I just had to rent one to see what the big deal is. So today, I rented a 2008 Toyota Prius from Zipcar for a quick run to the airport.
The driving position is pretty good. Plenty of room for my 5'10" 175lb frame. The electric motor has enough torque to allow for quick acceleration from a stop, but only to about 40 mph (it runs out of steam after that). There's enough power for passing, but despite the torquey electric motor, it isn't much better than your typical 4-cyl family sedan. This is probably due to the limitations of a small gasoline engine. The small engine struggles and has to rev to a high RPM in order to maintain speed on inclines. The NVH characteristics of the drivetrain are not up to the usual Toyota standards, however. But the CVT is smooth (no shudder) and I was barely able to discern the transition between the gasoline and electric motors.
I drove from Santa Cruz, CA, to San Jose, CA. Most of the trip was spent on Highway 17. The mileage on the return trip to Santa Cruz was slightly less than the mileage on the trip to San Jose. When I arrived at the San Jose airport, the on-board computer was showing a 52.4 mpg average, but by the time I returned the car in Santa Cruz, it was down to 48.0 mpg. 48.0 mpg was the overall fuel economy for the entire 70 mile trip. However, if you use this car for in-town driving, its mileage is phenomenal. When I picked up the car, I had to drive it to the gas station (more on that later). For the several miles that I drove it in town, I was averaging over 60 mpg. I wasn't utilizing any special hypermiling techniques aside from gentle to moderate acceleration.
Nevertheless, as I noted earlier, I had to fill-up the gas tank as the digital fuel gauge was only showing 3 bars remaining. (10 bars indicates a full tank) So I pulled up to the Chevron, stuck in the nozzle and walked away to peek around under the hood. After about a minute, the pump had already stopped. 5.8 gallons was all that the pump was able to put in. Twice, I tried to manually add more fuel, but alas, no luck. I was puzzled. The gauge was showing 3 bars left (30%), yet the tank is supposed to hold 12 gallons. I was expecting to put in at least 8 gallons. I heard that the Prius uses a flexible bladder fuel tank and the amount you can put in depends on the ambient temperature? It was about 50F out FWIW. Not sure what was the problem here?
Anyway, the Prius impressed me in some ways and disappointed me in others. Its refinement isn't up to the usual Toyota standards. The gasoline engine is loud and buzzy. Its handling is terrible, but this is probably due to the GY Integrity tires. On the other hand, it can return very good mileage as long as you drive it responsibly. So would I buy it? I don't know. I'd prefer something that handles a bit better and has a bit more power. Perhaps the Camry Hybrid would be a better choice for me if I was in the market for a hybrid.
The driving position is pretty good. Plenty of room for my 5'10" 175lb frame. The electric motor has enough torque to allow for quick acceleration from a stop, but only to about 40 mph (it runs out of steam after that). There's enough power for passing, but despite the torquey electric motor, it isn't much better than your typical 4-cyl family sedan. This is probably due to the limitations of a small gasoline engine. The small engine struggles and has to rev to a high RPM in order to maintain speed on inclines. The NVH characteristics of the drivetrain are not up to the usual Toyota standards, however. But the CVT is smooth (no shudder) and I was barely able to discern the transition between the gasoline and electric motors.
I drove from Santa Cruz, CA, to San Jose, CA. Most of the trip was spent on Highway 17. The mileage on the return trip to Santa Cruz was slightly less than the mileage on the trip to San Jose. When I arrived at the San Jose airport, the on-board computer was showing a 52.4 mpg average, but by the time I returned the car in Santa Cruz, it was down to 48.0 mpg. 48.0 mpg was the overall fuel economy for the entire 70 mile trip. However, if you use this car for in-town driving, its mileage is phenomenal. When I picked up the car, I had to drive it to the gas station (more on that later). For the several miles that I drove it in town, I was averaging over 60 mpg. I wasn't utilizing any special hypermiling techniques aside from gentle to moderate acceleration.
Nevertheless, as I noted earlier, I had to fill-up the gas tank as the digital fuel gauge was only showing 3 bars remaining. (10 bars indicates a full tank) So I pulled up to the Chevron, stuck in the nozzle and walked away to peek around under the hood. After about a minute, the pump had already stopped. 5.8 gallons was all that the pump was able to put in. Twice, I tried to manually add more fuel, but alas, no luck. I was puzzled. The gauge was showing 3 bars left (30%), yet the tank is supposed to hold 12 gallons. I was expecting to put in at least 8 gallons. I heard that the Prius uses a flexible bladder fuel tank and the amount you can put in depends on the ambient temperature? It was about 50F out FWIW. Not sure what was the problem here?
Anyway, the Prius impressed me in some ways and disappointed me in others. Its refinement isn't up to the usual Toyota standards. The gasoline engine is loud and buzzy. Its handling is terrible, but this is probably due to the GY Integrity tires. On the other hand, it can return very good mileage as long as you drive it responsibly. So would I buy it? I don't know. I'd prefer something that handles a bit better and has a bit more power. Perhaps the Camry Hybrid would be a better choice for me if I was in the market for a hybrid.
