Yesterday, I got the chance to drive my parents\u2019 Prius for the first time. I only took the wheel for about 20 minutes, after swapping with my father at a highway service area and driving until we exited the expressway. Their Prius is around 10 years old, so it\u2019s getting on a bit. And based purely on its image, I\u2019d always assumed:<\/p>\n
Maybe a Prius feels so light that it could get blown off the road\u2026 Maybe the accelerator is so unresponsive that nothing happens when you press it\u2026<\/p>\n
I\u2019d decided on my own that the Prius must be difficult to drive. But contrary to my expectations, it was actually pretty easy to handle\u2014and felt very well suited to Japanese roads. No wonder it sells so well.<\/p>\n
But on the highway, it was a different story.<\/span><\/p>\n Even if Japanese-market cars aren\u2019t designed for the kind of high-speed driving you see on the Autobahn in Germany (most Japanese drivers spend more time on city streets and in traffic than flying down the Autobahn)<\/span>, I still felt uneasy. So today, I\u2019m sharing what stood out to me when I compared the Prius with my Panamera. (The Prius isn\u2019t even a four-door sedan in the same class, so comparing it with a Panamera is pretty unfair in the first place.)<\/span><\/p>\n First, the downsides of the Prius: 2. Changing lanes felt scary<\/span> 3. Not much acceleration 4. Other drivers kept cutting in On the plus side: 2. Easy to park<\/span> 3. Great fuel economy So, even though it\u2019s something we already know, the drive confirmed that:<\/p>\n For mostly city driving, the Prius is a great choice. But if you spend a lot of time on the highway, the Panamera is by far the better fit.<\/p>\n (Well, that\u2019s obvious, haha.)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Prius at My Parents\u2019 Home Yesterday, I got the chance to drive my parents\u2019 Prius for the first time. I only took the wheel for about 20 minutes, after swapping with my father at a highway service area and driving until we exited the expressway. Their Prius is around 10 years old, so it\u2019s getting on a bit. And based purely on its image, I\u2019d always assumed: Maybe a Prius feels so light that...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=78","footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testdrive","en-US"],"yoast_head":"The Prius: The Downsides<\/h3>\n
\n1. 100 km\/h felt like the limit<\/span>
\n<\/span>If I were driving a Prius on the highway, I\u2019d want to keep it to around 100 km\/h (though, to be fair, even 100 km\/h is over the legal speed limit in some places)<\/span>. A newer Prius or a higher trim might feel different, but at that speed, the steering started to feel unsettled, and the car\u2019s side-to-side movement made me nervous.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>I tried changing lanes with the same steering input I\u2019d use in the Panamera, but the Prius didn\u2019t move smoothly at all, which made the maneuver feel pretty scary. (My driving technique may have been part of the problem, too.)<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>It was especially noticeable when merging. Even with my foot deep into the accelerator, the car didn\u2019t pick up speed as much as the engine noise suggested it would. I thought, \u201cI can merge smoothly now!\u201d\u2014using the Panamera as my point of reference\u2014but the Prius didn\u2019t accelerate as expected, and I ended up making the car behind me brake. Well, that\u2019s to be expected.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Maybe I was leaving too much room to the car ahead, but other drivers cut in front of me pretty often\u2014and seemed to dart in suddenly. That\u2019s not something I\u2019d normally experience in the Panamera.<\/p>\nThe Prius: The Upsides<\/h3>\n
\n1. Easy to maneuver<\/span>
\n<\/span>Pulling out of the service-area parking lot, I was struck by how effortlessly the Prius turned in tight spaces. It handled so nimbly that I almost wanted to spin around in circles for no reason. I could see it being easy for anyone to drive, including less confident drivers.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Of course, the Prius is shorter and narrower than the Panamera, making it much easier to park. Even if there are cars on both sides or the space is tight, as long as there\u2019s an open spot, you can park without much trouble. That\u2019s handy.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>My parents said that even their older Prius averages around 19 km\/L. Getting that kind of mileage despite city driving and traffic is impressive. (My Panamera gets around 5\u20136 km\/L around town.)<\/span><\/p>\n