news. Stick with the time’s man, get a Tesla. If you have a Prius as an NYC taxicab your probably aware that the battery costs over $6000 to replace from a Toyota dealership. You’ll also be aware that the government wants you to buy an electric car so with leases becoming cheaper for EVs, it may be much smarter to just switch.
Featured image credits via: guideautoweb.com