Prius Handling Characteristics

In response to fastlane's post, there really is no need to get so defensive and start attacking others in this forum. Perhaps Black2006 is just a bit jealous that you have a really nice car. My GF has a 03 330I and I drive her car every once in awhile. It is a very nice car, a little small for me but you really can't fault its handling on the road.
As for the prius, it comes no where close to the handling of the 330I but it wasn't desinged to do so. I commute from Hacienda Heights to Riverside CA for class three times a week, I typically go from 70-80 MPH and for those of you who have driven on the 60 around Pomona, Fontana, and Riverside, you know how strong those desert cross winds can get. The same winds that shake my prius to the core is unfelt in a 300i. However, I have never felt endangered becasue I was in my Prius on the highway. It isn't a great handlign car but it is by no means a poor handling vehicle. Try driving a Taurus and then get back to me. The best way I have found when on the highway is to keep a steady hand and not try to overcompensate for the wind. I'd much rather spend $30,000 and get a fuly loaded Prius that gets me great mileage then spend $34,000 and get a stripped down 325i that is no where near as fuel efficient although it may have better handling and acceleration.

 

The steering takes some getting used to. I also have two Subarus, an Outback and an Impreza. After all week commuting in the Prius (500 freeway miles), the Subarus steering feels hard, slow, and unresponsive, and the steering wheel seems HUGE compared to the Prius. I actually prefer the Prius on the highway. As for all out handling, Auto-x style, I use the Impreza. On the highway, the Prius works fine for me. I have 40/38 t.p. and am about to add the BT brace. My only handling complaint is that its too tippy on sharp corners. No prob. on the highway.

 

"I have literally experienced grown men with sleeve tattoos get out of a car I was driving and kiss the ground after a jaunt up a winding canyon road. "

That is also true of my 85 year old aunt but that doesn't make her a good driver, just a scary driver...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ May 11 2006, 07:33 AM) [snapback]253395[/snapback]</div>

true, i cannot argue that - although still an excellent and very aggressive driver friendly car, Porsche makes a far superior product.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ May 11 2006, 07:33 AM) [snapback]253395[/snapback]</div>

I guess it means i've made "tough guys" crap themselves as a passenger on a twisty road - that's all.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ May 11 2006, 07:33 AM) [snapback]253395[/snapback]</div>

You again make an excellent point and i even agree with most of it. But is slamming on your brakes with a car 6 feet off your rear not also a "dumbass move"? Truth is i was only going to occupy that lane space for a moment while maneuvering through a tight section of cars, but the guy had an attitude about it and wanted to "teach the guy in the Prius a lesson" for invading his corvette airspace. I may have been pushing the limits on a public highway, I absolutely give you that. But that doesn't excuse his trying to cause an accident. Does it? I mean what is more irresponsible. Me in control but speeding? or him actively trying to force someone elso to lose control at the expense of everyone around us both on the road that day?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ May 11 2006, 07:33 AM) [snapback]253395[/snapback]</div>

Once again, I agree with you completely on this. From the sound of most of your post, you must have some abilty yourself and generally, "those who know, don't talk - and those who don't know, talk." is what i think Buddha said.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ May 11 2006, 07:33 AM) [snapback]253395[/snapback]</div>

Yet another excellent point. The reason i care about a few mpg is i am forced to drive this car because of my work and - as i am trying to extract a reasonable level of fuel efficiency from what i consider to be an otherwise very boring and sloppy handling car - i have a bit of a dilemma. I can't seem to get beyond the idea that no matter what i do to amend the handling problems of this vehicle, i will still be driving an underpowered car that is prone to excessive body roll and understeer. SO why bother making it "almost" not handle like a turd and in the process cut the fuel savings by 20 or 25%? Understand the problem? Might as well live with it and save the cash, i guess is what i'm saying. I am, however, currently tire shopping and welcome ANY input on a good handling tire that doesn't penalize mileage by more than 3 or 4 mpg.

cheers and thanks for keeping me and my almost nauseatingly inflated ego in check...

 

I agree with fastlane, the Prius is NOT a great handling car... average at best. Take it from someone that's driven many different cars from econo rentals to track prepped race cars. BTW, th e 15k Chevy Colbalt out handles the Prius by a good bit.

 

the prius wasn't made to be a sport car. granted it could do a bit better at high speeds. the car was designed with a low coefficient of drag, but from the front only. side winds hit it like a they would hit a brick walll. and as stated in another post, the power of the sterring makes it very touchy. personally i don't have any problems driving the car, and yes i do get it above 70 now and then.

if i did have problems though, here's a few things i would try (not exactly in this order). make sure the alignment is correct (the way they get here doesn't help, strapped down on a boat in the ocean for hours). drop tire pressure to what is recommended. get better, possibly wider, tires. get the bt brace. lower the car.

this may seem like a lot of extra work/money to spend on a new car, but remember, this car was designed for city driving in japan.

 

Chalk me up as another person who doesn't think highly of how the Prius Handles. Actually, I'm not sure, but I think that there is a strange kind of stiffness to part of the ride that adds stability when you're not accelerating through a curve, and it feels more stable than you'd expect - and strangely, when you do power through turns, it almost feels less stable than if you just floated through them. It seems to me as though they engineered the suspension with fuel economy in mind to.

FWIW, I've driven a few cool late model cars too - Boxter S, 323xi - THAT car can carve up corners, even if it is a little underpowered - a couple of M3s and an M coupe. The '94 honda I just sold had way better handling characteristics that my Prius.

None of this changes how much I love my little Prius.

Dave

 

I am crazy, or are some of the posters here totally off the mark?

Why not compare it to a GSXR750 (a Suzuki "super bike," which runs circles around the BMW while we at it? Just silly, imo.

Bragging about what performance cars one has driven and comparing them to the Prius is not the point (frankly, in the neighborhoods around me 330s are bought as graduation presents

I said the Prius handling is in the "middle of the pack." I also said it exceeded my expectations, which were set for an econo-box handling. I bought the car for the concept, not for the handling.

But to go back to the main point, if someone's Prius feels hard to control and "wobbly" at 70 mph, that Prius has a problem that should be fixed. But it doesn't mean that all Priuses are hard to control at that speed. And yes, I do have some experience with peppier cars.

Just like not every slow-poke in the diamond lane drives a Prius. Most, in my experience, don't.

 

Has anyone considered that "handling" is very objective to most people? Many people who say the prius handles badly should really say it doesn't handle like my last car that I was used to or they way I like.

Yes, people who drive performance cars can make good comparisons. Most regular drivers can only really say they like it or not.

NO ONE will ever agree on how the Prius handles.

BTW- I have had the Prius up to 80 on the highway and have had it on winding country roads....I think it handles fine.

 

Many good points have been brought up here, and I agree with most of them.

The Prius is not a sports car, and the handling reflects this. If you look at other Prius drivers around where I live, every single one seems to be over 60 except for me. Obviously most (certainly not all!) of this crowd does not care about the handling. Hell, most of them probably haven't even taken theirs above 60 mph! The Prius was not designed as a high speed bahn-burner like most of hte other cars that have been mentioned here. To expect that is simply silly.

What I disagree about though, is that the Prius can't be made to handle well. I think that once I get the TRD suspension in and all the Tom's braces bolted on, my Prius will handle significantly better. To what level I can't say, as I'm still waiting on parts. Will it handle as well as a Boxster? Probably not. Maybe a 330? Closer but that's still probably reaching. Whatever the ultimate result, I do know it will be significant, as it already feels much better with half the braces installed. THe suspension has definitely become the weak point, but soon that issue will be resolved. The spring rates on the Sportivo kit seem to be geared more towards a comfort than all out sport handling, but as a DD there must be compromises. Since I regularly take my wife and kids around in the Prius, too rough a ride is NOT an option. Still, BMW has shown that you can indeed have both handling and comfort. Beemers certainly aren't as comfy as a comperable level Benz, but the BMW is also not uncomfortable.

Anyway, for me, better handling (not just highway speeds) is more importnat than a few mpg. I've already found that even with the much heavier wheels I can still get 52 mpg if I drive conservatively, so I haven't lost much. With the superlight wheels I'm going to use, that mileage penalty will be all but mitigated, while retaining the greatly increased grip. Add in the lower TRD suspension and firmer springs, along with the light weight of the Prius, and it may actually handle quite well. Stay tuned (to my mod thread) and see what happens.

SIDE NOTE: One of my wife's partners just got a Porsche Turbo. That is a sweet car. Handles like a bitch! Not as fun as the Elise I test drove, but the power more than makes up the "shortcoming" ( ) in the handling.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Black2006 @ May 11 2006, 08:46 PM) [snapback]253850[/snapback]</div>

Speaking of bragging, it sure is good to know you live in a high brow white collar upper middle class neighborhood. Maybe if you'd actually driven one of your neighbor's kids' graduation presents you'd be able to speak intelligently about the handling characteristics of a german car. As it is, as far as i can tell you have no idea what your talking about.

You actually touched on something with the gsxr example though. I would just about say that a GSXR is to a BMW 3 series, what a BMW 3 series is to a Prius.

As far as the wobbling car thing you keep bringing up over and over again. Of course you are right. If a car has a "wobble" at a certain speed it is ALMOST ALWAYS a tire out of balance. Get them checked, start with the front as those are the ones you feel the most.

peace

 

This was mentioned before, and I'll mention it again. If only the stock Prius handled as well as the stock Corolla or Camry, there would be slightly less bitching going on.

The fact the Prius handles worse than both, with the base Corolla costing much less, says to me that Toyota made the Prius out to be a rolling production version of their THSII (aka HSD) as the priority, but "cheaped out" in the bargain surrounding the "wow transmission" with inferior handling, seats, the "premium" sound, etc. Maybe it has gotten better in the 2006 version in Japan/Europe, but still the same box.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 12 2006, 12:33 AM) [snapback]253984[/snapback]</div>

Duh, maybe because the first post, the one that started this thread, spoke of "wobbling."

That was before we were enlightened that the Prius doesn't handle like a 330 with a sport suspension....

I'm glad we agree.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NuShrike @ May 12 2006, 12:50 AM) [snapback]253988[/snapback]</div>

It seems it has gotten a bit better in the US too.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ May 11 2006, 09:59 PM) [snapback]253857[/snapback]</div>

Good point about handling being subjective. I fly airplanes and sail sailboats, and the same arguments persist there. Some people want twitchy racing boats, others sturdy blue-water cruisers. Some want an aerobatic aircraft, others want to go cross country with speed and comfort. And while we are on the topic of being subjective, a sailboat going 7 kts feels faster than a jet at 20,000 feet.

Tom

 

I have been following this thread, and finally had to add my $.02. I have nopt had any handling probkems with my pri. (05 salsa red). I have about 9500 miles with all kinds of driving, up to about 85 mph. I bought the BT brace as well as the rear spoiler. I did install the spoiler and removed it after about 2 months. I didn't see any difference in the handling, and the ends kept popping up away from the glass, which made it look wierd. I have not installed the BT brace yet, but will do so when I change the oil, in about a week.

I bought this car for the cool technology, the mpg and the look of the car. I think if anyone wants a car that handles like a sports car, they should buy a sports car. If they want one that handles like a Caddy, they should buy one of those. I guess that what I am trying to say, is it is unrealistic to expect something from an item that it wasn't designed to produce. In addition, we allperceive things differently.

Again just my 2 cents.

 

is it possible the handling problems are only for pre-06 priuses?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(electricity_guzzler @ May 12 2006, 06:34 AM) [snapback]254044[/snapback]</div>

The 06 may be better, but far from perfect. It's taken a me a while to get used to is after the Subaru. The BT brace and better tires have helped. It's not as vague now, but still a little quirky and the steering is kinda dead. But it's not bad either. My wife loves it. We get into her Odyssey now and it feels like a tank.

 

I just completed a 3300km roadtrip just for the sake of driving and thinking. I went from Vancouver, BC to about 100km into the Saskatchewan border. I wanted to go to Regina, but Saskatchewan was way too boring. I met with many road conditions, and I have to say, I am quite satisfied with the way the Prius handled at any speed.

I have the BT brace, and it came in very handy. The route through BC is very mountainous and twisty. Cornering was excellent. I took the turns at 50% above the recommended speed and the Prius did extremely well. It didn't handle the really strong winds that I met with on the wide open highways on the mountains and the prairies, but then again, other cars weren't doing phenomenal either. When there was less wind in the prairies, I took it up to the max speed of 170km/h and it felt fine. It felt the same as going 80km/h except you know that one mistake will wreck you.

In BC, north of Princeton, there is 45km private, gravel road. That was a true test of the VSC. It was pretty twisty and I took it at brisk pace. I could feel the individual braking as I took the corners. Understeer and oversteer had no meaning thanks to VSC. I activated the warning beep once when i tried to fish tail the car just to see how it would react.

It's still not a handling beast like my old car, but with the BT brace, it's getting there. Once my TRD and Tom's suspension pieces arrive, I'll go on another trip through BC to give it a good test.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fastlane @ May 11 2006, 05:54 PM) [snapback]253743[/snapback]</div>

What is more irresponsible? Simply put, you're actions. You created the situation, you initiated the situation by choosing to draft a vehicle. Maybe he saw an object in the road and broke hard for that? Maybe he thought he saw an object in the road and was mistaken. In any event, should you two have collided, you would've been at fault, no ifs, ands or buts. If the collision had brought about any legal proceedings, your argument about who is more irresponsible would be laughed at. Almost any time a person hits a car ahead of them, they get cited with a failure to control or some other similar moving violation.
Your terminology also belies your arrogance. There wouldn't have been an "accident" there would've been a collision, which you caused, period.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jonlink @ May 12 2006, 12:46 PM) [snapback]254189[/snapback]</div>

bite me
but thanks DAD for the input on my responsibilty...

oh yeah, i may be wrong, but i am almost certain that slamming on your brakes on the freeway for no reason is actually illegal and would have put the corvette guy at fault had there been a "collision."

peace