How does Prius compare to conventional cars in driving dynamics?

The prius gets on the freeway without being rear ended, it runs twistys like any other no performance car. If you want high performance it is there, but your mileage will suffer.

I have come from a 911sc Porsche. Does the Prius compare? 4 Wheels and a windscreen! On the other hand 52mph @70 is nice. The 911 got about 12 @ 140! Prius carries 4, the 911 only 2, usually only me. Who wants to hang on in the twistys in the passenger seat.

You'll love the Prius

Icarus

 

Hi Yury,

Well, that depends on the V6. If its 4 speed automatic, geared for speed, the Prius will do well against it up to 40 mph. If its geared like a VW, has a 6 speed DSG transmission, not at all. This is because of the wider gear range of the Prius than the 4 speed automatic. Which allows the engine to be at higher RPM's at lower vehicle speeds.

Setting up the transmission for a quick acceleration takes experience with driving the Prius for good Fuel Economy. When one does that one lifts throttle and brings it back up to just cruise along. To setup the transmission for a quick accell, one just pushes the throttle beyond this point, confirming the engine has come on and that the FE is reading like 30 or so mpg, at a speed one can get about 50 plus. Knowing where that point is, is a skill developed for best fuel economy driving. And knowing how far the throttle will go up before the car speeds up is second nature after a while. The engine is now running at its highest RPM for the vehicle speed, which is the same as when one was running for FE, MG1 has reversed, and the car is ready for its best accelleration performance. I guess one can consider this like downshifting. Maybe they should put a downshift momentary button on the dash. But they didn't.

 

To put this into perspective, my all-electric, 1996 EV1 with 153 rated HP was faster to 60 mph than my high-pressure turbo, 250 HP 2000 Volvo T5.

The differences are many, and it all depends on what you call "performance." In the end, cars are just transportation though! Once you get over that hurdle, the Prius is more car than most people need.

 

The torque of MG2 would test the strength of the crankshaft in the 244 hp V6.

 

He only WISHES he owned an EV1... he leased one

0-60 time is pretty irrelevant unless all the other drivers are blind. The engine performance, power, acceleration have never been a problem for me. The only thing that makes me a little nervous sometimes is the TRAC kicking in if I'm accelerating from a dead-stop and turning into traffic.. that usually means the tires slip a little and TRAC cuts power a little to minimize slipping.

That's not unique to the hybrid drivetrain, but I've never driven another car with traction control, so I can't compare experiences.

 

I had my first real occasion to flog the Prius, and have to say I was pretty impressed. I generally drive the Prius pretty sedately, really focusing on mileage. This is a big shift for me, as I've always been a pretty aggressive driver (trained in Boston & New York). I still am really, any time I'm behind the wheel of our WRX it all comes right back. Its one of the things I enjoy about the Prius, its been very good for my stress/blood pressure. Sort of like automotive yoga.

Anyway, we were running very late for an appointment so I had to break out the WRX style on the Prius last night. Of course you really couldn't push it as hard as you could the WRX, but it responded with enthusiasm and never left me feeling like it couldn't keep up. I generally despise driving small crappy (often american) cars as I constantly feel like the car and I are not on the same page. Often I'll ask it to do things and its just not there for me. Its hunting around for what gear to shift into, or just plain off balance. Anyway, I've never experienced that in the Prius. It may not be lightening fast, or have go-kart handling, but it does what you ask it to. There are some tricks as a previous poster mentioned to getting things spooled up right to respond almost instantly. When you miss that, there's just a short delay kind of like waiting for the turbo to spin up on the WRX.

As mentioned before the only time I've ever asked the Prius to do something and been a little surprised was cutting a left turn a little close and hitting some loose gravel causing the traction control to kick in. The car still re-composed it self and got out of the way in plenty of time but there was a disconcerting moment there.

This morning I was back to regularly scheduled programming, but its nice to know the car is capable of that sort of performance when you need it.

Rob

 

The Prius' Hybrid System net about 110 hp output.

It's still not a dragster, but for a sub-3000 lbs car which is adequate.
I've driven less: 65hp....85hp smaller block before, still able to manage.

Never break a sweat passing a semi on the highway over 70+ in my Prius, and its handling is like a normal sedan.