Rude Prius Drivers

people who run on battery from stop lights are newbs. They dont realise yet the wasted energy in getting the car moving will suck that bat dry quickly, and hence need fuel to charge/regen all over again. Best to use brisk accelration out of lights get up to speed and cruise, and P&G when safe. If it's late at night or empty roads, P&G till you keel over by all means.

Hypermilling on the freeway isnt very effecncient at all, best to set it at cruise 62M

 

I keep wondering if this is why the first question I get asked when I tell someone I have a prius is "Aren't they gutless?"

 

That Mingler, is another point, by driving slowly it gives people the impression that a Prius will not suit them because a Prius is slow and they like to keep up with the traffic. Another problem is while these slow clown may save themselves a nanolitre of fuel by driving slowly away from the lights they leave 2 or 3 extra cars behind the white line that would otherwise have gotten across the lights and would now be moving. For an extra cycle of the lights, maybe 2 minutes those 2 or 3 cars sit idling wasting our precious fossil fuels, at the same time the drivers are swearing under their breath they will never buy a slow boring Prius. In effect those 2 or 3 cars are there all of peak hour because they will be replaced by cars that would also have gotten across the lights a cycle sooner.

Come on Prius driver, sink the slipper into that accelerator when getting away from the lights and for Toyota's sake keep up.

 

I smoke a vette the other day off the line. It was about 11pm..i was bored as hell coming back from the store.

I pulled up beside him and rolled my window down, giving him the hundred mile stare. I stomped the gas and burned a bit of Integrity rubber, to find myself at another red light. He then rolls up with a big grin on his face..and we stomp it out, I was ahead for about 6 seconds, then his car really took me on. He must of hit 120 easily up to the next light, i was doing about 80 before i slowed down.

pretty dumb stuff, been forever since ive done that, one of those wild hair moments. I never was a big race guy guy, just a poser in a prius heh.

The torque through is quite substantial in this car right off the line, im sure he was shocked that a lil prius beat his vette for a few seconds..

shaved .04 MPG off from my 49MPG

 

def gives prius drivers a bad rep, esp in the crowded and congested LA traffic...that style of driving is cool in super rural areas that doesnt get much traffic or road rage drivers...but in LA out of all places...that crap is a def NO NO...those peeps def need to get pwned LOL

for the record i like to take some corners with my prius and it takes it quite well...leave a lot of tailgaters suprised LOL

on another note...even when i go about 75mph on the freeway...subconsciously i think people have it to tailgate a prius...they think its slow and boring...and they still have the need to pass me...i chalk that up to just being haters and gas wasters LOL

 

I think a quick launch does a lot to squash the slow econobox myth which is propagated by the pulse and glide and never exceed 55mph even down a hill set.

My brother in law was shocked at how I could launch a FWD car so well and keep in front of his Ford XR6. I had to explain about the tiny Prius engine staying in it's happy place while the electric motor provides uninterrupted V8 like torque from standstill to 1200RPM and no power robbing torque converter.
Give it some stick sometimes.

 

i mostly drive granny on freeways and on streets, nothing wrong with letting loose here and there.

I used to own a Lincoln mark 8, then civic which was mostly stock..i miss my mark 8 though, i had headers and the whole nine yards that my friend helped me put in..wasnt much, but we had fun at the local legal drags..prius is harmless.

 

Ditto. As I understand it, it wastes gas to accelerate away from a stoplight on battery. You're taking the gasoline, losing an additional 20%(?) of its energy in the path into and out of the battery, then using it to drive the wheels. Use the ICE to drive the wheels directly.

It only makes sense to use the battery when the ICE would otherwise be running well out of its efficient range (too low or too high a load). So that the losses in the round trip through the battery are less than the losses from running the ICE in an inefficient range. Presumably that's what the car does for you automatically.

That will change if you get a PHEV (plug-in) retrofit. But for the car as it currently exists, just drive it is the simplest and probably the best advice.

 

I mash the pedal to the floor every time... no one is waiting on me.

 

I obey the traffic laws. If that means cars wait on me take it up with your state or local lawgivers.

You have no right to break the law. You have no right to try to get me too either.

 

I have to disagree. There are slow drivers (read old people, people on cell phones, and certain others) and fast, aggressive drivers (read the young, the rich and the assholes) that drive every kind of car. No one says "damn, I would never buy "xxxxx" car because I see them being driven slowly" - and if someone does say that its sign of their lack of brains.

I'm going to drive my Prius to maximize my energy usage, and if you don't like it you can bloody well go around me. I ain't taking up the fast lane.

 

I just flipped 79,000 this morning. As far as I can recall, I've never needed to speed up and then coast (repeat) to get decent mpg.

I've tracked every gallon at the pump and have lifetime 50.28mpg to show for it.

2.5 years, 79,000 miles and I just flow with the rest of the cars on the tollway. How much better are the pulse and glide idiots getting?

 

Umm . . . I'm not going 80 just because morons around me want to speed. Your suggestion that people should break the law just because others do is nutty.

 

'Speed Limit' is the limit, i.e., the maximum. As others have posted, I will not be coerced into driving unsafely, recklessly, or in a manner at which I will be a danger to myself & others.

I keep my seatbelt on & my phone off, but I listen to NPR or an occasional CD. That's enough distraction for me, considering that I have to watch out for the selfish & narcissistic road warriors.

In the Prius, I prefer secondary & tertiary roads where I can take full advantage of its remarkable gas-saving & emissions-limiting capacity. It takes me longer to reach my destination, at a slower pace, and that's just fine. I arrive relaxed & confident, not frazzled & jived up.

Since the weather's warmed, I'm getting 65 mpg tanks & about 550 mi. between fill-ups. This is the cutting edge of car travel, and I'll prefer to leave the games & arraogance way behind in my dust.

 

I agree with spectra and drive the speed limit (using cruise control). I stay in the right lane when necessary. I only coast when I spot a red light and usually there is no on behind me. I still don't get 50+ mpg but the 40-45 mpg I do get is better than the 24 mpg I used to get. I also noticed I have less road rage.

 

I have to agree. I get pretty frustrated when I am stuck behind any car going 10MPH under the speed limit, or varying speed up and down.

If cars are behind me with no passing zones, I stay around the speed limit. As fun as it is to get 55MPG, I'm willing to get just 50MPG going the speed limit if it keeps some road rage under control.

BTW, I don't see too many slow Prius drivers here in northern VA around the beltway and I-95. Some go a little slow, but plenty of us drive plenty fast too.

 

Hi Zaxinc,

I was behind a Prius doing that once. Drove me crazy, I could not even sync up with him. What with that I thought? Eventually we got to a slow portion of the road, and I had had enough, and got into the fast lane. As I went by I could see what he was really doing. Turns out the guy was texting on a Blackberry!#$$%&^&*&*()!!!

Pulse and Glide is for speeds up to 40 mph. Some people do warp stealth Pulse and Glide, which works between 42 and 50. Between 50 and 55 super highway mode works better. This is what I do in the far right lane of my metropolitan interstate commute. Its good for about 60 to 70 mpg FE, depending on conditions.

 

I once saw a lady in a Caddie texting while singing to her radio and putting on make up in the rear view mirror and drinking coffee and eating a donut.

talent comes in all forms!