Acceleration Concern

One of my previous vehicles was a 400+ hp Audi. On the PiP I am doing most of my driving on electric only at 50-some hp. Surprisingly, short of a highway on ramp or steep hill, I easily outpace traffic most of the time.

What's the point here? It just goes to show how little hp is actually used by most drivers most of the time. I suspect you'd adapt to the new normal with little issue.

 

An adult-sized Prius is pretty slow, but it's not a hazard to road navigation. 10 seconds from zero to sixty isn't dangerous after all.
BUT.....
After the G3 wheezes its way up to sixty?
You still have to wait about another second and a half for the trial-sized Prius to get to sixty!
That's pretty slow.
No.....Not bicycle slow, or even dangerously slow if you drive like an adult, and plan your merges....but I'd be a little extra careful about merging onto interstate traffic.
The folks in Aichi, Japan think that it's got enough grunt to serve as personal transportation for four average sized adult Americans (which is a little bit bigger than they make people elsewhere! )
I tend to agree.

Zero to 60 and quarter mile times are hard data, but depending on where you live, how you drive it, and what you consider to be fast or slow, the Priussy is either acceptably powered or underpowered.
That's one of those YMMV things.

Personally?
I wouldn't want to go any slower than a G3, but right now gas is $2.89 and I'm getting 50mpg in my company G3.



-----call me when gas gets to $5

 

Unleaded regular is down to $3.95+ $3.99+ here.

Friend emailed pic of a $2.88/gal gas station sign in Houston - near his home - you guys are really rubbing it in...

 

1) You will live.

2) You will get used to and learn to accept life with less power.

3) It will all be worth it when you see how much better mpgs you get.

Welcome.

 

Ditto.

I guess vskid3 hasn't driven reasonably fast to very fast cars on the highway. If the curb weight at

Used 2001 Ford Mustang Exterior Specs - 2001 Ford Mustang Headlights, Wheels, Bodykits - Motor Trend Magazine

is right, w/that kind of weight and 190 hp, I'd guess it should be able to run the 1/4 mile in mid to high 15s vs. the econobox class 18s of the Prius c.

I've drag raced people before at a track where I've totally blown them away by only being about 2-3 seconds faster in the 1/4 mile. And, I've had my nice person kicked by people w/much more powerful cars than mine.

OP should really look into '12+ HyCam w/200 hp. It's considerably heavier than an 01 Mustang but should be much closer to satisfactory in acceleration while returning ~2x the gas mileage (Compare Side-by-Side).

Sure, even current econoboxes are more than adequate at under 40 mph but yes, highway makes a huge difference. If you lived near me and I still had my former 255 hp 02 Nissan Maxima and you took it on the highway, oh boy, you'd feel a massive difference vs. a Prius c. If you tried my former 04 350Z, even though it is faster (proved that at the track), it feels like it's working harder and not as effortless to accelerate due to MUCH more NVH when pushed.

My mom's 198 hp Altima Hybrid would also feel almost like a rocket ship vs. a Prius c. It almost does vs. my 110 hp Gen 2 Prius.

 

Keep in mind that the Prius may be slow off the line, but it's still zippy at speed.

All that start-off-electric-and-transition-to-gas stuff adds some administrative overhead when the light turns green, but as you battle your way through traffic it's much less of an anchor. The revs are high, momentum is already there, and the car is small and agile.

Plus, fortune favors the brave. Mash it!






(Keep in mind, however, that Murphy rides with everyone and the gene pool never has a lifeguard on duty.)

 

Don't be fooled into thinking the PWR button gives any extra power - it does not. The PWR (and ECO) buttons are a mental game... nothing more, nothing less. In the Prius, the accelerator pedal is not directly pulling a throttle cable. It's input to the computer which is controlling the ICE and MG1 and MG2 to interpret your request (communicated through your foot). The accelerator pedal can be 0% pushed down, 100% pushed down or anywhere in between. Because it's going through a computer, there is the opportunity to change how the input is interpreted between 0% and 100%, but the two ends are always the same.

In PWR mode (which does not exist on the 'c', no), the pedal becomes more sensitive in the first part of its travel (and necessarily it becomes less sensitve in the final part of its travel). In plain terms, it means it "feels" more responsive, because there is a bigger reaction from the car for a smaller press of the pedal.

In ECO mode, the pedal becomes less sensitive in the first part of its travel (and necessarily it becomes more sensitive in the final part of its travel). In plain terms it feels less responsive because there is less reaction from the car with a smaller press of the pedal.

In all cases (PWR, ECO or just "normal") if you press the pedal down the whole way, the car will respond the same way. There is no additional or reduced power.

Another way of looking at it is that in all modes, all levels of acceleration are possible, it's just the pedal position required will be different in each mode. Pick the mode you like best, learn it and that's it, each mode offers the full range of possible accelerations.

The ECO mode has one additional feature - it changes how the air conditioning system works, to draw on the HV system more efficiently, although if you don't like this, you can ask a dealer to disable this difference (though I think anyone would be mad to do so).

So with that all being said - will the Prius accelerate as fast as a Mustang? Heck no. It won't do it. Not ever.

Can it get up to freeway speed on a ramp? Yes. Is it "dangerous"? No, that's ridiculous.

Can it play in the traffic? Of course it can! When you test drove it, did you put your foot down? All the way down? Others have touched on it, but this car has a totally different drivetrain. If you're cruising along and want to change lanes and have seen your spot, then put your foot down. The car is going to react by tipping in a whole bunch of torque from the electric motor and it will do it in an instant. It's the perfect car for pouncing into a position before other people can react. Sure, once they get their gears down and their RPMs up, if they've got more power/weight they will out run you - the c is not a race car. But for a planned lane change, those guys are too late. You've changed lanes by then.

Ultimately it's up to you. If you're going to spend your whole time in the 'c' comparing its raw power to the Mustang, you're going to have an unhappy time of it.

 

Well said. At speed on the freeway - I can mash the gas pedal and the acceleration is there. Not like when I had a '69 Barracuda or drove other cars with V8s but that electric motor kicks up the speed almost instantly - there is no lag time. The C can be quite nimble on the freeway.

 

I am on the quicker side of drivers as a former racer but the Prissy (prius C) is slower by a ton than my sports cars as you should expect from a car with a 90 cubic inch engine compared to even a 6 cylinder Mustang with at least 240 cubic inch engine displacement. Though the Mustang weighs at least 500 pounds more the torque is much higher per pound than the Prissy. However. 48 mpg vs 20 is a noticeable improvement. Its torque that is the source for acceleration (hp for top speed) and the pound-feet of torque per pound of weight is a good bit less.
Now, heere's the good news: Prissy isn't that handicapped. Off the line I continue to jump out ahead of all the soccer vans though they will catch up. On a twisty road the Prissy will dissappear into the distance from a good many cars and all soccer vans. The OEM Prissy is handicapped by lawyers and all you need to do is disconnect the front antisway bar. Don't remove the bar, just the attachment link on the driver's side. The OEM Prissy, like virtually all cars sold in America. is specified as a understeering behemoth that when it loses traction the fromt wheels are first so the vehicle goes off nose first so the air bags are better aimed at occupants. Your Mustang is likewise and will improve handling the same way as all showroom stock racers will tell you. So if you think going off course sideways like any Porsche or Miata - or race Mustang - is the way a car should handle take a huge bite out of the buit-in understeer. The Prissy - and your Mustang - will still understeer but a lot less and in the case of the Mustang it has eough power to provoke oversteer while the Prissy won't but it will handle a lot better than OEM. Even with the lowest horsepower it gets around VIR, a 3.27 mile road course, in under 3 minutes. A competition CRX with 150 hp gets around in 2:20, about the same as a stock Mustang. But the Prissy gets 30 mpg while the Mustangs get 7-8 mpg.
If you reaslly want to improve the Prissy you can use Yaris lowering springs, shocks, wheels and especially good tires to turn it into a sports sedan. when it rains you can do away with Vettes much to their dismay, even on track.
You will learn to compensate for the low torque so passing slow minivans isn't that far out of question, especially if they're yakking on the cell phone.
And as a great world class racer says you'll become a better driver. He thinks learning to drive on a 40 hp Sprite is the best way to learn to drive. Unlike a Vette whatever you lose you don't get back. Learn or park.
Don't give up on the Prissy, its great for the mpg you'll get.
cheers and good luck.

 

I've read quite a few replies about this but don't know how to, any DIY, Youtube, pics, ... on this topic?

 

I'd be very careful about un-bolting the front anti-sway bar (or anything else!) on a Priussy if you don't have any time mashing cones in a parking lot or out on a track.
It's pretty simple, really.
If you're a kid and you can only afford one car?
Yeah. I get that.
Start bolting braces and springs and hacking away at the car!!! Have fun with it!
Just remember.....Murphy is a harsh instructor, and sometimes the tuition for his class includes the life of some innocent bystander or passenger.
There's a reason that the C-model is setup like it is.
It's supposed to be a citified people hauler.
It's Good at that.
Anything else looks like Brittany Spears on the field in pads and spikes, instead of butchering the National Anthem before the game.
If you wanna be a wanna-be?
Go find a used Miata or S2K that hasn't been hacked on by another wanna-be and go play in a parking lot or on a track somewhere.

 

Behind the front wheels is a near vertical linkage between the antisway bar end and the shock absorber tube. Removing the bolts at both ends lets the link separate from the shock and antisway bar. Check youtube for vids on replacing the shocks on a Yaris for example and you'll see the connection removed. Do not remove the link at both ends as that would let the bar flop around and get in the way of something.

 

Out of curiosity why do you fear disconnecting one side of the antisway bar? do you know what an antisway bar is used for? or what disconnecting it does for a vehicle? Do you know what makes a vehicle handle well?

There is no reason why a citified econobox shouldn't handle well; just look at the Mazda2 (which BTW will be the chassis next year for the Prius C.) And I guess a turbo econobox Prius C with 155 hp that still gets 40 mpg is as rediculous as a citified car but I'll bet it will outsell the current OEM by double. If Porsche, Ferrari, and McLaren have hot hybrids why shouldn't Toyota as a mainstream car of the future? Since Yamaha dores a good bit of Toyotas hipo engines I'll bet the 1.5L OEM coukld be replaced tomorrow. A car should be enjoyable to drive and though not as good as a Miata still imparts enjoyment rather than a bicycle on 4 wheels.

 

I'm not going to get into a discussion about the handling characteristics of a trial-sized Prius, or about some notional fantasy turbo eco-box.
That's just wrong on several levels IMHO.
YMMV.
If you want to advocate doing a bracectomy on a Priussy, knock yourself out.
I was just suggesting that some of the folks out there who aren't as talented should probably get some stick time on a track or in a parking lot before they go unbolting things on their cars.
'Nuff said.
This thread was started as a discussion about the acceleration capabilities of the Priussy, which has very little to do with this (or any other) car's ability to knock down acceptable skidpad numbers.
99.44 percent of the folks who have ACTUALLY DRIVEN Priuses have opined that they are acceptable for hauling people around in an urban/suburban environment.

Does the Priussy have enough grunt to pull interstate duty?
Obviously.
Can they be fun to drive?
Clearly.
People race everything in this country from lawn mowers to grocery carts.

OK Brittany.
Now remember....if somebody hands you the football?
Run THAT way......REALLY fast.

 

Slow pokes are slow by definition. So far, mu success rate for passing them (even in no passing zone) is 100%. This is in a Prius hatchback. Prius C should be similar.

 

Coming from a vw tdi, i know what you mean.


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I have 26K miles on my Prius C now and have never needed to floor the accelerator. I drive on interstates, country and city roads. I find that I almost never need 100% of the power a car can deliver. Wait! Maybe I did punch it once when passing a car on a two-lane highway. The C definitely had the power to pass quickly enough imo.

 

Amt0715 - Magnetic Gray Metallic --- The "Stealth" Prius c(cee) Petrol Warfighter color of choice.