The Toyota Prius has changed the way many drivers in the country view fuel-efficient cars. There’s no question the hybrid saves owners hundreds of dollars in gas per year, but one journalist questions if it might be too slow for U.S. highways.

Clifford Atiyeh, who writes for the Overdrive blog for the Boston Globe says that while the Prius might save you some money in gas, forget about acceleration as he says the car makes all others seem like you’re driving a slingshot.

“The Prius saves fuel like it’s 2020, but drives like it came from 1987,” writes Atiyeh.

Atiyeh says the lack of acceleration isn’t a problem in city driving, but when a Prius driver is trying to drive onto the onramp of a highway it can be unsafe. When recently trying to merge onto a freeway in Boston, Atiyeh says he had the pedal to the metal, but still could barely keep up with the cars rushing past.

“That’s not adrenaline kicking in – it’s instinct telling you that zero to 60 in 10 seconds can be flat-out dangerous,” he wrote.

Toyota has said that its next generation Prius, which goes on sale later this year, is likely to get up to 50 miles per gallon. The carmaker is also starting to see some competition from other models like the Honda Insight.

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