F1technical.net

Not quite Formula 1 related, but anyone who knows a Prius driver will appreciate this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKfnyKGh ... BD&index=1

I'm fortunate enough to knot now a single Prius owner/driver/leaser!

The video is gone. I've had just one test drive in Prius a while ago, but I can't say I'm thrilled, it's just not me.
Happy for people who are happy with it.

What was the video about?

My old work had three as pool cars for the company (gen2 versions).... have to say, it wasn't exactly difficult to get the mpg into single digits, and I think they barely averaged better than 30mpg. The CVT gearbox was weird, and one (admitadly James May esque) was seeing how far you could drive it on electric only, without triggering the engine... not easy given if you accelerate too hard it trips in, and if you went over 40...

Still wouldn't touch one with a barge pole personally!

My better half has had two as company cars, and now has the Auris hybrid which is basically the same thing underneath.

Thrashing it seemed to return no less than 40mpg, and it would cruise all day at 80mph and 60mpg. Plus the drivetrain meant it was VERY quick off the line (but lost that advantage quite quickly afterwards). Plus it was comfy, quiet, well specced and well made.

I wouldn't want to own one myself though, for a myriad of reasons.

I drove one for 3 years and about 77,000. It IS spacious and comfortable. But it also has no soul, especially when compared to my my Miata! It was a good enough car, but I started having anxiety about replacing the battery, had a mechanical issue that the dealer refused to fix until I went straight to Toyota and pointed out the part that broke was covered under the federal 10/100.000 emissions warranty. And it had one quirk that really made me dislike driving the car. When starting from rest, if there was ANY sand or loose surface within 7 cubits, the traction control system would kick in and depower the car completely. It would take two or three heartbeats before it would deign to accelerate again.

Not the kind of thing you want to have happen when there is a Peterbilt bearing down on you.

I live in New England. In the winter, fuel mileage dropped into the mid 30's Or about what I get with the Civic I drive now. Over 77,000 miles, I averaged about 43 mpg. That's good. But not good enough to put up with the car's quirks, the goofy CVT transmission and the non-customer friendly attitude of my local Toyoter dealer. :-"

Yes, and it's not my cup of tea

is the hybrid thing catching on, or has it stalled ?
sincerely, it seems to me that the new F1 rules will generate a continuous marketing effect towards (expensive and Euro-centered?) sort-of-hybrid cars for car enthusiasts
relaunching/repositioning

any views ?

reminding myself that UK Priuses get more mpg than US ones because the UK gallon is bigger

The main drive for hybrid cars is in the supercar field.
It is being pushed by world regulations on CO2.
Car makers with large engines have got to compromise or lose sales.

IMO 2014 will open the market further down in less expensive cars.
However hybrids in the lower market segment will not be as cost effective.
EVs will eventualy fill that segment and then work up rather than down.

MOWOG wrote:But it also has no soul, especially when compared to my my Miata!

My Mk1 MX-5 (Miata) had soul. My Mk2.5 is just a dull, modern car in comparison. The Mk3 is better in some ways than the Mk2, and worse in some ways than the Mk1, but averages out as similarly dull to the Mk2.

Actually I rode in a Prius taxi and was unimpressed with the interior, it just felt cheap and "dead". And I don't think I would ever have one, as I would prefer a clean turbo diesel (i love dat torque!)

mx_tifoso wrote:Actually I rode in a Prius taxi and was unimpressed with the interior, it just felt cheap and "dead". And I don't think I would ever have one, as I would prefer a clean turbo diesel (i love dat torque!)

So did I, it's called "Green Taxi" ... the price is worth just because of the free Wi-Fi inside (custom made), but the interior quality, look and feel is, well, below average.
The driver was way too careful not to kick the throttle and it was monitoring the consumption every two seconds instead of watching the road.