Highway Handling (especially vs Civic Hybrid)

The Prius handling on the highway is OK but you will not mistake it for a BMW 3-series sedan. I think that the Civic Hybrid has better handling than the Prius, whether in town or on the highway.

 

prius = plush ride and body roll.. faster acceleration
HCH = less plush but by no mean uncomfortable.. more sure-footed.. slower acceleration

to be honest i enjoy driving my HCH more than the prius. it handles better and looks better.. playing with the prius' electronic is very fun but i have to say driving it is boring...

 

I have never driven the Civic Hybrid, but as far as the Prius it is great highway car as well. I have taken mine on many long distance trips and been very satisfied with what it is. It is not a luxury or sports sedan and on the highway it will be comparable in performance as a middle of the pack "family vehicle" except with approximately twice the gas mileage. The Civic probably can handle corners and turns better, and the Prius is capable of carrying more cargo and has a larger rear seating area.
With Cruise control set at 70 MPH I will normally average 51 MPG or better. If I set it for 65 MPH it will inch up a bit further to about 54 MPG or better. In the summer I use the rule for my slower city highway driving (60 = 60) meaning 60 MPH = 60 MPG.

 

just drove 900+ miles including 262 miles of winding, curvy rolling, twisting hwy 101 along the Oregon Coast. never had any issues, had my SO drive about half the time and she had not a single issue whatsoever.

then again, hard to say when you never drive a straight line

 

Since the Prius comes in two entirely different trims with different suspension, wheels, and tires, it probably merits specifying the differences between the two prius trims vs the civic. My suspicion is that the Civic outhandles the standard prius while the touring prius outhandles the civic.

 

my avatar specifies my model...no touring...there have been issues with others who feel that the Prius does not handle well during certain highway conditions. i dont know if its just going from one car to another or what, but maybe i am lucky in that my previous ride was a F-150 with a 2 ton suspension and NOTHING could be worse than that when riding empty

 

Prius has no problem on the Highway too....indeed I see more fellow Prius super-cruisers driving on the Left Lane going over 75+.......

With VSC you can still take some corners without going to the hospital, but the less-sporty seats in Prius will make you feel more body-roll indeed.....esp for the Passengers (The driver has the steering wheel to grab-on at least).

 

Had mine up to the computer-limited 109 mph, steady as a rock. That is more than I could say about the Chevy Lumina that I had, it started to float and felt unsteady at a similar speed.

 

Mine on Friday had the cruise control set to 95mph for 2 entire hours straight with 4 people and luggage on I8 heading to San Diego. uhhh, it was my friend driving.... uhhh, not me. Only got 34.8 mpg at that speed though. The Prius can very comfortably hold high speeds for long periods of time. Any handling quirkiness at lower highway speeds some how goes away at high speeds.

 

withs its profile and low Cd... i would imagine it would do well at higher speeds since it should have more downward force...

but to be honest with ya, i have only once had it on an extended trip as high at 70-75 mph...but have not noticed an issue even at 60 mph, my normal cruising speed.

the only handling issues i can remember is when driving over the I-520 floating bridge in Seattle, but EVERYONE has issues there and in my truck when it was empty it was downright SCARY!! ...speed limit does drop to 45 mph on the bridge (sometimes lower if weather is bad) but still get a lot of wandering from side winds that are always present there.

 

Amazing!
And there's a stretch of 190 miles highway without Poilce?

 

Like others, I've not driven the 2007+ HCH. But my 2 cents anyway
The only time I notice anything at highway speeds is wind on the forward quarters (in boating terms). If you have a stiff wind coming from the front sides, you will notice the need to steer into it more. If it is gusty, you will notice that too. Doesn't seem to happen with wind on the stern quarters. I don't notice any other wind except that tail and head winds help or hurt MPG.

If you put people with legs in the back, check the rear seat leg room. Prius has 4" more than the HCH (or non Hybrid Civic for that matter). Fine if they are kids in car seats, might make a difference with taller people. Plus the Prius has 4.5 cu. ft. more cargo area than the HCH. 2.5 more than the non Hybrid but like the Prius, its rear seat backs fold down so it isn't as limited as the HCH.

 

I own a Prius, but drove the Honda as well earlier this year. My thoughts...

The Prius in high-wind is very wobbly. I think these were 20-30 mile an hour winds with gusts, and it was a white-knuckle trip down the freeway. Very scary. With normal winds, the Prius is just fine.

The HCH was gutless going up hills, even smallish ones. With large hills, this thing was working very hard. Also, even on flat freeways, it seemed like I had to really mash the pedal down to get this thing going 65-70 mph. It just seemed to have "just enough" power. I was not impressed.

Plus the HCH needs the ICE engine running at any speed... BORING!

 

With my prius, chassis stiffener, touring rims and tires, i can take a SHARP 20mph turn going very close to 50. hit the apex and shoot out like a bullet. now, it's NO corvette, but my prius is NO slouch! i've had cars follow me into the turn and they're instantly 6 cars behind when i rail through it. i'm sure the HCH can stick close, but it wont outhandle it.

(yes, i drove a HCH.......................scared the hell out of the salesman. sorry JUN! )

 

Nope, not very many on that stretch of road surprisingly..... tons of border patrol though. Their presence has increased exponentially in recent years which is a good thing. Those guys work their tails off in the 115 degree heat.

 

The Prius has three basic handling issues:
1.

 

Let me try this without hitting the enter button by mistake.
The Prius has three basic handling issues:
1. CROSS-WINDS!!!! baaaaaaaaad
2. Road, rain grooves, tracks very easily
3. Body roll when turning, not to bad and remains sure footed.

About what you would expect from a narrow car with a high profile. Haven';t yet tried the BT plate or stiffer shocks to see if that makes a difference.

 

I agree with your opinion. I can corner pretty agressively in the Prius but you kinda have to account for the body roll then "set" the car into the corner. High speed cross-winds can make the car pretty scary to drivebut thankfully it has only happened to me once in the 3yrs I've owned the car thanks to California's mild climate. I'll be upgrading shocks/struts in the next 15k miles and it would be nice if that helped but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

I get cross winds all the time out here, and I have had no issues driving my Touring model (slight steer into heavy cross wind, a couple times needed a correction for a strong sharp gust {just over 11000 miles on odo}).

Just drove Las Cruces to Phoenix and back. Driving 75mph on a divided highway with hills, heat (110 degrees), 3 people with our stuff, A/C on and got 39mpg plus a little. I usually get 45+ mpg driving to work (65mph highway mostly). No problem maintaining 75mph up long hills or getting onto the highway (I had a Bronco II that could not hold high speed up hills).

I don't notice a lot of body roll and I'm not pokey around the corners.

I really like this car, though I painted the chrome trim ring around the ON button flat black.