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Handling: how does the Hybrid Camry compare with the Prius?

Discussion in 'Toyota Hybrids and EVs' started by theorist, Aug 1, 2006.

  1. theorist

    theorist Member

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    My only lament with our Prius is the handling and the dearth of driver feedback through the steering wheel and pedals. Can anyone with experience with both the Prius and the Camry Hybrid say how these two cars compare in terms of handling and driver involvement?

    Does one have to go with Honda for this in a hybrid?
     
    #1 theorist, Aug 1, 2006
  2. tnthub

    tnthub Member

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    I have driven both and in my opinion, for "handling" in a traditional sense, corner carving if you will, there is no comparison as the Camry is far superior in my opinion. However the goal of the Prius is clean fuel economy, not handling, and although the Camry will run rings around it I prefer the heavy front end feel of the Prius for regular driving. This is all just my opinion however...
     
    #2 tnthub, Aug 1, 2006
  3. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    It took a bit of getting used to at first, but now I prefer the lack of vibration. The Prius is far less tiring on a long drive than most cars. I haven't driven the new Camry, but I've driven the Nissan Maxima and didn't like the torque steer at all. Not that I'm defending the handling of the Prius...let's just say it has lots of potential.
     
    #3 hyo silver, Aug 1, 2006
  4. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    The HyCam is heads and tails above the Prius in handling, particularly highway handling. That and the softer ride are the main reasons I traded my Prius in for a Camry hybrid. The Prius is far more tiring for long highway trips, due to it's overly sensitive steering, light weight, bumpy ride and comparatively poor seats. The Camry is also quieter. Toyota in general tends to have dead feeling steering compared to Honda. I thought the Prius was actually better in that regard than most Toyotas I've driven. The 2007 Camry is a big improvement over the prior model with respect to road feel, since it now has an acceptable level of steering feedback, while still giving a soft ride. Handling is sill nothing like a Honda Accord, but good enough (I'd rather have the sofer ride at my age anyway!). Interestingly, the HyCam also has electronic steering (like the Prius), but does a lot better job simulating "normal" highway feel. It still has just a slight touch of that Prius tendency to wander (at least 1 review has mentioned this, and I agree), but it's still one finger driving, unlike the Prius. I did have an "opportunity" to test its avoidance handling, when I failed to see someone in my blind spot on the highway. I cut back sharply and was able to straighten out fine, but the car did dive and drift to the side a bit. This may be due more to the tires than the car. The stock Michelin MX tires are pretty good, but don't have the stiffer sidewalls of the HydroEdge. I miss the runabout go-cart handling of the Prius around town, but not the bumpy ride! The Camry is obviously a lot better at absorbing the bumps.
     
    #4 ggood, Aug 1, 2006
  5. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Brake pedal feel on either car is going to be numb due to the fact that the pedal isn't directly operating the brakes during typical use. This is a consequence of the pseudo "by wire" type design. You're feeding info to a stroke simulator which, unless programmed or designed to do so, isn't going to provide the same feel as if the pedal is directly pushing on slave cylinders.

    Case in point, typical car ABS gives a rumble in the pedal and on occasion, the pedal may sink or rise. The Prius makes some noise (not quite the same either) under the hood, but pedal height stays constant w/o feedback. Given that it's the nature of the electronics providing the pressure, that's to be expected.

    The exception to this is if pedal travel is far enough during emergency situations (i.e. loss of hydraulic boost, electronic failure) where the "electronics" and sensors are skipped. Then you're directly operating pedal to cylinders, but at that point I'm not sure how much would be felt.
     
    #5 HTMLSpinnr, Aug 2, 2006
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