Odd how all of the reviews comment on how slow the prius C is.... if you actually floor it, it'll take off pretty darn fast. I merged onto the freeway the other day, and had to swerve into the left lane to go around people because it was up to 75mph much faster than I expected... okay, I am used to much older vehicles like 80's econoboxes, but even compared to some new cars I've rented, it's quite decent -- and better than several of them. I've rented some brand new cars that I DID think were pieces of junk -- the Prius is good in both build quality and performance, in my mind. And noise.... if you want to talk noise, drive a 1977 Ford pickup. The prius is very silent compared to that
Anyone else notice they accelerated in B mode as well as D....i'm not an expert but from all the reading i've done from 08-now, B is used to help slow the car down not accelerate faster
You are right there as it's the CVT transmission with its constant speed that gives an impression of not much acceleration. I find that there's a sweet spot that I exploit that allows me keep up with accelerating traffic and before I know it, keep exceeding the posted traffic speed limits.
B mode is often misused and even more often misunderstood. Have a read of http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/b-mode.html
You hit it right on the head with with brutal acceleration. I have a 71 Monte Carlo with a 402 big block that gets 7-8 MPG. When I am in the mood for speed and lighting up tires, I take that for a ride. Put about 200-300 mile per year on her. Very fun to drive and show off. Then I fill it up after the day, get back in my Prius C and ride for another couple of weeks before I fill it up again driving daily. I wouldn't trade either car in as both have thier uses. What the Prius uses in gas more then offsets my need for speed with the Monte on a daily basis.