Prius vs. Dodge Charger

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Drifty'sDad @ Nov 27 2007, 11:51 PM) [snapback]545063[/snapback]</div>

I bet you floored the Charger on the highway. Prius is incredible at passing speed on the highway. Once you experience acceleration of HSD at 30-70mph range, you can't go back to gear shifting transmission.

I had a similar experience with a loaner car (Corolla). From a stop, touching the gas pedal yanks the car giving me the impression of a powerful engine. On the highway when I tried to passed, I wondered where all those power went?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Drifty'sDad @ Nov 27 2007, 08:51 PM) [snapback]545063[/snapback]</div>

Yep. I've had various loaners and rented various cars in the almost 4 years I've had my Prius, and everything's a disappointment. The convertible in Hawaii was kind of fun. The Chevy last month was comfortable. But nothing compares. Only the Xebra is more fun than the Prius, but it's not a well-designed ot well-constructed car.

 

the avenger is an equal disappointment. looking under the hood, there was already a coolant leak too :blink:

 

I got the gangsta version Chrysler 300 last year as a rental upgrade. I also prefer the Prius in almost every way. I don't know why they keep building land yachts like those. I fell for it in a weak moment, as a rental upgrade, but buy one? never. Yeah, Prius works for me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 27 2007, 10:25 PM) [snapback]545102[/snapback]</div>

That rang a bell: It was a Sebring convertible that I rented in Hawaii. Two or three years ago. And rental cars are usually pretty new. So if it's not available as a convertible now, it was very recently.

 

I was in a rented Charger; four door...sounded like a bigger V6 under there, but I didn't even bother checking.

A few thoughts:

*I can't believe they waste all of that valuable real estate, between the front seats, for a huge and clunky mechanical shifter. Yeeesh!

*Tip-in is amazing, compared to the Prius, and it felt faster to me, but ---how else can I say it--- the HSD is soooo much smoother and infinitely variable, compared to an automatic transmission--- that to hear the RPM of the engine rise and fall, and the car downshift when it needed more power, and then wind out before a jolting upshift...well, that was so old fashioned that it almost brought tears to my eyes.

*The throttle, on my car, was really non-linear, and if I'd press too hard leaving a parking space, the car would really lunge forward.

*Rear wheel drive is still the best for performance, but isn't so good for packaging. This car had RWD, and it was fun to not have the traction control Gestappo visiting me, every time the road was a little slippery.

*The car is really simple, mechanically, compared to the Prius. I read the owner's manual...it's got a warning light for the electronic throttle, for goodness sake. I suspect if the Prius had warning lights for every electronic system, there would be an awful lot of lights on the dash.

*There are hack codes in the manual, to change various audible electronic warnings. I thought that was kind of nice, actually. I turned off auto-door locks.

*The beltline is REALLY high, compared to the Prius. The car had terrible visibility and the windshield felt like a slot. It was a pain to get into and out of gracefully (especially in a skirt) and messed up my updo, which didn't exactly ingratiate it with me.

*Seeing the hood, how quaint! I once said that, "the hood is the platter, upon which the world is served to you." This car reminded me of that.

*My favorite feature (again, from the manual): if you drive for more than one mile with the signal on, there will be an audible warning and (I believe) a warning light on the dash!!!!! How cool is THIS?!?!?

Overall, though, an average car well suited for rental service, except that the trunk was a little smaller than it seemed like it was going to be, which was a bummer (the whole RWD thing).

A nice enough place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

--Natalie

 

You guys should test drive a SRT8 Charger or SRT8 300 just for the fun of it.... it's certainly a much different animal.

MIke

 

i had rented a 300c with the v6, certainly its smooth and planted nice on the road, but theres nothing really good about it, its boring. I bet even if i had a hemi v8 version of charger,300c type vehicle it wouldnt appeal to me, the interior is just too confining.

the only real luxury car that appeals to me on all levels is the gs450h ( dream car, hoping on getting one crashed soon ) , or ls600hl ( i doubt will ever be crashed, darn pre collision system )

 

I was searching for Hemi in the forums to see if anyone else was talking about the Charger and found this old thread. Just thought I'd chime in with my 2 cents!

I currently own a Dodge Charger R/T V8 Hemi, and am selling it to buy a Prius. The main reason I'm selling it is because I'm tired of shilling out big $$$ every time I fill up. My mom has a fuel efficient car and she's not worried about traveling because she doesn't have to think about "how am I going to afford the next fill up?"

Personally, I love my Charger - it's big and mean and unbelievably comfortable to ride in, whether I'm going long distance or in the city, it handles well. And it was fun to step on the gas and feel like you're being pinned back in your seat. I test drove the V6 first, and there was a huge difference. I would keep the Charger if I didn't get such awful MPG. I usually get anywhere from 15MPG to 20MPG if I'm lucky! That's disgusting, isn't it?!

But I am really looking forward to becoming a Prius owner - I like the whole idea of the car, great gas mileage, better on the environment, and not to mention it's a techie's dream! (which I am!) I was really surprised when I first sat in the Prius (Touring #6) how it really felt like sitting in my Charger, only with a lot more visibility. The comfort of sitting in it, going down the highway was equal if not better. My Hemi sounds great rumbling down the highway, but I know I'm sucking down ga$ with every rumble.

It was a bit hard for my husband and I to get used to the Prius - we're both hot rodders from day one! My first car was a 1966 Mustang and his was a 1967 Nova, so we love the loud engines and the roar of top fuel dragsters. But even so, we love the Prius - it just makes more sense! My husband still hasn't left his hot rod ways though, he's rebuilding a 1950 Plymouth Coupe to be his daily driver. Hot rods and horsepower will still run through our veins, even though we'll soon be Prius owners!

 

I think it is funny that Dodge still uses the Hemi name. It's all about branding, since hemispherical head engines are a thing of the past.

Tom

 

My reaction on my first drive in a Prius was it drove more like a V6 auto than an L4 auto.
I drove a stick shift sports car around town for years, and I can tell you that you don't see all of the pickup potential at normal driving conditions. You have to go on the track or back roads and push the rpms up to the 5K or more range.
The electric component in a hybrid gives you the high torque at low rpm the ICE doesn't have. Coupled with the gearless CVT, that makes for fast pickup. That's why the race cars of the future will be battery cars with CVT.

 

dont know where you are at, but i was floored at the difference in the types of cars driven.

i live in the Pacific Northwest and there are thousands of Pri's around here. on average, i will see 1-3 PER MINUTE when driving around.

i just spent 3 days in Detroit, other than Fire Engineer's Pri, i never saw one. i was looking for one on the 20 min drive to and from the airport and never saw a single one. amazing@!!

 

What??

Don't get me wrong, I love my Prius... but it's not incredible at all at passing on the highway.
It does ok 0-30mph, but passing on the highway is one of the weakest points of the Prius.

 

well to each his own...

last summer i had a PACKED Pri for 5 day road trip that included driving up the entire Oregon Coast. this is a twisty 2 lane road with speeds running between 35 to 50 mph... lots of ups and downs. on the ups there is usually a passing lane (some of these ups are pretty steep) but some of the passing lanes were also pretty short.

we got stuck behind two car haulers and i dont mean big semi's... i mean a pickup truck with a car trailer and to say the least they really slowed us up... after following them for over 40 minutes, i finally got a chance to pass and it was not a big chance, but i jumped on it, well i went from 45 mph to 70 mph in very good time.

to be honest with ya, i am very sure that i would not really want more passing power. what i have now is plenty

 

I agree with you. What I have now is plenty too. Anyway I stay in the right lane. I rarely pass anyone.
I'd rather have 30% better fuel economy with the same horespower than 5% better fuel economy and 20% more power.

regarding passing power... A normal honda Civic 2008 EX takes 4.8 secs to do 45-65mph. Prius takes 6.1secs

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid vs. 2006 Toyota Prius Specs & Pricing Comparison - Motor Trend

2008 Honda Civic EX - Specifications - Quick Test | 2008 Honda Civic Review at Automotive.com

The Prius is either below average, or "ok" at best... but it can't be considered "incredible", come on. Even a Yaris (5.6secs 45-65mph) and a Nissan Versa (5.1secs) do better.

 

From the link you provided, Prius does 45-65 MPH in 5.8 seconds. Civic Hybrid does it in 6.1 seconds. So, it raises the question why Civic hybrid take 0.3 secs longer when it is ~100 lbs lighter. Both have peak 110 hp so the lighter one should win, isn't it? It is incredible that the heavier and bigger car (Prius) is the faster AND gets more MPG. That's incredible.

The Civic EX is ~200 lbs lighter and have ~27% more hp. 1 second faster is not that impressive, I would expect more. How fast can the Civic EX do from 30-50 MPH? Prius can do 30-50 MPH in 5 seconds, the same as last gen Camry.

If you calculate the hp/weight ratio, I am sure those tiny cars will have much more hp/weight ratio than Prius yet only marginally faster.

 

You can play with the numbers all you want. In the end, the Civic, the Yaris and the Versa do 45-65mph faster. The Prius is not incredible at passing on the highway.
It will take longer for a Prius to pass a car, that's all. Lowering your window and yelling "Yeah but I have a better HP/weight" isn't going to change everything. The Prius is "ok" or "below average" at passing. It's certainly not "incredible", which was the original claim. It wasn't "The passing power of the Prius is better than expected given the published horespower rating".

What if some sports cars started calculating mpg/HP and showing better numbers than the Prius, and call them "incredible fuel economy cars"?
Or when those ricers start using HP/L numbers to claim their car is better than a Viper?