How good is this car for long trips?

Its smooth all the way up to top speed. Of course you won't be getting 50 mpg at 90 mph but you will be getting better mileage than anything else with four wheels.

 

Held mine at 90 mph for a little over 30 min and it was very smooth and stable.

 

ssssssshhhhhhhhh.

 

I drove mine across Wyoming on the Interstate at a steady 84mph for six hours at a time. That was through the mountains and with four passengers.
If you pulse and glide you won't trash the mpg.

It's not the most effective way to drive the car, but the car will certainly do it.

 

you can drive 90 mph no problem. you'l probably average 40mpg though, but hey better than nothing. As long long trips, its comfy, no problems.

 

Car is silky smooth at 100mph+ speeds for prolonged periods. So smooth that just following traffic can lead you to triple digits without knowing if you dont pay attention.

 

Keep in mind that at triple digits your fuel economy dips to below 40mpg (in a GenII)... Still probably the best on the road, but sort of unnerving. When you are driving for 30hours at a time, speed differences do add up.

I think the GenIII has a larger engine so probably a tad bit better on the highway.

 

I've only visited 90MPH for brief periods. It is just as fine ride-wise as at 75MPH. But the engine noise does go up, more than a luxury car would.

 

Just got back from my first road trip since getting the Prius. It broke 1K miles on the trip. The car is smooth @ 75mph. I personally found the pedal sensitivity in PWR mode the most comfortable at highway speed, and I had no trouble keeping up with other car in the caravan.

The car is loud (especially if X5 is your benchmark) and the JBL sounds pretty crappy. That is of course, nothing unexpected from the Prius.

 

kuhne - I think this thread should answer your question nicely:

Driving the Prius 2010 on a German Autobahn...

When I drive (normally) on german highways I usually drive (displayed - speed limits permitting) at 145km/h-90mph on average, with peaks at 170km/h-105mph. No problem whatsoever with stability (with the 17" wheels, that is). And, granted you have flat roads with good tarmac. But if the road were crap you wouldn't drive that fast anyways, would you?

As for fuel consumption - instantaneous FE is around 6-7L/100km-34-39mpg, but if you hit a few traffic jams, or low speed roadwork sections, you do fly around 5L/100km-47mpg (obviously depending on whether you drive flat or hilly roads - the values above are for hilly terrain). You can read also this recent post of mine here about this topic (i.e. driving the Prius 2010 "fast").

 

I just got back from a road trip where I traveled from southern New Mexico, up to Seattle and back, hitting Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland along the way. I did 80-90 MPH the entire time. And when coming back I did a drive from Seattle to New Mexico 32 hours on the road straight thru in one shot... at around 90-95 MPH through Utah, Idaho... I got about 46MPG- which is better than any other car.

so if you wanna go fast... VROOOOMMM!!!!

 

90mph is not a problem with the Prius...it may be a bit harder to do going up a steep incline, however.

 

"Noisy" is a relative description.

Adding more weight for sound dampening will reduce MPGs...and that's mainly what the car is about.

Further, the tires used on the Prius are designed for ultra-low rolling resistance...again, to help increase MPGs. These are NOT the optimal tire if one wants to reduce road noise.

All this said...most of us can't travel at 90mph, for any significant distances. So, in terms of designing the cars attributes to minimize noise at high speeds, for the majority of it's buyers - it's not a top priority. If you are primarily concerned about road noise at high speeds, then there are other cars that will do a better job than the Prius.

 

Going up 10% grades on I-70 through the Colorado Rockies there is no problem keeping up with traffic.

It is not noisy. It is not quiet like a Lexus, but it is not noisy like a domestic. Keep in mind it is an economy car, and it sounds like one.

 

Silent at more common speeds, but not due to insulation. Rather, quiet because the small ICE is not revving high in common use. At near max revs is will buzz.