A question about the brakes

My Prius is at least equal to, if not better than any car I've owned when it comes to braking. I've had to do a couple hard stops, and was pretty darned impressed! Never owned a german car though, so I can't compare to them.

 

IMHO the Prius brakes are very good when it comes to stopping power. But because I wanted to get as much recoup engergy as I possibly can, I brake very early and for much longer, but that doesn't mean emergency braking distance is more than others. In fact I feel it is pretty good when you step on it hard.
Usually when I am on top of the hill coming down I start baking on top of the hill instead of when I need to at the very bottom.

 

Prius brakes are more effective then those on my former Toyota Avensis Wagon.
Nevertheless don't forget Prius is an uncommon car, so often the feeling of braking is perceived differently compared to a normal car.

 

Braking power for the car is on par with other normal compact/midsize car. Nothing to brag about or to cry about. You have to get bigger tires and better pads if you want more.

 

Everything after your first sentence seems to disagree with that first sentence.

If you floor the pedal, regardless of pedal feel, it stops fast, but ABS prevents tire smoke. But if you brake only by your pre-programmed feel, it can be entirely different, depending on what vehicle you just came from.

This is sounding like the difference in opinion my wife and I had on my Subaru's brakes. To her, it took a very long stopping distance. To me, it was the shortest stopping car I'd ever had (pre-Prius), and the published numbers clearly proved it.

It turned out that she was accustomed to her old Acura, whose very strong assist meant little pedal force was needed, while I was accustomed to a Ford and a Honda that had provided less boost. Her light reflexive pedal force was not enough stop the Subaru fast, while my heavier reflex did stop it short. As you can guess, when I drove her car, sudden braking could cause severe jolts.

This Prius stops shorter than any of those four older cars.

It sounds like you just need to reprogram your braking reflexes. Regardless of initial pedal feel, you should be able to quickly put your entire body weight into the brake pedal in an emergency. Otherwise, you may be unable to handle power brake failure, engine stall, or brake fade with a stuck throttle. All cars can suffer these problems. I've suffered many engine stalls in Fords, and learned to handle them, but there are rumors running around that Toyotas might be more susceptible to runaway than some other brands.

 

I find the brakes fine especially after the software update.
Generally don't stop abruptly.
With all the poor drivers around here have to drive very defensive.
It has worked over the last 32.5 years.

 

If a vehicle is capable of locking the wheels (if ABS was disabled/nonexistent), then it has more than enough braking power. You can't stop faster than the wheel traction allows.

I've driven cars that have such a soft pedal that I have to go almost all the way down. I've driven others with such sensitive pedals that it was hard to modulate the brakes. Going from one to another always takes a few minutes to get used to.

 

But 'normal' covers a huge range, depending on what cars you have driven recently. It varies significantly even within my own household.

'Normal' for my wife is her light-touch Acura, so she has complained about two of my three (past and present) not-so-light non-hybrids. (On one, she disliked the entire car, the other only the brakes.) She has no complaints about these Prius brakes.

'Normal' for me leans to slightly heavier pressure, though anything resembling full weight has so far been necessary only for farm machinery and a stalled farm pickup. Before recalibrating my foot for this Prius, the Brake Assist cleared all cargo (except belted passengers) off the seats 4 times.

Prius easily uses the full traction capability of the tires. If stopping distances are too long, then either the tires are inadequate, or the driver has a too-narrow sense of 'normal' brake pressures.

 

I agree with Wiserone. Brake feel and brake performance are two different thing. You may feel that brake is less effective than your previous car but you have to actually compare the stopping distance at identical speed and road condition. My Gen3's brake is equal good as my 2007 BMW-X3 which has larger tires and discs. Only difference is on the feel when re-gen kicks in.