Is the Prius good for motorway bashing

[PeteB]

Or he may have been running with the space saver tyre fitted, or gunge in a punctured tyre...

[Chris Dance]

I have had to use a space saver to get home. Following that experience I would never fit a space saver on the front of the car. Going over 40 MPH with a space saver on  gives a very unstable drive and in my opinion dangerous. I would never drive on a motorway with a space saver on. I would insist on a recovery vehicle.

Prius on the motorway is fine in my opinion but can be a bit noisy compared to some cars. I have also experienced being "flashed" whilst overtaking in the fast lane at 70-75 MPH.

[johalareewi]

"There is no reason why it should be more efficient then than a normal petrol car of equivalent drag, weight & thermal efficiency."

If the motorway was flat I would agree but motorways are not flat.  When going uphill, the hybrid will use the ICE similar to a normal car.  When going downhill, the hybrid will turn the ICE off and effectively coast.  If the hill is particularly steep, the hybrid will generate electricity which it can then use later instead of petrol.

 

[kithmo]

On 5/8/2017 at 10:13 PM, Whitton Race said:

Thank you for the comments everyone - it seems as though mpg will be very reasonable on the motorway even if how this works is a bit less clear (and not so important as the outcome), so that is a good thing.  I did fear that the mpg on the motorway would be just like a regular petrol car.

With regards to the performance on the motorway - my local dealer runs a fleet or Prii (is that the correct plural for more than one Prius?) on daily rental so I think I will arrange one for a few days.  I am happy to pay for that as it seems more honest.  This will also allow me to properly set the car up for personal 'fit' and get the best comfort that I can as when I did the test drive some aspects did seem a bit 'wrong' - arm rest / reach to the gear selector.  If I can't get the 'fit' right it would be the biggest thing as we can all learn to make adjustments for performance - I'd rather have a suit that fits than a Versace that I trip over.

I have to ignore the person I saw this evening on my drive home up the M3 - sitting blissfully unaware and no doubt overly smug in his hybrid (Auris touring) at 56 mph on an otherwise clear road with everyone else doing 70 or thereabouts.  That was causing chaos for everyone behind him and is just as dangerous as the more common driving too fast and too close.  This driver certainly did not do the image of hybrid any favours.

Because of other commitments, and this is the early stages of looking at the next vehicle, I will be happy if it is not until next month that I can arrange the longer access ot a car from the hire fleet to get the right one.

Reach to the gear selector is not important as you do little or no gear selecting whilst driving in the Prius, you just put it in "D" at the start of the journey and turn it off at the end, which puts it in "P". 

[johalareewi]

"you just put it in D at the start of the journey and turn it off at the end, which puts it in P"

Might need R once in a while.  It's not really a gear selector, it's a direction selector.

[kithmo]

1 hour ago, johalareewi said:

"you just put it in D at the start of the journey and turn it off at the end, which puts it in P"

Might need R once in a while.  It's not really a gear selector, it's a direction selector.

Not whilst "motorway bashing" I hope 

[Anthony Poli]

38 minutes ago, kithmo said:

Not whilst "motorway bashing" I hope 

Not unless you like to hear the beeps

[PeteB]

44 minutes ago, kithmo said:

Not whilst "motorway bashing" I hope 

I'm told if you select P whilst moving forward above about 4 mph, it just beeps and goes into N.  Never tested it though!

Not sure about Gen 1 Prius which had a big lever that looked like a column shift or the Yaris Hybrid with it's conventional shifter.

[mysecondavensis]

I am replying to OP post number 1;

You don’t seem to have taken to the Prius at all.  It might “grow on you” but that does not seem a promising impression. I sense you are trying to like the car and that is not a good basis for it.  When I first drove a Gen 3 in 2010 I knew immediately that this was the car for me.  I spent weeks finding out how it worked, its reliability and costs etc, and then bought one.    After 7 years I have just bought a new Gen 4 which is stunning.  I so love the Toyota HSD that if a car has a gearbox and a diesel engine I am not interested.

Funnily I was thinking only a few days ago that the big-engined diesels are optimised for motorway driving and are good at constant 70mph + cruising.   Also that the Prius is very different and most people don’t seem to like “different”. 

The Prius was designed to be a 21^st century car, efficient and great to use in mixed everyday driving. It was intended to be better for the environment.  Of course its safety, reliability and low running cost for this type of motoring are clear.  It is easy and delightful to drive and encourages a relaxed style.  It is kind to everyone’s lungs too.  It is the most efficient car that does not plug in.  It is a Low Emissions Vehicle.  I like the fact that motoring bliss also helps everybody else even though most people are driving less efficient gas-guzzling polluters.

The economy of the Prius is not the main point for me, I just love the way it does what it does.  Its economy has always been the  icing on the cake.  In my new Gen 4 I have been from North Shropshire to North Wales and Snowdonia, Aylesbury and back, Milton Keynes and back, Birmingham and back, Wolverhampton and back. and local work/shopping.   Motorways M54,M6,M1, M42, M40.  After two tankfuls I had done 1,001 miles and put in 15.6 gall of  UL.

[Whitton Race]

Thank you mysecondavensis - that is a very well considered and helpful response.  

I am with you on the actual driving of the Prius and the safety is fantastic - I am sold in that regard.  It is just what I consider to be rather odd interior packaging - in fact the last model Prius seemed to have a better interior (but obviously not the latest TSS, which I really liked).  

I have given thought to the C-HR which has a great interior and funky external styling, but currently out of my price range, plus a bit smaller passenger cabin (especially in the rear).  

Economy is not my biggest concern, but an important factor and I have been satisfied that will be in the range that is acceptable.  My fears that it would be just like a normal petrol on the motorway have been adequately allayed.  

I am actually thinking now to hold on to my current jalopy a bit longer and wait until a hybrid shows up that is more suitably packaged for my needs.  It is a tough one, because of you want hybrid there is only Toyota or Lexus.

[BhxTrev]

Mysecondavensis after reading your comments I thought crikey I could have written that. I really don't care what other people drive & in fact after having a test drive in a  Gen3, I ordered one immediately! When I decided to swap my Gen3 after 7 years of trouble free great motoring, for my Gen4 I had no qualms buying the top of the range Excel in hyposonic red with many of the optional extras. The car looks stunning & so far, although I've only done about 6000 miles, it's been trouble free & apart from some hiccups with the multimedia/satnav, which with the help of folks on this forum I found that it was simply mainly in need of updating, I cannot fault this car. The only thing I would have done differently if I'd have realised at the time is that I would have had the 15 inch wheel version, with the space saver spare wheel. 

[PeteB]

1 hour ago, mysecondavensis said:

...The economy of the Prius is not the main point for me, I just love the way it does what it does.  Its economy has always been the  icing on the cake...

I'm also the same.  I first bought a Prius (first Gen) in 2002, but after 6 months someone went through red light and totalled it.  I so loved the way it drove, I rang my dealer to order another whist still sitting in the wreckage waiting for a crane to lift it off where it landed!  It was the driving experience I loved most, the economy as you say icing.  The low maintenance cost was also a pleasant surprise.

My 2nd Gen 2 lasted 9 years and 163,000 miles, and it still used almost daily by the current owner - last news was ti had passed 180,000.

In all, I've driven almost 300,000 miles in all four versions of Prius, 14,000 in my 11 month old Gen 4.

Amazing to think the original Prius was launched in Japan 20 years ago this year.

[Anthony Poli]

It looks to me that the OP, isn't put off by the hybrids, but not keen on the packaging. If you don't like the look and feel or the price of Toyota's offerings, another option is to look at other manufacturers.

The Prius has its own styling and while it's not the fastest of cars, that's not a problem for me. Having 2 hybrids in the family, I don't mind if I can't get the optimistic mpg all the time, when your stuck in slow stop start traffic, it's less stressful in a hybrid.

 

 

[Whitton Race]

In terms of other manufacturers for hybrids, who else actually has a good one?  Toyota make the best hybrid and I would not want some second-best also-ran.  There is a strong case with the like of the Mondeo or BMW hybrids that they have expended their efforts in the diesel and three-cylinder petrols and only really have a hybrid as an afterthought to tick a box, so not making a good hybrid package.

Please don't get me wrong about the Prius - if the interior was more akin to the quality, sporty and logical interior of the C-HR my order would have been placed.  Even if the interior was like the last Prius a deal could have been done.

[Anthony Poli]

1 hour ago, Whitton Race said:

In terms of other manufacturers for hybrids, who else actually has a good one?  Toyota make the best hybrid and I would not want some second-best also-ran.  There is a strong case with the like of the Mondeo or BMW hybrids that they have expended their efforts in the diesel and three-cylinder petrols and only really have a hybrid as an afterthought to tick a box, so not making a good hybrid package.

Please don't get me wrong about the Prius - if the interior was more akin to the quality, sporty and logical interior of the C-HR my order would have been placed.  Even if the interior was like the last Prius a deal could have been done.

There is the new hyundai ioniq, to consider.

What car do you currently drive?

 

 

[Joseph D]

16 minutes ago, Anthony Poli said:

There is the new hyundai ioniq, to consider.

Did Hyundai licence the Toyota HSD for the Ioniq?

[Anthony Poli]

1 minute ago, Joseph D said:

Did Hyundai licence the Toyota HSD for the Ioniq?

Probably, just like some of the other manufacturers have done.

[mysecondavensis]

23 minutes ago, Anthony Poli said:

Probably, just like some of the other manufacturers have done.

Absolutely not.  I will not be rude about their offering but it uses a 6 speed automatic gearbox and dual clutch transmission.  The Toyota Prius has no shifting gearbox or clutch mechanism.  Simpler, more reliable and virtually seamless.  I believe it is true to say some manufacturers have licenced the HSD technology and either get their tramsmission from Toyota associated company or build their own such as Ford in USA. 

[johalareewi]

23 hours ago, PeteB said:

I'm told if you select P whilst moving forward above about 4 mph, it just beeps and goes into N. 

 

It sure does.  In the days of the stuck accelerator issue, it was the P for Panic button.

[Anthony Poli]

Shame when I had my car cleaned at the supermarket, they thought B was brake. Not going there again, as they were so bright as to leave the key inside the car, hand brake on and in B.

[Cyker]

Yikes! :S
 

[Anthony Poli]

I forgot to add they had yanked the handbrake as tight as possible. Probably wondering why it was still trying to move.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Cyker]

Flippin' heck... you'd've thought the fact it was still trying to move was a fairly big hint to them that B was not, in fact, Brake! 

I also recall someone posted about having their car serviced but the garage didn't switch the car OFF while doing the oil changes and such - Just assumed it was off because the engine wasn't running! It was only by some !Removed! good luck the ICE didn't fire up half-way through to charge the Battery or something!!

 

[Anthony Poli]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Flippin' heck... you'd've thought the fact it was still trying to move was a fairly big hint to them that B was not, in fact, Brake! 

I also recall someone posted about having their car serviced but the garage didn't switch the car OFF while doing the oil changes and such - Just assumed it was off because the engine wasn't running! It was only by some !Removed! good luck the ICE didn't fire up half-way through to charge the battery or something!!

 

That could have been rather expensive.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Mazda and Nissan used Toyota hybrid tech under licence (eg the Mazda 3 hybrid). As far as I'm aware Hyundai's is different. Mitsubishi use a GKN transmission for the Outlander PHEV.