This argument only works when comparing a Prius to a Corolla... Which is the entry level bottom tier sedan from Toyota. I think it would be a bit more fair to use the Camry as the alternative car.
I'm a Prius owner and I didn't decide to spend an extra $6k just to get a Prius for the gas savings, otherwise I'd have a Camry. If I didn't buy a Prius I would have bought a similarly priced car because... that was the price range I was shopping in.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The Honda Insight has been superior technically, and was released earlier, but it has nothing like the mindshare of the Prius. We're hard pressed to account for this with anything other than branding and design.
It's funny to hear someone say this. I just went from a Toyota Camry (a relatively big car) to Toyota Prius-C, and I have the opposite feelings. Doing a shoulder check is very hard with the Prius, because of the weird back of the car. I now as a result hesitate driving it a lot, instead opting to use my brother's Corolla.
I do use the Prius in the city though, I easily get 75+ mpg when supermiling.
People like comfort, and don't like to change their behavior. That is why. Same reason why nobody was interested in the original Insight (2 door, dorky, 70mpg), but the Prius (just like a regular hatch, 50mpg) sold like hotcakes
This is exactly where I am. The Prius looks fine, but when you do the math on the mileage, it can't be beat by any other sedan in the price range. But then, I bought a used Gen 2 Prius, so I wouldn't show up in these stats anyway.
I drive a 2004 Prius and my friend recently bought a 2000 Insight.
The Insight is pretty much strictly a commuter car: it's laughably tiny, like a roadster without any power. But it's really fun, and gets outrageously good fuel economy despite how crude the hybrid system is relative to Toyota's.
The Prius on the other hand is an everyday vehicle that's spacious inside and small on the outside. Far better suited to be the only car someone owns.
I find it interesting that you think that the Prius is a small vehicle. To me it seems that the Prius is on the large end of mid-sized vehicles. A small car to me would be something like a Daihatsu Cuore or a VW Lupo.
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