Horsepower or Torque?

There might be some apples and oranges mixed together here.

For a hybrid, Toyota usually publishes a system net horsepower: the 194 hp cited here is a combination of the 150 hp produced by the engine (some of which must follow the electrical path through the transaxle) and the remaining capacity of the 111 hp electric motor (that is, the capacity remaining after the portion of the engine power that also had to follow that path). So that's a combination that takes a bit of care to calculate.

But your 139 ftlb torque figure seems to be taken directly from the engine specs. So, it doesn't account for the contribution also made by the electric motor. In a Prius, the engine torque spec isn't really so interesting. In a conventional car, your peak torque at the wheels could be determined by the peak torque from the engine, and the transmission and final drive ratios.

When you floor the go pedal in a Prius, the ECU is not going to send the engine to its peak torque point. It will send the engine to its peak power point, use the CVT to convert that power to whatever speed/torque is needed at the wheels, and chip in from the battery to maximize the result.

 

take 'em both for a test drive, there should also be a 0-60 spec

 

In a street driven car, assuming the driver is a relatively normal human being, more torque will almost always make the car feel more responsive and powerful.

but, your statement below is not exactly a fair comparison.

The new Prius FF offers 194hp with 139lb.-ft torque (engine only) and the upcoming Civic Hybrid offers 181hp with 232lb.-ft torque (total output).

 

To move right off from a dead stop, you shouldn't go too far wrong by taking 72% of the engine torque (unless they've gone and changed the 72%-28% PSD torque split, it's stayed pretty much unchanged over the previous generations) and adding the full electric motor torque.That looks to me like 252 ft lb.

Edit: oh but wait. Starting with Gen 3 there's been reduction gearing from MG2. So if that 152 ft lb figure is for MG2 itself, you'd need to multiply it by that reduction ratio, then add it to the 72% of engine torque.

That'd be the torque measured just before the final drive, so if you know the spec'd final drive ratio, you can work out the torque at the wheels.

As the road speed increases from 0 MPH, at some point you have to be more careful about including the power limits in the calculation.

I haven't looked at the details of the Civic Hybrid transaxle, so along with knowing its 232 ft lb torque spec, you'd also want to know, measured where?

 

Torque is what pushes you back in the seat when you push the pedal, at any speed. Horsepower primarily affects achievable top speed, since the car has to overcome the aerodynamic drag as speed increases. Ask any BEV owner, and they will say the fun factor comes from the instant and constant torque of the electric motor(s).

 

TBH, I could not care less for one or the other - the difference is so insignificant, the fuel consumption is just slightly better on Prius - there are many other aspects that are more important.

New Civic Hybrid is an excellent car and I can bet new Prius will be great as well, better driving feel, tactile controls and responsiveness will usually go to Honda.
Toyota shot them self in the foot this generation as a lot of buyers will choose Civic Hybrid, Corolla or Camry instead of Prius.

 

JoeBlack - If I'm correct the 2023 Civic Hybrid starts at $55,000. So why are you comparing a Honda that's $20,000 to $25,000 more expensive than the base Prius 2023 Hybrid? Keep it apples to apples Dude or post some where else.

 

The google hits where I'm seeing that price for a HCH seem to be coming from Australia.

I think stuff's expensive there.

 

TBH, I did not notice such a big price difference, at least not in my country.
Edit: I just checked over here and Prius (old one, we won't get HEV over here, only PHEV for new Prius) is 745k and Honda starts at 770k ... that's actually incredibly close in our currency (CZK).

 

I'm not a fan of dealer service in this country and maybe toyota will offer the 2 year free service for Gen 5 again. Not that I think it's any great deal, that is until it's compared to the price of Honda s A B C D Service schedule. It's "Hondas" not as expensive as Porsche or Benz, but it ain't cheap that's for sure, not on this side of the pond anyways.