Prius has electric transmission that only a hybrid is capable of. There is no need to shift between different mechanical gear ratios. Prius shifts energy sources, not gears. Electricity is used as low gear (with enormous torque).
Driven carefully it can do better than low 40's. CleanMPG Forums - View Single Post - Honda Is Entrusting CleanMPG With the 6-speed CR-Z For A Week As with other Honda's MTs the top gear is fairly short so economy will drop sharply at higher speeds.
Interesting. It sounds like I have more to learn about the HSD, too. I'm presently driving a Civic Hybrid with a conventional belt CVT, looking at buying a Prius c.
The HSD is an odd transmission. MotorGengerator2 sees a single speed clutchless transmission, tire revs are directly related to MG2 revs. There is no reverse except spinning MG2 the other way. MG2 is the regenerative brakes. The Internal Combustion Engine need not turn at all until about 41 MPH (Gen 2) Then still may not have fuel or spark if no additional power is needed. When you do need the ICE, 29% of the torque goes to MG1 to become electricity, 71% goes to mechanically to MG2 and the wheels via the planetary gear. MG1 acts as the starter for the ICE and it charges the HV battery in most modes. (there is at least one Heretical mode where MG2 charges the HV battery and MG1 drives the wheels) Computers control all this by blending power from all 3 sources as needed. The gas pedal is just a suggestion. If you use B mode (or when the HV Battery fills) the ICE act like a Jake Brake, to heat air so all the heat does not go into the Disc brakes.
Thanks everyone for all the neat info. Never did I realize how the Prius is such a unique car and what goes on under the hood.
The transmission in the Lexus GS450h is actually quite a bit more complex than the one in the Prius. The Prius is just one planetary gearset, no clutches. The GS450h uses one planetary gearset and a ravineaux gearset with two different gear ratios, which are selected using band clutches. Basically there are two gear ratios that can be selected, for high-speed or low-speed operation: The Prius single-gearset setup does have performance limitations, which is why for high-performance cars like the GS and LS, Lexus had to add the complexity of selectable gear ratios. Ditto GM and their Two-Mode hybrid transmission. Personally, I think if one has to go beyond the simplicity of the Prius single-planetary setup, one starts losing the advantages of mechanical simplicity, with diminishing margins of return on fuel efficiency. So perhaps conventional ICE/multispeed transmission setups are still best when high horsepower, off-road or heavy towing is needed.
It does like Prius B mode, but it has six speeds such as B-1, B-2, B-3 and so on. If it is selected for low gear, it keeps ICE rpm high for better ICE pick up. Ken@Japan
After having my '04 Prius for 5 years I bought a manual 2005 SAAB 9-2X. It's a shame that Toyota doesn't offer there cars with manuals anymore but almost no one I know can even drive one. In a few years I will be purchasing a used 6 Speed Scion FRS
ya, the number of people who can shift, and still want a manual is dwindling. i got that out of my system 20 years ago.
I have an '08 Jeep Wrangler with a 6-speed manual I can drive whenever I feel like shifting. Which, is exactly 0% of the time I'm commuting to work. The Jeep is fun, shifting gears is liberating, but not while dealing with city traffic. It's more a weekend toy. I do laugh, because the first comment anybody makes when they ride in the Jeep the first time is about the manual transmission. Pretty sure a vast majority of drivers either don't know how to drive a standard, or haven't in a decade+.
not likely becausethe cvt is more economical and prius c market is economy. worse for him the prius c is slower; I have both.
And the answers are simple. The Prius transaxle is is an intrinsic part of the drive system, a manual transmission can't be swapped in.