Does the Prius Handle Well?

[Tyrin]

I see so many complaints about handling on this website, and on the other side, people like myself who feel completely comfortable. It's like we're not driving the same car, people! Let's hear your side of the story. If there's something left out of the questions that pertains, be sure to post it in the thread!

[aaf709]

I also had the alignment done.

[Presto]

The car in its stock form handles as one would expect a mid-size family car to handle. 99% of Prius owners are fine with the way the Prius handles. I'm a bit of a handling junkie, though. There's not much more satisfying than taking a corner high speed on the very edge of traction.

[tnthub]

Although not a Prius "expert" I have driven 15-20 different Prius in a variety of conditions. The car handles perfectly fine in my "opinion". It is stable at speed, had a slippery front end which minimizes turbulence problems, works fine in bad weather, corners acceptably (although it is not intended to be "pushed"), accelerates acceptably, and brakes well.

I do not understand the complaints about cross winds. With any small lightweight car it is possible to feel the wind. It is the nature of the vehicle. As far as aany specific instance, without being "there" it is impossible to comment intelligently on other people experiences.

When caught behind two tandem trailers at 80 mph on an interstate in the Midwest a sudden change in wind can startle even the most experienced driver and push a vehicle around, Prius or full size Lincoln, so I really don't know what to say about poor handling comments.

The car is not designed to be an autocross or race car. It is simply a nicely designed economy car with outstanding mileage and emissions characteristics and more on the upscale side than the traditional econobox.

In my opinion the handling is perfectly fine for its intended use.

[Tyrin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Jun 8 2007, 06:39 PM) [snapback]458355[/snapback]</div>

The car in its stock form handles as one would expect a mid-size family car to handle. 99% of Prius owners are fine with the way the Prius handles. I'm a bit of a handling junkie, though. There's not much more satisfying than taking a corner high speed on the very edge of traction.
[/b]

Hi Presto,

I can respect that position on handling (and we won't talk about the debate over the you-know-what) .

My only question is, what kind of gas mileage do you get with driving your tightened Prius? I'm sure it's better than a sports-car's mpg, but it's probably not up there with the hypermilers.

[likesmpg]

My previous car weighed 500 lbs. more so the Prius handles pretty good in my opinion. Of course I didn't buy the Prius to race and have done nothing more than standard every-day driving.

[daveleeprius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Jun 8 2007, 06:39 PM) [snapback]458355[/snapback]</div>

The car in its stock form handles as one would expect a mid-size family car to handle. 99% of Prius owners are fine with the way the Prius handles. I'm a bit of a handling junkie, though. There's not much more satisfying than taking a corner high speed on the very edge of traction.
[/b]

My old 88 Civic sedan had all wheel independant mcpherson strut suspension. It loved to go around corners fast, especially descending a mountain pass on a two lane road, woo hoo! But the Prius has a solid axle in the rear so it will lose grip easier.

Folks, if you want a really fun car to drive hard and fast, you can't expect to find that in the Prius, or any Toyota for that matter.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jun 8 2007, 06:53 PM) [snapback]458359[/snapback]</div>

I do not understand the complaints about cross winds. With any small lightweight car it is possible to feel the wind. It is the nature of the vehicle. As far as aany specific instance, without being "there" it is impossible to comment intelligently on other people experiences.
[/b]

Yeah, you want wind problems? Drive a 1970 VW Squareback. This was a 2 door wagon they made, with the engine in the back, and the gas tank and trunk in the front. THIS CAR got blown around in the wind! I can remember one stormy night when it was pouring rain and windy, I couldn't drive faster than 50mph on the freeway coming back from Portland to Seattle. If I went faster than 50mph, the front tires started floating and hydro-planing in the water which was all over the road, and the front of the car would float all over the place! Talk about scary!! Then to top it off, my vent drain hoses that came down into the passenger compartment and went forward to drain, got plugged, so there was some water leaking onto my lap. What a night!

The Prius wouldn't do anything like this.

Dave

[gforeman]

My only comment is it is very sensitive. Kind of like a go-cart. A little wheel input goes a long way. This isn't a problem. Makes it kind of fun to drive.

Gary

[ny biker]

My Prius is still less than 2 months old, but after reading about some complaints regarding handling and crosswinds, I was on the lookout for problems when I drove from DC to NY and back last month. I had no problems at all. Passed plenty of trucks and crossed the bridge over the Susquehanna River on I95 (the one with the signs that say CAUTION - BRIDGE SUBJECT TO CROSSWINDS) but I never noticed any issues.

[sharkmeister]

The Prius is susceptible to crosswinds but not significantly more so that most other cars. I actually noticed being blown sideways a lot more in the big heavy Sebring convertible I owned before I got my Prius... and that is a low and heavy car.

The "numbers" on the Prius being blown around may look higher because it uses lighter metals/materials than other cars, but when you are out on the road it feels about the same. As always, you notice if the car is being blown sideways, correct the steering, maybe slow down a little, and it's no big deal.

The vehicles that kind of scare me about wind susceptibility are big box vans. I would not want to drive one of those in a nasty thunderstorm. They look like they could get blown right over or even off the road.

Wind does usually affect mileage adversely.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nybiker @ Jun 8 2007, 11:19 PM) [snapback]458486[/snapback]</div>

My Prius is still less than 2 months old, but after reading about some complaints regarding handling and crosswinds, I was on the lookout for problems when I drove from DC to NY and back last month. I had no problems at all. Passed plenty of trucks and crossed the bridge over the Susquehanna River on I95 (the one with the signs that say CAUTION - BRIDGE SUBJECT TO CROSSWINDS) but I never noticed any issues.
[/b]