Toyota claims a drag coefficient of .024 ........ and I have no reason o doubt the figure. But as a layman, I wonder what contributes to such a low number (especially considering all of the "creases, edges, nooks, and crannies") You would think they would trap air, and raise the drag coefficient. I suppose the predominant factors contributing to the low drag is the overall shape of the vehicle, and the flat belly shrouding? Anyone have any ideas?
Yeah I don't think the angry look and the various nooks and tweaks are instrumental to the aerodynamics. Who knows though: there's some jets that have similar sharply angular shape. Oh I don't know, lol.
There is an answer, but it might be too complicated to understand without a wind tunnel demo. Just go with the aeroflow on this one.
Trapping air can be beneficial if the trapped air enhances the overall envelope. Just a guess. It's been a while since I watched the Mythbusters episode re: pickup truck fuel efficiency with tailgates up versus down. Second source at autoblog.com with video.
I appreciate the above comments. Aerodynamics is an interesting topic. I wish I was more knowledgable. OK, I can see where "tapped air" might be beneficial, but it would seem that below a specific (unknown) speed ... it would be negligible. Does it not seem that below a certain speed, aerodynamics would have little if any measurable impact? Also, I wonder what impact on fuel efficiency a difference of say .024 to ,025 would have at 75 mph?
Some three seaters are quite alright... (Female press photographer friend of my mum had one like this).
Yep beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When i watch prius i see aerodynamics technology research for a better mpg and whatever it helped the wallet these days are pretty !!! Naa. The prius itself hold a kind of beauty hard to explain. The only prius i hated was the 1th gen. I have had 2 2nd 2004 and 2008 then 2011 now 2016. Ihave lne week with my gen4th and people complaining all the way about ugliness. I don’t care because i like it. And i made changes positive indeed. Tint windows 17”rims. And whatever you suggest will be welcomed. Mine is base but I think its a beauty. Still can’t stand the white urinary thing but maybe in time
I like your red!! Enjoy it. I considered it, but it was going to be a 4 month wait to get one. Samantha is white. PRIUS is very rare here - but it's by far nowhere near the ugliest car on the road. Personally, I like it. When you realise that the black gloss needs dusting almost daily, you'll get to love the white highlights - mine hasn't shown any dust in 26 months. Have a look at a few other adventurous models - BMW i3 and i8 for a start - and PRIUS looks quite "normal". Passengers in mine have commented about how bright and airy it looks, not grey/black and sombre like many cars.
Ah, guessing your not a golfer. The golf ball with its Bucky ball similarities flies far because of its dimples, Toyota has a billion hours in a wind tunnel becoming as effiecient as possible, an egg is not as fast as a golf ball, ha, the prime has no rear wipers.
I thought I'd seen a video of a PRIUS in a wind-tunnel - maybe a delusion? All I could find in TOYOTA publicity is: "The body height has been reduced by 20mm and the high point of the roof has been moved 170mm forward, ensuring plenty of headroom for front seat passengers while also contributing to excellent aerodynamics and an impressive 0.24 coefficient of drag (Cd). The lower center of gravity has also allowed the nose height to be brought down by 70mm and the rearmost section of the hood by 62mm, improving the driver’s forward view." AND
It's basically about air flow management Front Bumper: All about directing air around and over it. The nose rises rapidly to send air up and over the hood and also around the headlights. The small upper grille opening reduces the amount of drag and is basically sufficient for cooling. The lower air dam is again as small as possible while providing the required cooling. Active grille shutters help The boomerang shape you see in the profile picture above, below the headlights, is called the "aero corner" It's a sharp crease to ensure the air flowing around the bumper meets the air going by the side of the bumper efficiently and with minimal turbulence. Front Fender: The flat surfaced fender allows air to flow by as smoothly as possible. The aerodynamic wheel covers have minimal intrusions to allow a more laminar flow of air as it goes past the wheels. Front spats ahead of the wheel, underneath the front bumper, redirect air around the tire, reducing turbulence. There should be some slats in the rear of the front wheel well to reduce the high pressure that builds up. Hood: The creases are to direct air around the mirrors. It also helps that the V shaped creases give the hood a more muscular look. The flat portion of the hood near the base of the windshield is meant to create low pressure, redirecting the air upwards so it meets the windshield at a higher point. (reduces friction since the air leaves the hood earlier than it would if the hood was a wedge shape all the way to the base of the windshield) Lower rocker: Flat lower rocker to reduce turbulent flow. Part of it is also crash structure and design element. (The crease that runs from the lower front door and rises, gives a darker shadow at the right light angle so it makes the car look shorter and thus sleeker) Mirror: Front mirrors are aerodynamically design to receive the air from the hood (as well as any other flow direction) and move it around the mirror. The two vortex generators at the mirror base actually intentionally disturb the air to create vortices. The idea is that it's better to create "controlled" turbulence along the side windows than to just have air tumble around the windows as it passes from the front of the car to the rear. The added bonus of controlled vortices is that you can have a balanced air pressure on both sides of the car, making the car more stable at high speeds (e.g. highway) C-pillar and rear door area towards the rear spoiler: The C-pillar (black area) and the way the panel from the rear door goes from a vertical plane to a horizontal plane as it becomes the rear spoiler is a really cool design element. I'm guessing it helps blend/merge the air flow from the side of the car and the air coming from the roof but I can't confirm that. Taillight: I can confirm that the taillight is an airflow design element. The pointed tip is no accident. Similar to the crease in the Gen 3 (but not as obvious), it helps air exiting the vehicle stay laminar so that it doesn't become turbulent immediately behind the vehicle. There's a small aero fin in the rear taillight as well to generate vortices to reduce the pressure in the wake of the vehicle. Rear bumper: The aero corners on the rear bumper is much higher in the Gen 4 - it's part of the lower taillight (you can see it in the profile photo above - it's the > part right below the upper taillight). On the Gen 3, it's lower down as the taillight wraps around the car with greater height. Again, it's to smooth out air flow and ensure it exits straight out rather than curl. (i.e. delay flow separation and thus turbulent flow) Rear spoiler: Toyota has steadily increased the length of the rear spoiler to delay flow separation of air coming down from the rear windows. Underbody: Lots of things going underneath the car. The most obvious is the number of panels meant to cover up the gaps and smooth out the underbody of the car. There are some air channels to help guide the air underneath away from the wheels (reduce drag). At the rear, there are aerodynamic fins meant to straighten out the flow as the air exits the vehicle. I don't think it's a diffuser (I don't know what the degree of slope the rear has to be to be called a rear diffuser instead of just aerodynamic fins stuck to the plastic panels). Side note: I noticed they got rid of the "pagoda" roof for the Gen 4. It was part of the Gen 2 and Gen 3 design to reduce frontal cross-section area as well as double up as roof strengthening (e.g. rollover)
What's that little "fin" for that is scabbed on to the rear fender lip on both sides of the car? It is hardly noticeable, but once seen, it cannot be unseen.
I find the interior to be beyond repulsive. I bought my car last week and have extremebuyers remorse. The multi color interior and the comfort are the issue- I was told the amount I lost in a week with under 200 miles on it is no different than the amount I will lose in a year. I’m actually embarrassed at my age driving something that looks pasted together with drapery by a kidnin home ec class. Wish it didn’t take until the morning after to realize it.
You could be right - the Design Rules are "double dutch" to me, talking about: "... horizontal plane ... axis of rotation of the wheels ... projection - situated in the vertical plane of the tyre axis ...depth of outer edge of the wheel guards ...vertical longitudinal plane ...". All terminology which probably means something to someone - but could mean that the bodywork needs a little help with a flap to comply?
You'll get used to the interior - it's far better than many other boring cars on the road with all grey/black. Or worse, some with so many variants of grey that you wonder how many suppliers they used. PRIUS is supposed to be avant-garde - check out BMW i3 & i8 interiors - they make PRIUS look restrained. As for the seats, I took a while to adjust it to suit me - steering wheel, height, lumbar adjustment etc - I'm mostly comfortable now. But, they're not the best seats out there.
