Prius v Test Drives

In Torrance, CA, the Mods got the chance to test drive multiple package levels of the Prius v. I didn't drive, choosing instead to check out the car while Tideland Prius drove. I'll let him write his version of the experience, but for me, it's a really nice car. The big thing for me was the mileage he achieved. I've attached a picture of his final mileage after a 20-mile fully-interstate drive. He was not babying the car and was keeping up with traffic. The interstate mileage was excellent and then once we got back on streets, the battery was charged and there was tons of battery range.

I didn't capture a photo, but at the end of my 30.1 mile mixed city/freeway driving loop (which included some hills in the LA Harbor area), I averaged 47.0mpg. To be fair, I started with a battery at 2-3 bars as the car had been used to demo misc. features.

It's safe to say it's a great looking car and drives pretty well for it's size. There are some subtle behavior differences between the current 3rd Gen Prius and the Prius v prototypes we drove, but nothing that I'd complain about, other than it does feel slower and a tiny bit heavier (though not really "bigger", unlike a Sienna).

This car does have the pedestrian alert noise as seen on YouTube, but it's hardly noticeable from the inside, and only functions at low EV speeds.

(edit)

Photos in a public Facebook album:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150310712057228.384696.647177227&l=c3c8de3fb6

I was running the A/C at 74F and had DRCC set between 60 and 70mph and still got that 50.4mpg that Tony posted at the top. I also floored it a few times to merge and/or overtake so yeah, I was not babying it. I was also in normal mode (not ECO mode). The sunshade was not closed (so the sun was beaming in through the panoramic roof). OAT was between 75 and 84F as seen on the outside temp gauge.

It's tough to compare since I was driving the fully loaded Five with 17" rims compared to my IV. I'd call it comparable. Engine noise was slightly more pronounced under hard acceleration, but only subtly.

I couldn't really tell a significant difference for the Pitch and Roll control when on a freeway driving over expansion joints.

Gas pedal feels slightly *more* sensitive in Eco mode compared to my 2010.

Oh and that 50mpg was done with a fully loaded Prius v (17" alloys).

Frankly, I wasn't sure if Pitch & Bounce was working. I mean the roads I took weren't too bad and it was quite comfortable on the highway. It was reasonably quiet and I felt that the JBL (if you recall is a new, eco-friendly JBL system) sounded clear but the songs that were played through Pandora didn't have much bass (could be audio settings. I never touched the settings).

I didn't notice too much of a difference between ECO and normal mode but then again, I was mostly in normal mode. PWR mode didn't have the same kick as the Prius probably because of the extra weight.

The model Three that I drove had an average of 41.2mpg but I forgot to reset that one (plus it was idling on/off during the Entune demonstration) so initial mpg is promising.

It's nice to see the Energy Monitor back (I do use it in the Gen 2) but surprisingly, most of my attention was towards the vertical HSI (left of the speedo).

Speaking of which, those that are concerned about the centre placement of the instrument panel, it didn't really bug me. The speedo is didn't seem any further right than the current Gen 3 (it might be but it didn't feel any different). Of course, if you're coming from a Gen 2, then you'll notice that it's further to the right (towards the centre of the car) than you're used to.

I felt that the shifter had more heft to it (there was more spring resistance). SoftTex felt really nice. To me, it felt waay better than the NuLuxe found on the CT200h (which I thought felt like a rubber ball that you played with in gym class). The steering wheel is also lined in SoftTex and I'm not sure if you could tell if no one told you. It felt a bit softer and not as rough as real leather but Toyota did a pretty good job with it.

Model Five with Premium Nav will have projector lines with the backup camera.

Like HTMLSpinnr said, I couldn't hear the noise maker when I was in the car with the windows down. I did hear it when I was outside of the car but it's not intrusive. That sound you hear on that YouTube video of the Prius noise maker demo in Japan is the same sound you hear on the Prius v but again, nothing like the backup camera beep.

Linda and I drove the v as well. We didn't use any techniques to try and get good gas mileage. On the contrary, we had the windows all down, radio turned up loud and cruised for almost 2 hours around the LA area. In the end (in PWR mode the whole time) we got 46.1 mpg. Needless to say we were impressed when we finally did look at the mpg number...