So.. we all know by now the two, rather high profile cases of speeding Priuses. Of course, the general public thinks that they're slow. But.. reading the archives of some magazines, you'll discover how different the perspective was back then. How they praised the Classic Prius for its quirky design and top-notch materials. How "[a]ccelerating away from a stop sign... generat[es] more than adequate power to join the traffic flow" despite having <100hp. Of course what they don't have, they want and what we have, well.. they nitpick lol. Anyway, I couldn't help but notice this paragraph. "With 200 mind-numbing miles of interstate cutting an asphalt swathe through the tumbleweed-strewn desert, it was inevitable that an unofficial top-speed test would be conducted. Once firmly in the triple-digits, the large LCD speedometer rises slower than a Mt. Everest climber. Eventually the digital gauge reaches its peak at an impressive 164 kph, aka 102 mph. Before we could begin a little victory dance, a little turtle light illuminated, signalling low battery power. Perhaps we could make it for the 51st celebration." Yeah... that's right.. 102mph in the OLD Prius. Here's the full article
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Sep 8 2007, 10:07 PM) [snapback]509346[/snapback]</div> Why don't people ask if a Hummer is fast enough to merge on the freeway? Or can a Tahoe keep up with traffic? Some of those SUVs out there can't get out of their own way! Some are 11+ second (0-60) vechicles, some can't even hit 100!
Hi N8KWX, Yea, those SUV's are slow, but expecially on the highway ramps! Its not uncommon to see a line of 10 SUV's a hundred yards behind the car in front by the end of a ramp.
My wife and I got stuck renting an Expedition once on vacation. We had to merge into traffic where there was no onramp. You round the cloverleaf and *bam* you're in traffic. I screamed "floor it!" She screamed "I am! I AM!!" That thing had the acceleration potential of a small house. We laugh about it now but we were scared out of our pants at the time.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Sep 9 2007, 10:51 AM) [snapback]509623[/snapback]</div> I was driving in Florida, and on one of the onramps there was an official DOT sign, which read "Short ramp, hit it running". Haven't seen anything like that elsewhere.
164km/h hmmmm i'm kind of thinking i should fix up my old jag. Back in the day hitting 180 wasn't difficult and quite quickly on my 5500lb boat of a car with a 4.2L straight six. It only has a 3 speed auto and was well tuned for the high speed accelleration. I haven't tried getting the prius to go fast but 140 was hit on one occasion it took a while though.
