What is the top speed you drive your Prius

Context is everything - we seem to have lost sight of that in this country...

I have set the cruise control at 85mph on an hour-long stretch of straight, dry, empty highway, with a relatively new but broken-in car - but would consider that a bad idea in almost any other context involving public roads.

The equipment must be up to snuff, and I seriously doubt that the self-described "good" drivers doing 120mph actually pre-flight their vehicles to any significant degree beforehand.
Then the driver must be up to snuff, fully engaged with the road and not listening to music or any other distractions like passengers or anything else - fully engaged.
Then the roadway must also be up to snuff - and again, I doubt any of those 120mph drivers check the roadway in advance to ensure it's clear of foreign objects or other flaws.

And if you believe the man upstairs will protect you when taking unnecessary risks, you might be meeting him sooner than you expected...

 

I have driven cars at the track at over 150mph, the Prius at the same spot can only hit 111mph. The difference is really a number, you honestly don't feel the difference inside the car since a Corvette at 150mph is as stable as a Prius at 110.

Now that I remember, I actually felt slow doing 150mph because a guy blew by me doing 165+.

With all that said, I rarely hit 3 digits on any car simply because I don't want to go to jail or have some moron pull up in front of me. Am I or the car capable? I certainly think so. What is there to hit at 3AM in the morning on the interstate. If a deer decides to run out, I will deal with the dude up or downstairs and ask him Wth.

 

yeah it depends on the car. I feel more stable going 130 in sports cars in a track than i'd be driving 85 in a prius in a track. But people whos never driven an expensive sports car are easy to judge and say you'r having a deathwish, when the car is way more secure in engineering, drivetrain and equipment and everything else.

But this is the last i'm going to talk about this since people who are serial slow drivers will point out and say you're living dangerous just because a speed they refuse to pass. Besides Prius is an mpg hybrid car that i am happy driving in the city. Just average in the highway.

 

I am no where close to the EPA #, but I still can't think of a car that can consistently get 42mpg with heavy accelerations like I do daily

 

Maybe on US roads, but on the Autobahns in Germany which are superbly well designed and maintained 120mph is nowhere near the limit of the road, let alone most German vehicles. Driving a Mercedes I used to regularly set the cruise control at 120mph and I was around the middle of the pack speed-wise.

Also realise that driver education in Germany and much of Europe is very expensive and rigorous. German drivers know to keep a close eye on their rear view mirror. There is no passing on the inside either, and lane discipline is strictly adhered to and enforced. Like most of Europe annual checks on vehicles over a certain age ensures older vehicles are in a roar worthy condition and eventually scrapped once they become uneconomic to repair.

I'd never do it in my Prius, it's just not that kind of car,, but driving at speed on the Autobahn has been some of the most relaxing and pleasurable I've ever undertaken.

 

I totally agree, the autobahn is amazing. Everything is relative and because everyone is going so fast on the autobahns then it is safer for you to be going that fast as well. In the US since everyone is driving at around 85 then when you going at 120 & beyond then it makes it dangerous for yourself and others.

 

You have to think out of the box a little bit to grasp what I"m saying.

I agree there is always grey area but when someone asks you "what criteria classifies a good driver?"... where does your mind go?

Will some think good means driving with the skill of a racecar driver but doing it slow..... that takes no skill?

How is "skill" defined? Feeling safe or to do with the acuity of your motor reflexes as they coordinate with the brain and alertness?

Is what you "feel" indicative of whats really going on?

And no conservative driver will say good driving means obeying all the laws, driving defensively and forecasting all your moves but doing it very very fast so as to maintain control around corners while you do it?

Some are aggressive.. "but bad drivers" and some are conservative
"but good drivers"
Some are conservative "and still bad drivers"
and some are aggressive and very good drivers..... but no one is both a good and bad driver.

 

Exactly... driving in Florida on Hwy 95 you become a major risk and a hazard if your not driving over 70mph..... but 85-95 is preferred.

They don't call it Hwy 95 for nothing!

 

I was curious to see if it had a third digit on the dash, so I took it up to 102. The little engine that could was a bit noisy, but did just fine and I can't complain about its performance.

 

May have touched 80 MPH once, sometimes 74 or 5, but usually around 65 or so on freeway.

 

Did a 1300 mile road trip up to NM last weekend, mix of 2 lane and interstate, and only 2 or 3 vehicles passed us the whole way. We were traveling at something over the limits, but there was very little on the roads both ways, and we felt perfectly safe, especially with our little black box advising us when it might be prudent to scrub a little speed.
We kept it in Power mode pretty much the whole way, since the grades up and down the mountains were many, and we still managed a healthy 47 mpg for the whole 1300 miles. We love this car!

 

60-65, and in the NYC metro area that doesn't happen too often.

 

100 to 110 Km/H around 65 m/h .

 

My max is 75 as I drive the Prius for maximum mpg. But I think driving the Prius for maximum efficiency while maintaining sufficient situational awareness to avoid causing unsafe situations with other traffic is far more challenging than simply driving sports cars, motorcycles, or airplanes fast. For one thing, you have to assess velocities and adjust for all cars behind as well as the ones in front, whereas when driving like a bat out of hell you can focus more on just the cars in front.

German cars sold in the German market are designed to hold high speeds safely if well maintained (check, for example, the size of their disk brake rotors), but the accident rate is high relative to US and the aftermath of the high-speed crashes that I have seen was usually horrific.

In aviation the saying is, "There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old bold pilots."

 

70-75ish on the freeway, speed limit in city.
Probably will do 80 when traveling

 

Digging up a thread from 2010?

Drove 76mph with DW, DD, 2 dogs, and overnight bags. Still made 48mpg. Sweet!

 

I go about 60-65.

 

Typically set it at the speed limit or slightly above. Makes for a very interesting experience on busy interstates.

 

When you say "interesting", Kemo Sabe, do you mean "interesting" as in "quaint and curious" or "interesting" as in "scares the Bejaysus out of me!"?

 

The key to how much MPH used to be set to the tires by mfg . One model Pontiac I had
Had a higher MPH than another same model was told do to tires they come with