I have a Toyota Prius today, one of two hybrids I've driven in the last little while. It works well and it's nicely-equipped, but like several hybrid models out there, it has a major flaw: who on earth thought it was a good idea to put a starter button on a hybrid?
As happens with this particular option -- which is a plague across the auto industry, and not just limited to gasoline-electrics -- you don't put the key into the ignition. The car senses the key in your pocket, and when you press a button on the dash, it starts.
(I have to press a button to start my 1947 car. You'd think we would have made a bit more progress in the last 62 years.)
What's wrong with a starter button on any vehicle is that you don't necessarily know where the key is. Did you run back for a forgotten item, drop your keys on the counter, and get back in the car without them? Did the valet hand it over? Did it drop out of your pocket when you momentarily stepped out of the car? At least with a key -- which really isn't that difficult to insert and twist -- you are sure.
But what makes it even worse on a hybrid is that you must also push the button to shut the car off. And it simply isn't intuitive to turn off an engine that isn't running. As I seem to do with every hybrid, I put the Prius in Park and then got out of it -- and realized that the chime meant that I hadn't turned off the power. Sure, you probably get into the habit if you own the car. But why should we need training for something so basic?
A couple of years ago, I drove a Nissan Altima Hybrid. Brought it home, put it in Park, got out. Just as I was getting ready for bed several hours later, I looked out the window and saw headlights. When I went outside, I found the car sitting there, gasoline engine idling. I'd once again forgotten to turn off an engine that wasn't running. The result was that the automatic headlights had come on, they'd run down the battery, and the system had turned on the engine to charge it back up. Now imagine if the car hadn't been under my carport, but in an attached garage.
Turn and twist: smart on any car, even smarter on a hybrid. Turn it on, turn it off. I can't imagine why anyone would think differently.
