SoCal Prius owners - anyone drive 241/261/133 toll road hills? Hello all - I'm a former Gen II owner who is contemplating a Gen III purchase for commuting on the Orange County toll roads from Irvine to Riverside. I am a touch worried about the hill climbing capability of this car and hope that some of you who drive it might be able to share your experiences. Thanks!
I'm not from So Cal, but visit there now and then. The Gen III has plenty of power and can manage hills and mountain roads with no problems. But, that said - I will say I've noticed lower mpgs going for a consistent upward climb (expected). The good news is the return trip makes up for it and I can still average roughly 50 mpg on hilly or mountainous roads with plenty of AC.
Appreciate the input! The MPG hit would be certainly expected - used to deplete the Gen II's battery up that hill and then completely regen it on the way down, which was fun to watch. Good to know the Gen III is a capable climber. I drove it out to Phoenix multiple times too, always nice to run 6+ hours and still have gas!
I don't regulary drive the hilly sections of the OC but have ventured my way up the 57/60 through the Carbon Canyon/Chino Hills area many times. So long as the traction battery has a good charge, there is no shortage of "oomph" to get me up the hills even with the AC on. The going is a little slower in ECO mode.
I know the hypermilers will have a coronary here, but any of my alternatives to this car would have big engines that suffer a major MPG hit at baseline, and even more up the hills, so pure MPG isn't a huge concern... It's a Prius, it'll get great MPG for the given siutation compared to about anything on the road as far as I'm concerned and that's good enough for me! I have no problem punching PWR mode and stepping on the pedal for the few minutes it takes to get up and coasting in "B" on the way down. I am looking to make sure the car can hold 75+ MPH up the hill without feeling like we're on the absolute bleeding edge - good to hear that your sense it that there's enough power to do it. I just want to make sure that I'm not adding precious minutes to my commute because of an inability to hold speed uphill.
I'm not sure about the Gen II, but with the IIIs you can set cruise control to the speed limit going down a steep hill and it will automatically engage engine braking with regen to maintain your set speed. This is great in case a cop is hiding at the base of a hill - I've seen it done here.
They hide everywhere - best just to stick to 73MPH - you'll never get pulled over... Don't expect to get averages of 50MPG... Maybe 48....
