Does the Prius Handle Well?

I also had the alignment done.

 

The car in its stock form handles as one would expect a mid-size family car to handle. 99% of Prius owners are fine with the way the Prius handles. I'm a bit of a handling junkie, though. There's not much more satisfying than taking a corner high speed on the very edge of traction.

 

Although not a Prius "expert" I have driven 15-20 different Prius in a variety of conditions. The car handles perfectly fine in my "opinion". It is stable at speed, had a slippery front end which minimizes turbulence problems, works fine in bad weather, corners acceptably (although it is not intended to be "pushed"), accelerates acceptably, and brakes well.

I do not understand the complaints about cross winds. With any small lightweight car it is possible to feel the wind. It is the nature of the vehicle. As far as aany specific instance, without being "there" it is impossible to comment intelligently on other people experiences.

When caught behind two tandem trailers at 80 mph on an interstate in the Midwest a sudden change in wind can startle even the most experienced driver and push a vehicle around, Prius or full size Lincoln, so I really don't know what to say about poor handling comments.

The car is not designed to be an autocross or race car. It is simply a nicely designed economy car with outstanding mileage and emissions characteristics and more on the upscale side than the traditional econobox.

In my opinion the handling is perfectly fine for its intended use.

 

My previous car weighed 500 lbs. more so the Prius handles pretty good in my opinion. Of course I didn't buy the Prius to race and have done nothing more than standard every-day driving.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Jun 8 2007, 06:39 PM) [snapback]458355[/snapback]</div>

My old 88 Civic sedan had all wheel independant mcpherson strut suspension. It loved to go around corners fast, especially descending a mountain pass on a two lane road, woo hoo! But the Prius has a solid axle in the rear so it will lose grip easier.

Folks, if you want a really fun car to drive hard and fast, you can't expect to find that in the Prius, or any Toyota for that matter.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jun 8 2007, 06:53 PM) [snapback]458359[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, you want wind problems? Drive a 1970 VW Squareback. This was a 2 door wagon they made, with the engine in the back, and the gas tank and trunk in the front. THIS CAR got blown around in the wind! I can remember one stormy night when it was pouring rain and windy, I couldn't drive faster than 50mph on the freeway coming back from Portland to Seattle. If I went faster than 50mph, the front tires started floating and hydro-planing in the water which was all over the road, and the front of the car would float all over the place! Talk about scary!! Then to top it off, my vent drain hoses that came down into the passenger compartment and went forward to drain, got plugged, so there was some water leaking onto my lap. What a night!

The Prius wouldn't do anything like this.

Dave

 

My only comment is it is very sensitive. Kind of like a go-cart. A little wheel input goes a long way. This isn't a problem. Makes it kind of fun to drive.

Gary

 

My Prius is still less than 2 months old, but after reading about some complaints regarding handling and crosswinds, I was on the lookout for problems when I drove from DC to NY and back last month. I had no problems at all. Passed plenty of trucks and crossed the bridge over the Susquehanna River on I95 (the one with the signs that say CAUTION - BRIDGE SUBJECT TO CROSSWINDS) but I never noticed any issues.

 

The Prius is susceptible to crosswinds but not significantly more so that most other cars. I actually noticed being blown sideways a lot more in the big heavy Sebring convertible I owned before I got my Prius... and that is a low and heavy car.

The "numbers" on the Prius being blown around may look higher because it uses lighter metals/materials than other cars, but when you are out on the road it feels about the same. As always, you notice if the car is being blown sideways, correct the steering, maybe slow down a little, and it's no big deal.

The vehicles that kind of scare me about wind susceptibility are big box vans. I would not want to drive one of those in a nasty thunderstorm. They look like they could get blown right over or even off the road.

Wind does usually affect mileage adversely.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nybiker @ Jun 8 2007, 11:19 PM) [snapback]458486[/snapback]</div>

 

The stock Prius, if in alignment, handles OK on dry pavement. Add wind and/or rain and the handling deteriorates. I improved my stock Prius's handling with alignment, grippier tires, and the BT Tech brace. Now, even on a rain-slicked, rutted highway, it goes where I want it to, without struggle.

 

I think it handles fine. In no way does it compare to my 2001 GTI that I traded in for the Prius, but that definitely is not to be expected ... the GTI handles extremely well.

As said before, it is just fine for 99% of conditions. I have heard of some traction issues in snow/ice on steep inclines ... but I have no first hand knowledge of that yet. Will give it a try in Lake Tahoe this winter.

 

IMHO, the Prius handles ok (not great) for a non-sports car. It's definitely fairly poor compared to my Z.

It seems to handle better than my former 02 Nissan Maxima GXE which had suspension that was a little too soft and floaty, was much larger (and 328 lbs heavier), had vague on center feel, and tires that squealed easily. Between that and my Z was night and day. Other than the handling, I actually did like my Max a lot.

 

The prius is a dream ride in the wind compared to our 32' motorhome , and Jeep in a wind storm.

I have no mods on the prius and I think it handles and grabs the road on the curves, but I have always owned higher center of gravity vehicles so this being lower ground clearance may be why I think it is a nicer ride.

 

With no mods at all and with the alignment as delivered, I've had no handling problems at all in around 3,000 miles of driving. Those miles included one 100-mile jaunt on I-15 (at around 75 mph and sharing the road with semis) during a storm with rain and very high winds (gusts of 70 mph later reported in the area) plus around 1,000 miles on two-lane, winding, mountain roads in Utah. I like the tight (no free-play) steering feel. I'm sorry for those who have experienced poor handling but, from my experience, I just can't empathize.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nybiker @ Jun 8 2007, 11:19 PM) [snapback]458486[/snapback]</div>

I made that trip one night during really really high winds and crossing that bridge was scary. But at the same time, every car on the road was having extreme trouble. All the trucks moved over to the inner lane to cross the Susquehanna so I figure that they were having problems too. Some co-workers who took a plane instead of driving that night had their scariest plane ride ever. So in my experience, handling in the wind has not been any different from any other car that I have driven. But I have no experience driving high performance cars.

 

I have owned my Prius for 6 months now and I finally registered to post on your fine group. My previous car was a Honda Civic and I am thrilled with my new 2007 Prius. I found the handling to be okay but not great. Around the city it was perfect for me but once I got it out on the open highway I noticed that it did get pushed around a lot more than I would have liked. I picked up a BT brace part that a lot of people seem to like and it did help with keeping the car centered in my lane. I still feel that the car needs wider tires to make it handle even better but for now I am happy with the car and its gas mileage. I am averaging about 47 mpg which to me is very good and a lot better than my previous Civic.

Kmossbro

 

I had an SUV. They are supposed to be bad in wind. The anti-Prius (2001 Pathfinder) did get blown around a bit. The Prius is a little worse. Funny though, the Prius will out-accelerate the anti-Prius when passing. I think it's a combination of lower wind resistance, lower weight, and electric boost.

I think a major "improvement" is just increasing tire pressure. I currently run 40/38 and it handles fine. I wouldn't want to corner much faster. Things in the storage bins start to slide around now and that's enough. Still don't squeal the tires like the hyper-milers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bill Merchant @ Jun 9 2007, 01:28 AM) [snapback]458536[/snapback]</div>

Bill Merchant, I assume you have an '07 NON-Touring model......... would you rather (NOW) have had the TOURING model with stiffer suspension, wider tires ????

The reason I ask is that we bought the 2007 TOURING model Prius for the fact of (quote) "better handling" !! After going from a big, four wheel drive SUV ('03 Acura MDX) which we "traded-in".... it was quite the "learning curve" for my Wife (a very good and conciencious driver) to "adapt" to the heavy crosswinds on the highway and the Prius's "very sensitive" steering !!
By-the-way............ we just installed (this morning) a new BT Tech BRACE ....... have NOT "tried-it-out" yet but tomorrow (Sunday) my Wife (driver) and I (navigator) will surely "give-it-the-test" !! Now..... she is just waiting for a windy day on the highway..........