Any Opinions On the Toyota Prius Hybrid ?

BTW, I did leave a note this morning on the Volt next to me. I said I was the corolla to their left, asked for their review, and left them a pen and the note on their windshield.

They replied to me, saying they liked the car, thought it had quite a bit of pep, was comfortable and had nice options. Said they were happy with it, and that it was (obviously) great on gas.

Under electric power, acceleration is usually quite good from a standing start on all of them. Surprisingly good, in fact. At highway speeds, they have to go to gas power. Low speed torque is very good with electric motors.

my Escape, on starting from a dead stop, has amazing acceleration to about 20mph, then it turns into a pig as the 4 cyl gas engine kicks in.

Yeah, but on the Volt, it doesn't switch to gas until the electric is gone. Then it's all gas.

You go up to 38 miles gas free, then it switches to gas, perfect for a 40 mile round trip commute.

In light of this information, which car
do u wish to purchase for your next one, Chai ?





David

I'm really interested in the Volt. Albeit I won't be in the market for years. I can't afford to take a chance on a car that hasn't had the kinks worked out yet, so I guess it's good I won't need a new one for quite some time.


My understanding of a hybrid is that it switches to gas whenever you are driving over a certain speed. I remember hearing it was 35 mph, but just now I was looking at this site...Car Talk, and they are saying for the Fusion it kicks in at 47 mph.

Unless I'm on a side street, going to my house 4 blocks away from a main road, I'm almost always going over 35 mph. In that case, I don't see the benefit of the electric component of a hybrid at all. I don't have a lead foot or anything, but 35 mph on the roads around here is pretty slow. I'll check today going to work, to see just how fast I drive down Lamar, keeping up with other traffic.

At 47 mph, well, that helps, if I'm going to be doing little multi-lane highway driving.

I'd say over the last 15 years, the bulk of the mileage on my cars has been on highways where I'm driving 60-65 miles an hour. If I had a 15 to 20 mile drive to work, maybe 3 of those miles would be at the slow in town speeds....even then that means driving anywhere from 40 to 50 mph, 35 if it's a really small road, or a lot of lights.

That said, I would opt for the vehicle that would give me the most mileage in electric.

Yeah, I understand.

Now a new question has arisen.
My chiropractor arrived today for a massage
and he suggested a Toyota Camry Hibrid, for additional driving comfort.

Have u heard anything qua those ??

Anyone ?





David

I'm pretty sure they switch based on the state of charge, rather than highway speed. Still, when they are running on gas, the engine is pretty much constant speed and torque, as it's just charging the battery. That is, my understanding is that the engine charges the battery and operation is always electric drive to the wheels. You can design a very efficient engine if it always runs under the same load.

Most of this depends upon what type of driving you do. In town or long distance? The Volt would not be a choice for distance. Prius has been built for several years, should be reliable. Also consider Camry hybrid. I'd go with a high mileage pure gas engine. Much simpler. If you want sporty performance, you don't want a hybrid. Depends upon your definition of sporty. A Honda Accord gets 35 mpg. I personally think the new Chevys are good. Ford Fusion?

Most new cars are pretty reliable. Toyotas are at the top. Read consumer reports?

Yes; I 've been advised to consider the Toyota Camry Hibrid. I will.

I have a 2008 Camry Hybrid, and I love it. I have done absolutely NOTHING to it mechanically, other than regular oil changes, and I just did the rear brakes. It has around 150,000 miles now, and running like a trooper. I'm hearing some noises up front, so I see some suspension work in the future. Gets AROUND 35-35 MPG, if you believe the notification icon on the dash. Less if I'm pushing harder on surface roads. It's a full size Camry, but the trunk is a little smaller (but not small), due to the battery taking up space there. It has plenty of pep. Highly recommended.

Thank u; I have acquired a 2O11 Toyota Prius Hybrid.
I 'm getting c.5O mpg and a smooth ride.





David

"I just did the rear brakes..."

no you didn't.

who did the brakes?

Maybe I learned how to do a brake job?


Okay, I didn't.

The Prius is an excellent, reliable, economical car. It does get gas mileage in the high 40's to low 50's, depending on how you drive. Toyotas in general are good for 250,000 plus miles unless you abuse them. The downside on the Prius, as on the Honda Civic I formerly owned, is service needs to be done at the dealer, and is more expensive. My Honda took platinum plugs, for example, which is good but pricey.

I ride in my friend's Volt every Sunday. It is a great car, he loves it, and you won't run out of juice because it reverts to gasoline when the battery is too low. He has had it 6 months, and has put in about two gallons of gas. His equivalent miles per gallon is over 95. He plugs it in every night. If you don't have a place to plug it in, that is a problem. The car is comfortable, performs well, has plenty of room, and I would like to own one. However, I don't have a place to plug in, and the Volt is expensive. Get the rebates from the governments (Fed , State and City) it becomes reasonable.