I recently test drove a Prius Trim 5. I test drove with my GF and her friend (who also tested the Prius). After test driving the Prius, I thought braking felt funny as well as acceleration. I went to cars.com and they pointed out the same thing. 2012 Toyota Prius Summary Do you get use to it? Braking I understand, as I am not use to driving a new car, but as for the drive, changing modes on a regular basis felt odd, from ECO to Power, etc. Cars.com did not report any braking and acceleration issue for the 2010 model. Does the 2010 model not experience this?
You don't change modes on a regular basis, you find the one you like and leave it there. As for the brakes, you do get used to it, and you smile a lot passing gas stations!
Have you ever driven a car with a CVT transmission? Most cars with regenerative braking feel a little different because you are using two kinds of braking mechanisms. You get used to it so much that getting into a regular vehicle and having to put the key in the ignition feels weird. Idling at stoplights in a regular car becomes really annoying.
It was my first time driving a hybrid so the overall experience was different. I forgot about idling at stop lights, also very unusual.
The 2010-2012 models don't feel any different, in terms of acceleration and braking. Yes, braking on hybrids tends to feel a bit "funny" to someone who's never driven one before. I got used to it LONG ago. I don't know what you mean by the bolded part. You don't need to muck w/any of the buttons. I have a Gen 2 so I don't even have any of those buttons. From the times I've driven the Gen 3, I'd say eco mode feels way too sluggish for me. I'd probably run in normal (no modes selected) or PWR. Acceleration feels "different" if you've never driven a car w/a CVT due to the engine revs and lack of distinct shift points as you accelerate. I'm totally used to it as I've driven numerous hybrids now besides the Gen 2 and 3 Prius.
The salesman as I understood when I was driving on the freeway, when I needed to accelerate, it went to power mode and when we hit traffic, it went to Eco mode. Keep in mind I was driving n trying to look at what he tried to explain. It is probably my misunderstanding.
Perhaps you're talking about the HSI? See HSI. You don't need to look at that screen while driving. You can ignore, change to another screen or I believe shut off that display completely. It can be useful as a guide to get better FE. That's a new feature that started on Gen 3 (2010+) as well.
I try to maximize my coasting to lights and reduce the pressure on the brakes to maximize the regenerative braking . After having depleted the battery down, the added electrical energy is welcomed as well as the increase in the mileage being tracked. For me, the act of braking is a good thing, not to mention the reduced of wear on the brake pads which will reduce the maintenance costs later. DO not confuse the regenerative braking with its inability to slam the brakes and stop. The auto will come to a stop quickly when you have to.
05% of car salesmen don't know jack. When you brake gently with a Prius, it generates power. It's like downshifting on a manual, except that instead of running up the engine to slow you down, it puts load on a generator. If you brake hard, the ordinary disc brakes kick in instantly. You get used to regenerative braking -- driving a Prius is all about long, gently stops, because they generate the maximum about of juice.
My son, who drives a Honda stick shift, commented that silence at a traffic light suggests that his car needs another few hundreds of dollars for repair. Not so with a Prius! All of these "weird things" about the Prius put money in your pocket.
"Trim 5" equals the top end, with 17" rims? You don't indicate a country, but I'm guessing you're in the 'States. We first test drove a 2010 "technology" package (in Canada). It's similar to the "5" in the States, but doesn't have the 17" rims. I don't know if it was due to it being night time, or it's just being first time, but I was not comfortable with the car. Then a few days later we found a "Touring" languishing in the back of the lot. It has the 17" rims, LED headlight, but not the US fancy electronics that the "5" has, ie: no lane keep, radar cruise, auto parallel park, navigation. But, this second drive was in daytime, and maybe I was just getting used to the car, but the feel was 180 degree improved, felt right at home comfortable in this car. Brakes, acceleration, steering feel and so on, everything felt right. We bought that car, have had it for just over two years now, very happy with it. The driving feel is very normal now, and really was from day 1. Regarding the first test drive, I suspect it was just jitters, that we would have been (almost) as happy with the other model. FYI, besides POWER and ECO modes, there's also NORMAL mode, which is basically not pushing either power or eco. Or if one of those is on, pushing it again, switching it off. NORMAL mode is pretty much, well normal, LOL. I found ECO too sluggish, and POWER a waste. And per other posters: there's no need to jump around, just set it in your preference and leave it. FWIW, I found no difference in mileage switching from ECO, which we intially used a lot, to NORMAL.
That did freak my wife out for sure. But,,, she is use to it now. All I can say that the Prius is an amazing car. It will keep you smiling for years.
