Featured Hyundai IONIQ - Prius competitor?

In what way is the foot brake odd? The Prius uses one. Are you just accustomed to hand brakes?

 

The last car I had with a hand operated parking brake was my 1983 Saab 900S.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I went from hand brakes with the VWs to foot brakes with the Prii to a button with the Volt.

 

I'd only ever used a FootHandBrake once before - and nearly crashed because of it. It was on a TARAGO (PREVIA) mini-bus. I parked on a steep hill with a car parked behind me, pushed ON the brake. Having never used it before, I'd not put it on quite hard enough, and released the footbrake. When it started rolling slowly backwards, I gave it another push, assuming it was like pulling a PROPER handbrake on a bit tighter. But it released it completely - and the PREVIA raced backwards - I caught the brakes just in time. Stupid FootHandBrake, dumb design.

Give me a proper handbrake any-day. When I first saw that PRIUS had a FootHandBrake, I walked away - and checked my other options, but ended up giving it another chance. With the PRIUS, I often don't put the FootHandBrake on if it's on level ground.

There is a brake related issue with PRIUS though, if parked facing downhill with someone close in front, when you put it in reverse it's quite tricky to release the FootHandBrake while giving it accelerator. You can't hold the car with the FootBrake while starting to accelerate backwards - it gives you a message that you have a foot on both BRAKE and ACCELERATOR. Hill-Hold only works in forward gear.

 

Couldn't you get in car. Start. Resease foothandbrake with left foot while braking with right foot. Shift left foot to brake pedal with right foot still pressing on it. Now shift right foot to accelerator. Shift into reverse. Accelerate slowly releasing the foot brake. Go. Key would be holding the car with the footbrake unil you remove the transaxle from the park/pLock mode.

I go back to three on the floor with no synchros. And non-hydraulic brakes where the brake pedal moved levers and rods to activate the brakes. I did find the Prius shift lever to be non-instinctive for a while. Now feels very normal.

 

The Sonic has a hand brake. The American foot brakes use a hand release instead of the push a second time that Toyota uses.

Sounds like the issue is with the safety interlock. The accelerator won't apply any power as long as the brake is depressed any amount.

 

NOPE - "left foot to brake pedal with right foot still pressing on it. Now shift right foot to accelerator" - immediately you touch the accelerator, the display screams:


I ended up using the release of the FootHandBrake thingy to hold it while modulating the accelerator - but it left me thinking even more intensely - what a stupid replacement for a proper Handbrake.

The FootHandBrake Thingy is designed to be either ON or OFF, not to do say a Hill Start like you would with a Manual car.

 

What Alan says is why I hate it when the parking brake is a foot brake, as it is on a Prius III. I used to drive a Volkswagen Beetle in hilly Berkeley, California, and the ability to modulate the hand brake helped me repeatedly avoid slipping down hill into the car in back of me.

 

Have you tried the 'hill hold mode?' It was one of my earliest tests with the Gen-3:

• push the brake hard until the hill-hold icon lights
• move foot to accelerator and take off

Bob Wilson

 

I'll certainly be checking that aspect next time I buy a car. All my previous cars had a handbrake between the seats, or under dash. I did a reverse park, 3 point turn and a manoeuvre through a supermarket carpark, and an up-hill hill-start - but didn't think about a down-hill in reverse hill-start.

I'd done the same with all the cars I test drove. I well remember a VW Golf - and voted it OUT because the DSG kept lurching in close traffic and manoeuvring - my wife would have hated it after a normal Auto.

 

I quizzed the dealer the next week - he went off, came back a few minutes later, and said that Hill-Hold doesn't work in reverse.

It works as you mention in DRIVE - without pushing the brake particularly hard. I'll check it again with a hard press of the brake.

 

Sorry, I missed that.

Bob Wilson

 

Been said before, but if you tap-dance till you get your rt for on the gas and lft foot on the brake:

1. You get the warning as above, but don'tr roll forward
2. Lift left foot off brake with a touch of acceleration and it moves in reverse as soon as the brake comes off.

Fiddley, I know, but some on here do successfully use that method. I'm not twinkle-toed so.... Meh!

 

One of our 2 rides has hill hold, & ours works in both directions. However neither of the 2 of us drivers enable the feature - because we like the feeling of knowing the car is going to do what it does 'the old fashion' way. In fact, if the feature is turned on, ours will even work that way on level ground. It seems so weird .... you drop it into drive or reverse, & it just sits there 'till you tap the accelerator ? ick - no way, we need at least a feeling of drifting in either direction. To each his/her own.
Giving away the age here, but back in the day on super steep hills - having to work a clutch? Stuck between 2 cars in a tight spot? and not drift forward or backward? oh yeah - I'd take Hill hold over that scenario.
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My 3 gen European Spec Prius hill-assist feature works in reverse too.

 

I saw a review from Car & Driver last night that, like Consumer Reports, was very negative about the Ioniq's braking. I don't have the fastest of reaction times, so this is a problem for me in considering the Ioniq.

 

foot operated parking brakes are very uncommon here in the UK

 

The most common are Mercedes Benz 10yr and older.

 

The only time I've experienced a foot operated parking brake before was with an MB C Class I rented for 3 years. I found I adapted to it in time, but but the brake hold worked both forward and in reverse. Though I'm OK with the Gen 4, my personal preference is a mechanical, ratchet hand-brake.

 

not had any issues with braking in the year and 25,000 miles I've had mine, I would say as with any car, "don't discount it until you have seen it, sat in it and driven it"

just remember some articles are very negative about the eCVT of the prius, so you may not agree with all articles

all I do is make note of the positive and negative comments from a variety articles / mags, then use that as a list of things to check myself

some cars will be discounted by the looks / size, others will be discounted by just sitting in and not being comfortable or liking the layout, some will be discounted by the test drive

at which point you will hopefully have a short list to look more closely at