I pissed off an SUV driver today, unintentionally...

A Prius performance-driving school?

Now that would be FUN.

Are we talking the skidding into the turns and slaloms around traffic cones kind of performance driving?

I'm currently in a highway engineering class, and have been having terrific fun learning how to solve for aerodynamic, grade, and rolling resistance, how the force available to accelerate the vehicle is limited to tractive effort, and how the grade and degree of vertical and horizontal curves (and the superelevation) are calculated for different design speeds.

Maybe you can teach the performance driving and I'll teach the engineering behind roads and vehicle performance.

 

How about accelerating at the top of HSI ECO zone for a starter?

 

Last month I was being motored on by a big smoke belching lifted Dodge Ram with a Cummins diesel. He had to blast by me only to end up at a stop light. I pulled up right next to him as he sat the pole position. Up ahead was an open stretch of four lane highway.

I wasn't going to immediately do anything, but Mr Tuff stuff thought he had to prove himself and started to leave the line as the light turned green under the full grunt of his mighty diesel. My finger moved on to the power button. I smiled at the wife (to her chagrin) and kids and said hold on. Well we slayed that beast, tearing past him off the line up to about 80 or 90 MPH. After we were several car lengths ahead, I settled the car back down to a more appropriate speed.

He finally started to catch back up under full force. I hit the accelerator I few more times to show him that he pretty much sucks and I could do this all day. Not to far after, he made a turn off the road with his small pp between his legs. I'm sure he won't be telling his buddies about that one!

Now I'm not saying that the Prius is a sports car, or even a moderately quick car. But if someone thinks their loud and obnoxious 6,000+ lbs beast owns the road, and we're in a safe location I'm going to have to open their eyes a bit. Then I will settle back into driving like an old man.

 

Love the story! Actually the Prius is very fast through the turns. I love to see people's faces after I blown by them, they had no idea what just hit them.

 

PS I hate diesel truck!

 

Accelerating with EV mode? So, you were accelerating very slowly? Bad idea in non plug-in Prius. There's just not enough power available to pull that off unless no one is around.

If you replay the DVD that came with the car, it shows to accelerate in hybrid Eco area, above middle line in HSI, then when up to speed lift off accelerator to EV if conditions allow.

btw, I rented a Camry Hybrid last week and noticed a big difference in programming of ICE response. Prius has tendency to EV off the line under light throttle.

Camry hybrid is programmed so ICE comes on for acceleration even under very light throttle, which I didn't mind at all. Cam Hybrid accelerated more like a normal ICE. No sense in pretending a hybrid can accelerate like a normal car with electric only.

 

The only time I am on EV (Not by pushing button)

Coasting maintaining speed.
On take off (only for 1 second)
Driving in a residential neighborhood
Parking garage or parking lot

 

OK, I'll tell my story, tell me if I was wrong.

The last 1/2 mile or so to my house from the west comes around a sharp bend, then drops from a 35 mph to a 25 mph speed limit, down and back up a small valley, then basically flat until I turn into my driveway. I like to take that last 1/2 mile in EV mode if possible, mostly to try to run the battery down a little for the next start/warm-up cycle, and to raise my mpg for the trip. So I normally come around the bend at about 30 mph, let the car pick up speed to the bottom of the dip to about 33 mpg (in the 25 zone) so I gain some momentum to help crest the hill while still in EV. Usually I can make it the top still doing 27 to 29 in EV, and from there on EV it to home at about that speed. Last week one day, as I crested the hill the car behind me rapidly ran up right behind me. I was relatively unconcerned, as I was still doing over the speed limit and accelerating or holding steady at that point. After a few seconds of tailgating me closely, the driver decided he could not stand to do “only” 4 or 5 mph over the speed limit, and passed me, crossing the double-yellow line on a 2-lane, residential, 25 mph street. I did not look over to see if he was expressing any dissatisfaction. I don’t know if my driving a Prius C added to his impatience. Regardless, I really, really wished one our local gendarmes had been coming the other direction.

 

Based on the situation you described you were not doing anything wrong, the other driver was definite being an nice person!

Keep in mind, there is a very bad public perception of the Prius. You see them from Hollywood movies, TV shows all the time, Prius have always been associated as "lame". People always make fun of Prius and Prius owners as being slow cars and left lane violators. And the stereotypical perception of a Prius owner is that they are always some sort of nerdy, geeky people who have little skill in how to drive. Very different from how a Prius owner feel about their Prius. Well, heck just not too long ago I was Prius hater.

So based on that, they would react the way they did when they are behind a Prius. Because it's in human nature to always pick on the weak ones.

So given the same exact circumstances if you were in a Ferrari they would never pull a stunt like that. In matter of fact they would drive nicely behind you as they would be busy taking pictures with their camera.

BTW, for the above said perception that's why I haul nice person in my Prius.

 

Ditto. With the lowering springs on my 2012 I can really zip through turns with very good control. I may not be getting the best gas mileage but I do know that I am getting much more driving enjoyment by no longer babying the car for maximum efficiency. So-so efficiency in the Prius is still better than most cars on the road.

As far as the OP, Arizona is not the place to be accelerating in EV mode unless you are in a parking lot. Folks riding up your back side really don't care about your gas mileage.

 

It's true

Drive a Prius as you don't have to prove anything in the 'bedroom department'

 

Not meaning to pry, but is your Dad's medical condition better now that the blood circulates through his right foot again?

 

Nice , but be careful now, hunting rifles goes through car panels and glass much better than handguns and sub machine guns. I've shot through abandon cars (door to door with a 30-06 bolt action before) those "rednecks" probably hunts and shoots every week, and are used to shooting small moving targets at a distance. Contrary to main stream believe that a couple of well placed shots from Mr. Bond will not make a vehicle explode. But of course, that weapon should be all the deterrent you'll ever need.

I'm starting to think that you are part of some kind of mafia or something. First, the Ferrari now this

 

argh i did it again.

 

hit reply and not edit on my own message

 

What? hijacked the thread again? Went to completely different subject "guns", sounds like we need to create a sub "gun" forum for that discussion. LOL!

 

I doubt the "unitentional" part. I mean really, you're crawling away from a stop at an intersection and you expect other drivers behind you to be okay with that? Accelerating in "ev" mode without use the EV button while in traffic, especially at an intersection, is inconsiderate (and potentially hazardous) of other drivers around you. I generally use the EV buttion which allows me to go almost half way into the power zone without engaging the ICE to get up to speed from a stop sign/light. I can get up to 25 mph before the ICE kicks and it helps me pick up another 1-2 mpg each tank.