Are Prius owners bad drivers?

Now before you storm my house with pitchforks and torches for making such an irresponsible unfounded outrageous charge, just know that I have a Prius.

And lately I’ve heard numerous people say when they’re on the road they go out of their way to avoid Priuses (or is it Priuii?). They contend that Prius drivers are entranced by the dashboard and the constant fuel consumption calibration. I personally don’t bother with that.  I'm too busy blasting the radio.  

I’ve posed this question to other Prius owners and many sheepishly admit they do steal numerous glances at their dashboard. I mean, what’s the point of getting great gas mileage if you can’t monitor it and congratulate yourself on how smart you were to buy a Prius?

One feature in the Prius that hampers me is the horizontal stripe in the back window that obscures the view in the rear view mirror. My wife, who is the primary driver of the car, isn’t bothered by that. But I am, and I wonder why the hell it’s even there? There’s also a blind spot.

I’ve surveyed a few Prius owners and they seem split fifty-fifty on this issue. But considering the number of Priuses on the road, if even half see this as an issue that’s still  a lot of folks squinting in traffic.

My other issue is the new navigation system. The new map sucks. It’s gray with white lines and white script. It’s like looking at a complicated blueprint or the Burlington logo. From what I understand, Prius has received lots of complaints about this. Of course I could just be spoiled. I’m used to the Lexus map, which is great. Easy to read, freeway traffic displayed, and the GPS voice is soothing, reassuring, and never belittles me.

The Prius is a terrific car. It handles well, looks pretty cool, and it is nice to be able to pass a gas station charging $4.75 a gallon for regular and yell out, “Fuck you!” But, inadvertently, are we Priusers not driving as well as we did in other cars? I don’t know. You tell me. What’s your experience – both as a Prius driver and fellow motorist? I imagine we won’t be able to arrive at a definitive answer. It’s not like Porsche drivers. We all know they’re dicks. And they get shitty gas mileage.