One of the guys in a neighboring office building has a Prius that is practically my Prius's twin and he drove by me earlier today. I heard it coming since my back was to it as I walked along the street (no sidewalks) and I didn't know that it was a Prius until he passed by. He was probably going 20 mph and wasn't in any hurry; probably slowly enough to be in HV mode and I didn't notice hearing a gas engine. It was quiet but it wasn't that quiet. It was pretty easy to tell that a car was coming from behind. This was the first time that I was in a position to see (or hear) for myself whether the complaints about Priuses being too quiet to hear coming were true or not and it seems that they're not true. If I ever hear someone complain about how quiet a Prius is, I'll have the ammo to dispute them heh heh heh B)
At speeds over 20mph in EV mode the tires make enough road noise that the car is deffinately not silent.
It's all relative to the situation. For example, in a busy grocery store (or WAL-MART!) parking lot, where people are walking around everywhere, talking, kids are putting shopping carts away, etc., it's very easy for the Prius not to be heard. Go to the other extreme, an empty parking lot in the middle of nowhere with no real significant ambient sound, you sure will hear the road and wind noise it generates.
Well, yeah, but this is a fairly industrial area with lots of truck and big jet noise. It's a pretty noisy area. Besides, in noisy areas, even a well maintained, gas-only car driving 20 mph would be difficult to hear. At the time, though, it was pretty quiet, relative to usual and gas-only cars have driven past me many times before when the engine was quiet enough that air displacement seemed to be the only noise being generated. The Prius wasn't much quieter than that.
I almost got hit by one about a week before I got mine. It was late, I was in a hurry, I didn't hear it and I crossed right in front of it as it was turning on to the street I was crossing.
I agree that it depends a lot on the situation. Yesterday I was backing into my carport while my wife was getting the kids into the minivan. Neither she, nor the kids heard me coming. She nearly walked out into my path, and my daughter (3yo) was quite surprised when she saw me standing right in front of her. Stealth is cool, but the driver better be watching carefully!
i have found that the surface of the parking lot plays a role as well. some surfaces makes more noise. then again, it could be the tires too. havent had enough stealth experiences with another Prius to have noticed. do know that on a few occasions, i did not hear a Prius coming and there was no other noise but birds in the distance chirping...
I've started to notice tire slippage lately so maybe the new tires aren't gripping like they used to, but they still seem to make noise while I'm rolling along unpowered. Maybe well-worn OEMs make for stealthier stealth...
I am still waiting for the guards at the base gate to notice my car is never running when I pull up to show my ID. Unfortunately, the other lane always seems to have some diesel pickup rattling away to break the silence. At my old base, the guards would chitchat with you for a few minutes if the traffic was light.....which was all the time. I'm sure they'd have noticed.
Oooh, good point... Smooth concrete roads (or well done freshly paved traditional "tar" roads) at low speeds tend to be far more quiet than "rough grit" paved roads... From the outside anyway...
Ahhhh, that's what's great about the backup camera safety wise...at least the driver can be aware that someone is behind them and stop backing up before...you know...
The only time I think my car may be too quiet is when I go to lock the door and it beeps at me to remind me it's still turned on.
I'd say that 99% of the population hasn't a clue that my Rav4EV is never "running" in the traditional sense. I've about gotten run over by regular cars more often than Prii... but it is prudent for both drivers and pedestrians to think just a wee bit before acting! As for ME driving the Prius - it almost always louder than our main car, so I don't think too much about it, or treat it any differently.
two weeks ago i was visiting my mother with the prius. she got home from work just a few seconds before i came back from the store. i pulled into the drive behind her as she walked through the garage, and didn't even know i was there until i closed my car door... i'd say the engine is pretty quiet, the rest just depends on the conditions (speed, road friction, etc)
Quiet indeed! Watch for animals as well as pedestrians. Driving on the new, dry asphalt around our quiet neighborhood in the early morning I've surprised more than a few rabbits. With my old Ford Ranger they always hopped away long before I reached them. Now, with the Prius in EV mode at 10-15 MPH, I almost have to brake to avoid them. How much fun is this car!
Heh ... was driving into work after lunch yesterday. Saw my boss walking out to his car. Snuck up behind him and was going to rev the engine in a good-natured manner to startle him but ... hmmm, can't do that in the Prius!
With the remains of winter salt and sand all over the place, it's pretty hard to avoid any tire noise right now. Crunch, crunch. What *I* really like is the soft high-pitched whining that the inverter makes, especially when regen-braking. Occasionally when out walking around, I've been able to identify Priii slowing down for a light without even turning around to look. . _H*
Watch out for animals in higher noise areas. I've snuck up on dogs before when there on the side of the road.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(OverTork @ Mar 28 2006, 07:34 PM) [snapback]231652[/snapback]</div> same here. hehe. i get up. leave the car, close my door.. and.. beep.. beep.. beep... oh... reach in and turn it off. oops. maybe that's the good thing about the 400h having a key? hmm.
I was crossing into the U.S. from Canada and got stopped at the border for inspection. (The guard was checking every vehicle through that line.) He asked me to step out and open the doors and hatch. After I was outside the vehicle, the engine started up. The guard quickly jumped up and ran to the front of the car, saw there was no one there, was confused, and then proceeded to yell at me for not turning the engine off, which he never asked me to do. I then had to unload everything from the hatch and have all my bags searched. Funny thing is that they never even thought to check under the floorboard of the hatch area, which I jokingly call my "smugglers compartment".
