So I've been babying my new Prius, taking it easy, waiting for big gaps in traffic. This morning there was not going to be a big gap, not anytime soon. So, I stomped on it and turned right. Holy Torque, Batman! The Prius CAN accelerate! I suppose it helps that the battery had a full charge, and that the engine was running nice and warm from thawing out the driver.
Some on-ramps around here are very short, within one car-length you need to be fully-merged and up-to-speed. Other on-ramps are long and you have plenty of time. For the short ones, I select the PWR mode. It re-maps the accelerator and gives you much better performance. As soon s I am up to speed, I un-select PWR, and it is back to normal.
I turn PWR mode on every single time I start the car. I don't forget to turn it on very often, but when I do realize that I forgot to do it, I quickly select it.
It's a matter of perspective.. 0-60 is 10 seconds in the Prius My Vette is 0-60 in 2.6 seconds But notice the gas gauge in the Vette is on empty! I cannot believe a car can get the gas mileage the Prius gets. 52 mpg my second tank using the glide technique. And I find the acceleration in the Prius to be adequate for regular driving around. Not so hot on the drag strip but hey that's not what I bought it for.
I know, isn't it a nice surprise! For normal everyday driving, if it has to get up and go its pretty good, not a dragster but still pretty darn good!
The other day we were sitting beside this guy in a big fancy Caddy. Hubby says, "Think we can get out in front of him?" I pressed the "power" button and said "Go!" Caddy driver never dreamed a Prius could move like that!"
I love the Power button and the insant torque it creates, no waiting for the tranny to kick down. Unfortunately I find I need to plan on its use, can't get the easy result like just mashing the gas.... Once in awhile in the dark commutes, I would accidentally hit the hazard light button and wonder why my power didn't come!
Definitely a matter of perspective. Think about it, you're driving at typical Prius acceleration most of the time and you floor it for once and it feels like it's hauling a$$ but the reality is that you were simply accelerating VERY slowly before. Got into to our other vehicle, which my wife drives most of the time, the other day, and it felt like a race car! lol
It is not "VERY slowly", it is normal and average. Even when I drive a car that can get up to 60 in a couple seconds, there is no place to do it except the rare occasion you are the first person waiting to turn left onto a freeway onramp. Every other time, it is a complete and utter waste. Slowly would be something like the Hyundai i10, Suzuki Alto, or Ford Fiesta hatch which all take about 17 seconds. The Smart ForTwo is in that range too along with the Ford B-Max, and Kia Rio, and the list goes on. 10 seconds is pretty respectable and faster than what you need for the majority of driving but great for the very few times you can let it out. Don't the old beetles take like 20-something seconds?
Yes, I believe the old Beetles did take that long. Remember the late model Beetle billboard ads that said something like 0-60...yes! All I was saying about the Prius is that in normal and eco driving modes, you must depress the pedal down a lot for reasonable response since it's all electronically tuned to use as little gas as possible, unless you floor it and basically tell it to push the limits of the little gasoline engine. With the exception of the the three cars you mentioned that are tuned for the European and certain Asian markets where gas is an arm and a leg (or their standard price), I'm really not into the belief that 10 seconds is anything but any amount of respectable by modern American automotive standards...really 10 seconds??? And that's probably on a clear and dry day in a lower altitude area...
Fiat Qubo: 17.7s Renault Kangoo: 17.5s Suzuki Jimmy: 17.2s Citroen Berlingo: 17.1s Hyundai i10: 17.1s Suzuki Alto: 17.0s Ford Fiesta: 16.9s Peugot Bipper: 16.8s Dacia Logan: 16.8s Smart ForTwo: 16.8s Skoda Fabia: 16.7s Citroen Nemo: 16.7s Seat Ibiza: 16.7s Citroen C3: 16.5s Ford BMax: 16.5s Peugot 208: 16.2s VW Polo: 16.1s Kia Rio: 16.1s Citroen C-Zero: 15.9s Mistubishi iSE: 14.7s There are tons more in that range. Some on this side of the pond that are more well known here: Chevy Spark: 13.0s Jetta TDI: 12.2s Honda Insight: 11.8s Fiat 500 "Sport": 11.3s Chevy Aveo: 11.1s Mazda 2: 11.1s Dodge Dart SXT: 11.0s Suzuki Grand Vitara: 11.0s Hyundai Elantra: 10.2s Dodge Caliber: 10.11s And the list goes on too. 10s really isn't all that bad. And as mentioned before, still useless 99% of the time. My sports car spends more time idling than anything else.
The last fast economy car I had was a Omni GLH Turbo. At least with the Prius, I can merge just as well without eating the steering wheel when the rev limiter kicked in. I was almost ready to buy a Honda when I took the Insight for a test drive and merging was scary, I tried the Prius and never looked back. Is there a rev limiter on the Prius?
Yes there is a rev limiter on the Prius, but because of the way the planetary gear works, the effects are not like the Honda. MG1, MG2, and the ICE all have different rev limits. But they can make any speed or gearing by adjusting their RPMs and direction. If you mash the pedal to the floor, you will hear the ICE spin up to max rpm's, but you can still gain acceleration if you have charge in the traction battery. And once that power isn't needed anymore, the engine rev's will drop down, but there is no "gear change" or anything of the sort. It is a truly brilliant design.
