So I'm sitting at a light and a Mustang revs on me...

That's not true. Mashing the pedal to the floor in eco mode will not yield the same acceleration if you were to mash the pedal in power mode. It's not as simple as a remapping of the throttle curve. There are obviously other factors involved. The engine and motor can combine to generate significantly more torque in power mode than when in eco mode. At the very least power mode has less restrictions on engine revolutions than eco mode.

 

This directly translates into how the car handles though. It will be faster earlier in your gas pedal depression. More power, earlier equals faster speed, earlier. Not to mention the fact that it simply feels tons more responsive in power mode.

If you watch this video, they actually show a graph of the different modes, screen grab:



Fast forward to about 16 minutes:

Power mode translates to more torque.

 

ok so we need to use the correct terminology.. "how it handles" and how it accelerates is different. i took it as you thought the suspension and other factors were involved.

 

At a stop, when the light turns green, most vehicles will spin their tires for a while, as their tires fling snow and slush around. Before their vehicles slowly start to accelerate.

In ECO, there is a lot more hesitation, in this process. As compared to using PWR.

When turning at an intersection, nearly all rear-wheel drive vehicles will fish-tail. Most pickup trucks will fishtail twice, once in the turn to get out into the lane, and a second time from the over-correcting. In ECO I have seen that my turn radius is much wider, pushing through piles of slush. But in PWR my turn radius is tighter.

 

I apologize for in-correct use for terms.

 

I honestly hate that. Big power mustangs and V8s look down on us for having a prius. I really don't care as I have a 400hp sitting in my garage. I was making a U-turn and and a Ford lightning was giving me a thumbs down. Why? Because he drives a lightning. If I had my Evolution, it would have been a different story. I also hate it when these big turbo diesels purposely floor it next to my car and blow there nasty soot all over my Prius. Hahaha. Oh well, $30 a month in gas ain't bad.

 

One day there will be no more fossil fuel based personal vehicles on the road... and on that day a million rednecks will realize: it's over!

 

Nah, they'll be running on moonshine or something.

SCH-I535

 

It won't be over, put a camper on the back a the truck becomes their new living quarters.

 

I was driving my wife around in her new Honda Fit over the weekend and I was accused of hot rodding her new car. The accelerator in the Fit is a bit more sensitive than the Prius in normal mode.

 

This is fantastic! I love this story

 

its a great tale and it is great when with the electric motor you can antagonize them for just those few seconds or so of beating them off the line.

 

W

What's wrong with the Integra? I drove mine to work all last week. I have to drive it often to keep everything working. Still runs great. I'm still on the original clutch approaching 160K miles!

 

My other half's daily driver is an '89 Integra hatchback, 190k. While a bit less than perfect, it still runs quite well, she refuses to give it up no matter how far behind the modern safety curve it has become.

BTW, my household has never had to replace a clutch on any manual transmission car, including past ones kept to 130k, 130k, 235k and 175k. Though that first one was showing hints of not lasting much longer.

 

Unfortunately I've been in similar situations where people need to remind you they are driving a more powerful machine - in terms of raw horsepower and torque. Since my days of owning an SUV, my driving habits have not changed, in fact I am probably driving faster due to my previous hesitancy to punch the gas in my gas draining SUV, although I definitely notice more drivers being openly aggressive towards me. From tailgating, to approaching quickly then tailgating, to cutting me off on the freeway regardless if I'm going 10+ over the speed limit, owning a Prius has been a test to my patience. Heck, even today I was driving down the hill next to my house and a Mercedes sedan pulled up on me (I was going 5+ over the speed limit, 40 in a 35 side road). The driver was intent on showing me I was going to slow by tailing me then swerving in their lane to indicate they were bored, of if they had bigger balls then they'd pass me. As I pulled into my neighborhood they wailed on their horn.

I've learned to take a few deep breathes and keep driving.

 

Sports cars

A lot of these people are just jealous. They know they have cars which are totally painful at the gas pump, so the only thing they can do is act out. Next time, pull out your wallet and wave it at them, smiling.

 

It's just the same mentality here in the UK, plonkers are everywhere when it comes to the attitude to Prii. That PWR button is about the best thing Toyota put on the GenIII. Like most posters above I use it mainly for overtaking and boosting speed on hills, motorways etc. I have the occasional laugh at lights when a car that has been tailgating you pulls up at the side of you intending to blow you away when they change. In most cases, they drop back to tailgating again when they can't get in front of you! lol