Can the Prius handle the hills?

The hills will impact your mileage performance, but the car has absolutely no problems whatsoever negotiating the hills themselves, if that's what you meant. It will certainly climb any hill or mountain that any other car can without the slightest difficulty.

My daily commute includes a total elevation change of 2200 feet. I am so far (3rd tank) averaging about 47 mpg, and that is at mid 40s temps.

Go for a test drive and include some hills, you won't be disappointed.

 

I'll go even farther. West and south of me there are hills of varying gradients where I sometimes drive just for fun and scenery.

I've gotten my best-ever MPG there: 65-70MPG. Of course, to tease 70 out of it, you have to really know your car and how to "manipulate" speeds. For example, with the ICE on I let the car decelerate naturally the last few hundred yards before the crest of a hill (if we're going 40 MPH or more---slow country roads), rather than goosing it a little to maintain speed. A little thing.

If you're talking freeways through those hills, you can't control your situation as much, if at all. But on a 2-lane road with light-to-moderate traffic, you can.

Moderate hills are a Prius's best friend. B)

Edit: And I'm talking averaging that over a one-hour period, not a 5-min. bar.

 

My '02 classic works great in the hilly terrain of Northern NJ. In fact, I think the hills help my milage as when climbing the engine runs at high efficiency and when going down it fully charges the battery. Now our hills only go for a few miles, so if you have 20 miles of hills it might be another story. But around the local area I average about 52 mpg in the warm weather and about 45 in the winter.

 

Or better yet... rent one for two days. You'll get a much better idea of what to expect post-purchase. Many Toyota dealerships allow you to rent through their service departments.

 

I've seen reports of taking a Prius up Mt. Washington Auto Road without any problems.

A year ago I rented a Prius (through Enterprise) and took it from San Diego to the mountain town of Julian. With right up.

 

Took my '05 up into the Rockies to go ice fishing. Driving up and over the divide and back (round trip was 262 mi) I got 49.5 MPG. That included driving up and over Berthoud Pass (11307 ft.). Even with the battery tapped out the car did well. That was my first journey up into the mountains and I was impressed with the car's performance. Much better than my old Honda Civic.

 

Keep in mind that the Prius 04-06 has an enormous amount of torque. I believe it is just under 400 ftlbs. The electric motor has instant torque of about 300 ftlbs, so when you step on it-it just goes uphill easily. Most other cars will have to downshift and/or the driver will have to put the pedal to the metal. I love how it climbs.

Manny

 

I live on a hill and for the first time yesterday I drove further up the hill to where it gets really steep. The road goes from asphalt to concrete, and I think that happens when the grade exceeds about 10% (very steep; it feels like you are being launched).
Anyway, when I hit the steep part, I punched the Prius. It flew. My reaction was "WHOA!". Better low speed acceleration than any of my previous cars including a Maxima, and an Accord 5-speed.

Bottm line. Climbing hills are not a problem; but hills are killers on mileage.

 

Define "hill". Give us a vage idea about where you are. There are all kinds of "hills" around the US. When I lived in Ohio I had one definition of hill. Then I move out west. Hill had a new and different meaning. I have never have had any problems going over the mountains both the Castcades and the Rockies. I drive around Seattle and never have a problem starting off at a light on the steep downtown hills.