Why does Gen4 feel a TON faster then Gen3?

i think it's the 40% increase in efficiency, plus some lower gearing.

 

I am trying to drive in Eco mode and most people cut me off. Today this driver with a Gen 1 did cut me off. I decided that it was time to hit power mode. I never saw the driver that cut me off behind me . I just want peace while driving my Prius.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Feel the PWR!

I drove mine up a long hill, and I was very surprised at how much "guts" it had when I accelerated. (My MPG's dropped down to 19, but who cares! )

 

When I first bought mine I posted it had better/more power and everyone disagreed with me.
I know how it drives and there is more to a car than raw statistics,

Buy a new one or two before you talk.

 

Why do people keep trying to compare the Prius to a Tesla Model S. You can buy, what, 3 or 4 Prius for the price of a Tesla model S!

 

I have never driven an EV. They don't sell them here. Something about -40 deg winters.
As far as the new Prius, they only sell the base model here. Not sure why the nicer equipped models only go to Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. I haven't even seen them (any model) in the dealers lots!

 

Both are at the edge, in their own respective arenas?

 

Toyota is making a statement by making the Prius "sporty". Those of us who have been around cars over 40 years knows that this type of car could have been built decades ago. It wasn't "sexy" to want a car that was efficient. Now it is. Add to it a fun to drive appeal and all is good. Just keep in mind that the transmission on our cars just keeps getting better and better as well as the engine. The competition seems stuck on their own variation of a tranny that doesn't do the job quite like the Prius.

 

I have a hard time with this comparison as well. I think a better comparison would be the Chevy Volt. It is a similarly sized car and it is finished in similar materials inside the cockpit. I do get that the drive trains are different.

I was thinking until next year when more hybrid models are out. But after finding all I could about the newer designs, I decided to pounce now. I just don't see anything that I like better than the Prius. Toyota will have the CHR which is a compact crossover and has a beefy aggressive stance. I'm thinking it will be a wimp though. It is available now in Europe and is built in Turkey. The Niro KIA will be a competitor to the CHR and will have a dual clutch transmission. The Hyundai Ioniq will be the closest thing to the Prius ever and will also share the same drive train as the KIA Niro. I think a dual clutch is a poor choice to go. It adds complexity and reliability issues. It will make first time customers more comfortable, however because it will feel like cars they've driven before. The Ioniq is supposed to be the Prius killer because they are saying the same mileage and it has a "pretty profile." Ha! Chevy played that same game several years ago and look at their sales figures.

In any case, I'm glad that these companies are introducing their new models in Europe. They shake out the bugs before they get introduced in the USA the next year.

 

I concur, compared to my Gen 2, my Gen 4 feels much quicker. My Gen 2 wasn't bad at all. Cruised at 70 with no problem. If I not paying attention I'm at 85 in the Gen 4.

 

The Li-Ion battery has less capacity than the NiMH one, so you should see a larger swing in charge level.
It also charges faster and more efficiently (those two things go together as more efficient charging means less heat, allowing more and harder use).
The engineers may have set the system to use it more because of this.

It's all good if the Li-Ion battery stands up to this. Ditto for the invertor/charger. Has the temp. cycling issue been addressed in the design? I suspect so, but haven't seen any information on this.

As far as how fast it is or isn't, I -have- to use the cruise control otherwise I find I'm 10-20 km/hr over the limit most times, the car is so "sneaky".

And I'm driving a lowly 3rd gen!

 

You're also sitting lower, in a quieter car which could give more of a sense of "sportiness" than Gen 3 (I've never driven a Gen 2).

 

That's what it is. I thought I was getting shorter.

 

I don't think the eagerness to use the HV battery has anything to do with the type of battery, I think it's the Gen 4 programming. The UK Gen 4s all have a NiMH and mine does use the HV battery more than the Gen 3 I used to have and more than the Prius+ which had a Li-ion HV battery.