My favorite thing about the Prius

Sorry, I actually owned a plain ol' Gen 3. But it was a great vehicle.
I now own a Honda Fit, which I also like. I don't really regret it.
But there are definitely aspects to Hybrid Ownership that ONLY hybrid ownership offers.

 

You no longer own a Prius???!!

 

In 2006, I looked at a Gen 2 - and lots of other cars, but a Honda JAZZ - which is your FIT - ended up being 2nd on my short-list. Only let down by the lack of torque in the engine, on my test-drive, I seemed to be incessantly changing gears, compared with other small cars/hatches. I loved the layout though.

They came out with a hybrid in about 2011 (?), but there seemed to be almost no stocks around, so I bought a FIESTA Diesel instead.

 

Doesn't the swear filter take "diesel" out on here ?

 

Sorry to alarm you. I meant the parts about why he likes it. Same here. I still have two of them and am still lusting for a Gen 4 or a Prime. LOL!

 

Agree. All that good stuff outweighs any gripes I have about noise. And I can reduce most of the ICE and CVT growl by just simply switching out of PWR mode. It's a great car, no doubt about it.

 

Not in Australia - the market is expanding - the biggest selling "car" on the market is a horrid Hilux (Tacoma) truck thing with a tiny tray and 5 seats - with 90+% diesel. Followed by FORD's equivalent - then Corolla/Mazda3/Hyundaii30 fighting for the bronze medal.

THough there has been a lot of press lately about Particulate Filters costing big $$$ for trucks not getting hot enough regularly - school runs etc not doing it well. And also something to do with injectors.

So - maybe they'll turn to hybrids when they need replacing. Among the V8 & truck lovers Mention of "EV" or "hybrid" are enough to make them angry - bringing all the myths up "yeah and have to replace the battery at $6000 every 5 years" or "our power network won't cope".

 

The last 13 miles before reaching home are on a mountain road. I used the feature the first time today when I returned home after dark and absolutely loved it. That is the automatic high beam.

Another one: Initially, I was slightly bummed out that Prius Two comes with only the Tonneau Cover because I thought it looked cheap and I liked the higher end look of that retractable cargo cover. But after a month of driving, I'm loving the tonneau cover. I like how it gets out of the way when I lift my trunk open. And then when I close the trunk, it hides everything from sight without me intervening.

 

... which the retractable one doesn't. It's quite pathetic really. After a few weeks, I took mine off and I think it's in the shed/wardrobe/carport?? I'll find it before I trade the car.

 

Mine lives under the floor because I always have the rear seats folded down.

 

Well i feel that the engine is noisier in the 4th gen(notorious when engine kicks in) but the driving experience is smoother and quiet. Not no mention is quicker than before.

 

I am not sure which generation you’re comparing with. The Gen 3 & 4 engine is larger than the Gen 2 one.

 

I was comparing engine noise kick in with 3gen engine sounds louder now. Maybe is because the 4thGen is powerful. Hipermilling is easier in the 2016 prius. 58mpg is easy achievable

 

I'd hope it sounded different - it's a different car entirely:

• It's a different platform - there is nothing in the chassis or body which is shared between the 2. So things like engine mounts, exhaust design all are total redesign;
• It's a different ICE engine - based on the Gen 3, but appreciably different. TOYOTA says "retains the established 1.8-liter VVT-i gasoline engine, however, the engine has been completely re-engineered, with remarkable results in terms of performance, fuel economy, and reductions to size and weight.";
• The inverter is a newer lighter design relocated snug up close to the engine;
• It's a different planetary gearset - parallel now, and I think I read that it has 20% lower friction;
• The 2 Electric Motors (MG1 & MG2) show no semblance of similarity to the Gen 3 - totally redesigned.

I'd suspect that there would be almost nothing interchangeable between the Gen 3 and Gen 4 ICE, hybrid drivetrain or gearsets etc.

Check out the Weber AUTO YouTubes - this one is just a brief summary of the differences between Gen 1, 2, 3 and 4.

I think that if you own a Gen 4, it would be advantageous to watch this short video specifically on Gen 4:

If you're more interested after that - there is this one - nearly 2 hours, which I found very interesting.

 

I don't think everybody it as enthusiastic about how the Prius works in such detail, but it's always good to know.

 

I think this is the first car I haven't read through the Workshop Manual - not the factory manual in many cases, but at least the Haynes manual.

I've always found that understanding a bit of what's going on helps with driving sympathetically to the mechanical marvel that a motor car is - even though a lot of the repair processes are beyond what I'd tackle myself.

 

Somebody here worked on putting a Gen 4 engine into a Gen 3 Prius.

Gen 4 to Gen 3, what you need to know | PriusChat

 

Oh - didn't realise that was being attempted. Sounds like almost as big a job as Bill the Engineer's FireBrid.