Prius Handling Characteristics

I took my car up to 97MPh yesterday and I think it felt kind of loose above 80MPh. 97 is the fastest i've ever driven so I have nothing to compare it to. It was fun and I think I might take her to a drag strip to see if I can get her to go faster. When accelerating I was getting about 1-4MPG. I only drove at that speed for about 1/4 mile. It dropped my average to 61MPG but i'm slowly bringing it back up. It was well worth it.

 

Something I picked up. A good driver will wring out the best out of any car no matter the handling due to his adaptability.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NuShrike @ May 12 2006, 01:54 PM) [snapback]254244[/snapback]</div>

COMPLETELY TRUE. In spite of all my bitching about the performance, the car does do everything consistently, alberit somehwat poorly. I have pushed it a lot farther than i think any Toyota engineer ever intended the car be pushed. ie. all four tires screeching in corners, very hard cornering, fully compressed suspension with tires howling on the on ramps, etc.

Any decent driver can adapt to a different vehicle and find it's limits in a short while. This car does handle high speed freeway (85 - 100mph) but it does so with a very wooden feel and a bit of instability that can sometimes feel like the brink of loss of control (depending upon road conditions.) It FEELS like any significant sudden maneuver would result in possilbly crossing the line between reckless and endangerment. Although a couple sudden evasive maneuvers have proven to be recoverable, I do wonder whether a less experienced/less confident driver would have recovered control in one of these moments. (shut up jonlink - i don't want to hear your b.s. )

Overall, i can't argue the fuel savings and it is a simple A to B vehicle that does what it is supposed to do.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 12 2006, 02:27 PM) [snapback]254212[/snapback]</div>

That is correct, but try proving it. In my 26 yrs, I was only ale to proe this happened once....and it was not a trafic violation then, it was Criminal Endangering.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 12 2006, 02:27 PM) [snapback]254212[/snapback]</div>

Your non-sequitur attack does nothing but illustrate my point.

Just make sure you keep your dashboard camera handy in the event you do have an accident, you're drafting someone and they brake hard enough causing you to collide with them. Without the proof, you'll be S.O.L. and even with it, all the guy has to say is he saw something in the road ahead and hit the breaks hard to avoid it.

Grow up, son.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jonlink @ May 12 2006, 04:07 PM) [snapback]254335[/snapback]</div>

yeah, he "saw something in the road and hit the brakes" in the middle of heavy but flowing los angeles traffic. Your impetulence vexes me...

...i am vexed.

Point is I was aware of the danger, he was spiteful and bitter and therefore an a$$hole who took pleasure in trying to upset my mellow groooove!

Once again you've completely missed the point.
Mom was right to leave!

I always knew I was adopted!!!

peace


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Oh, thanks for getting my back, Schmika.

Cheers!

 

Yesterday we put 460 miles on our '06, coming up I-95 from Virginia to Rhode Island, with the last 4 hours of the trip in steady and sometimes heavy rain. Top speed was probably 75 or so. Lots of trucks on the road. Various pavement conditions. And I was very happy with the way the car handled. I wasn't expecting the kind of handling I would get from a sports car, or from a luxury car, or even from the minivan we have. The Prius is relatively small and lighweight and it handles better than I was expecting.

We'll put over 2K miles on our Prius this trip, in a variety of driving conditions, but yesterday's trip should have been the longest and toughest of our vacation. And while I have no doubt the Prius could have handled better, I think it did just fine. And hopefully, when we get the BT brace, it will be even better.

 

Not a great handling car. If you want handling then there are tons of other cars in the price range, wrx for example, that get normal gas milage. I traded a wrx for a prius because I drive 100 miles a day in traffic and wanted a car designed for 90% of the driving that I do. The handling is adaquite for normal driving, not great and not too dangerous. The car does not handle emergency handling that well at speed and is best used reasonability. Since manycars on the road are bigger and heavier, I would recommend avioding accidents if a all possible and not pushing performance. Get a second car if performance is what you want or a motorcycle. Look to Prius for green, statement, resale, efficiency, and commutability.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 12 2006, 09:33 PM) [snapback]254573[/snapback]</div>

This thread is interesting and entertaining at the same time. Though some may feel that fastlane is a bit on the edge regarding driving technique, he's having a good time with a spirited argument. Sure, he's got strong opinions regarding driving, tires, and handling, but he's also willing to stop and laugh.

Now here's my two cents regarding tire contact patch. We all know that if it were possible to view the patch from directly below, by parking on a thick glass viewing panel, we could accurately measure it. I'm not convinced that you can judge the true contact patch by examining another part of the tire. Just because the tread bows somewhere else, why does that imply that the patch, under the weight of the car, isn't nice and flat?

The Audi site's chalk-mark measurement of tire squish in the turns seems more scientific.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ May 13 2006, 11:25 AM) [snapback]254758[/snapback]</div>

Uncle Rick! Is that you... B)

Cheers and many thanks for seeing my lengthy posts for what they are. Too many "engineer types" on this forum, I think, to have a good time. Everything gets dissected ad nauseam.

So, here's to the ridiculous level of over ANAL-ysis we continue to see on these posts. Nice to see no one will forfeit the last word on any of the various "battles" I find myself engaged in.

[attachmentid=3433]

 

Fastlane, if you are going to the track for 1/4 mile times, brief yourself on "force-charging" beforehand. The MG's will then be your friends. But don't play that card too many times unless you also have a way to monitor MG1 temperatures. There may be a teensy weak point in the Toyota hybrid system...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 12 2006, 02:33 AM) [snapback]253984[/snapback]</div>

I just re-read the original post on this thread and wanted to change what i said above.

The "wobble" is just a description of the motion of the car due to constant over-correnction. NOTHING MORE.

Next time I'll read the whole thread more closely before I start dumping my .02 in.

SO... Black2006. Once again. We DON"T agree after all. You are completely missing the point of the phrase about the "wobble" in the first place.
Peace anyway

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 13 2006, 12:33 AM) [snapback]254573[/snapback]</div>

Wow, your rhetoric is as juvenile as your driving, and you read quite a bit into Schmika's post thinking he had your back. As I saw it, he was explaining that it is very difficult to prove that the person in front purposefully casued the accident.
People and their actions within the car are the single biggest cause of collisions. If driving the way you do is important to you, you should pick a car more suited to your style that gets the best mileage based on your perfomrance requirements since it doesn't appear the Prius is that car (based on your own comments).

Your like the old joke:
Patient: Dr. my arm hurts when I do this (patient does something with arm causing him to wince)
Doctor: Don't do that.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jonlink @ May 15 2006, 10:47 AM) [snapback]255691[/snapback]</div>

oh good... jon[the missing]link is back...

I have my reasons for driving a Prius. That is really all that matters as far as my "picking a car"

On another note... It is now official; You bore the CR@P out of me...
I sympathize with your wife (if you even have a woman) as I am sure you're a thrill a minute at home too!

:mellow:

p.s. you ARE the old joke.

 

The prius has many positive points, but it's handling is not. Even to the extent that I would not want to drive this car for a long trip. Normally, most cars somehow invite me to explore their behaviour on the edge. I love driving at 140+ mph on the German autobahn. I love driving really fast on a curvy road in the Alps. On such roads, my opinion is that you are not driving if your tires are not screaming.

The prius doesn't invite me to any of this. It has all the problems people mentioned in this thread. Does that make it an unsafe car? Of course not. You naturally adapt yourself to it, and drive in a more conservative way. And it becomes boring, very boring.

Where the Prius excells imo is in city driving. There you get the driving pleasure from the smooth, silent drive with the CVT, the electric engine, all the high-tech goodies, and of course it's amazing mpg. Because of the electric assist, if you want, you can even surprise a few bmw X5 or porche cayenne drivers for the first seconds at the red light, supposed they have a slow reaction time. It's fun to see their bewildered faces if they finally pick up with their massive hp on that little toyota hybrid... City driving is why I bought this car, and I really like it for that. But I will never ever use this car for a long trip through Europe.

However, I really don't see the point in comparing a Prius to something like a 330xd. Anybody who expects something even remotely comparable should never even consider this car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BVISAILMAN @ May 1 2006, 07:28 AM) [snapback]247881[/snapback]</div>

I have 800 miles on ODO and have experienced similar problems.......at speeds above 70 i had to steer right and left to keep it straight.......but it was oklahoma and i thought it was due to wind.....
May be i should get it checked for balancing and alignment? btw: I have not yet altered the factory/dealer tire pressure....
any suggestions

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AAWADKE @ May 16 2006, 09:58 AM) [snapback]256210[/snapback]</div>

Somebody suggested to me that requesting the service guy to do a slight toe-in (~1/16 per side) will really help with high speed steering sensitivity... I intend to try it out.

Dave