This is not a biggie, but having owned an '04 for two years, I know I won't find very much to comment on with my '06. The variable-ratio power steering acts as it's supposed to: less effort to turn the wheel at low speeds, more effort at higher. BUT, yumpin' yiminy, this steering is TIGHT at 60 mph and above. Most cars I've had, when cruising an almost-straight road, you can sit back and hang an index finger over the bottom of the wheel, or even a pinkie, and it'll fairly easily turn to allow you to make minor steering corrections. Not this baby!. It's harder to turn at 60 than any car I've ever had (including my '04). It's even a little too hard to turn at low speeds in traffic for my taste. If I remember, most American cars I had had too much "free play" in the steering AND took almost no effort to turn, which can be scary at high speeds when you especially don't want to overcorrect. But this car is too much the other way. Anyone else?
the tightness of the steering was impressive to me and this is what i attributed to the many people who posted that the car was unstable at higher speeds. i am pretty much used to it by now and i like it. my car on flat road will track for up to 30 seconds at a time without touching the steering wheel at all. not that i recommend this, its actually pretty stupid thing to do, but on a few long cruises, i would see how little i needed to adjust the wheel and i was impressed that i could make very small adjustments to where i would slowly drift to one side or the other...
the tightness of the steering was impressive to me and this is what i attributed to the many people who posted that the car was unstable at higher speeds. i am pretty much used to it by now and i like it. my car on flat road will track for up to 30 seconds at a time without touching the steering wheel at all. not that i recommend this, its actually pretty stupid thing to do, but on a few long cruises, i would see how little i needed to adjust the wheel and i was impressed that i could make very small adjustments to where i would slowly drift to one side or the other...
I like the "feel" of my Prius steering. I like the fact that it makes the car feel very precise and sporty.
Thats funny.. I heard other complain it was too loose? Its tighter than I"m used to, but its very precise... just like a video game.. you have to get used to it, then you will prefer it over the loose feel.
My 1994 Camry is ideal. The Prius is a bit too responsive for my taste. You adjust to it in a matter of days, however. Nate
Too bad there's not some iron clad liability release available. Pay $500 and get a computer software and a cable that connects your laptop to the Prius. From there, you can adjust all this stuff. You know it's all parameters and default settings. Someone at Toyota is out driving the car... adjusting tolerances in software and driving again... With something like that, you could wire up the controller for your xbox and get rid of the brake, gas pedals and steering wheel.
