Speaking of the Prius... Real world expierence.

[Notlaker]

I understand all the advantages of a hybrid with city driving.
What I am trying to understand is the fact that some salespeople will try to tell you that you will get better mileage right after you tell them that 99% of your driving is at constant highway speeds.
I would thing that if all you do is drive on highways then the extra weight of the hybrid system will cost you mileage.

 

[milkman]

I understand all the advantages of a hybrid with city driving.
What I am trying to understand is the fact that some salespeople will try to tell you that you will get better mileage right after you tell them that 99% of your driving is at constant highway speeds.
I would thing that if all you do is drive on highways then the extra weight of the hybrid system will cost you mileage.

The Honda Fit weighs 500# less than the Prius, yet the Honda is rated 28/35 city/hwy mpg. The Prius is rated 51/48 city/hwy mpg. The Prius weighs more yet gets better mpg, so how is the extra weight of the hybrid system costing mileage?

 

[two_bit_score]

The Prius is rated 51/48 city/hwy mpg.

:confused3::confused3::confused3:

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Whether it's the first ten miles of your trip or not doesn't matter to a Prius. You stomp on the gas and/or mash the power button, the gas engine is going to kick in to provide the added ooomfff. Actually, the Prius power system is a pretty close parallel to the diesel-electric setup that locomotives use. The engine(s) drive the generators, the generators supply power to the drive wheels.

I was talking with some of the guys on the shop floor a couple months ago. Toyota sells the Prius with tires optimized for road handling, not durability. A softer rubber grips the road better so you can speed through those turns without sliding off the road. The downside is that soft rubber wears faster; so you have to replace them more often. I get about 50 to 60K out of the tires I run on my Sentra. Just have to wait and see how the wife's Prius tires wear.

 

[Notlaker]

The Honda Fit weighs 500# less than the Prius, yet the Honda is rated 28/35 city/hwy mpg. The Prius is rated 51/48 city/hwy mpg. The Prius weighs more yet gets better mpg, so how is the extra weight of the hybrid system costing mileage?

You misunderstood my question.
I am not questioning the fact that the Prius gets good mileage. I am questioning the fact that a salesperson said that the hybrid system gives you better mileage if you are only doing highway driving. It is my understanding that the hybrid system is of no advantage if all you do is highway driving. Hence, if you took the hybrid system out of the Prius you will get still better mileage if you do only highway driving.

 

[troutsqueezer]

You misunderstood my question.
I am not questioning the fact that the Prius gets good mileage. I am questioning the fact that a salesperson said that the hybrid system gives you better mileage if you are only doing highway driving. It is my understanding that the hybrid system is of no advantage if all you do is highway driving. Hence, if you took the hybrid system out of the Prius you will get still better mileage if you do only highway driving.

The electric motor is still in the loop at freeway speeds so having a hybrid is still an advantage.

This may not apply to you but there are some who think the electric motor powers the car up until around 30 mph or so then the gas engine takes over. That's not the way it works. Both motors are in constant use at any speed. You can take off from a dead stop using only electric but you have to accelerate really slow, then you would hold up traffic.

 

[DarkBlack]

You misunderstood my question.
I am not questioning the fact that the Prius gets good mileage. I am questioning the fact that a salesperson said that the hybrid system gives you better mileage if you are only doing highway driving. It is my understanding that the hybrid system is of no advantage if all you do is highway driving. Hence, if you took the hybrid system out of the Prius you will get still better mileage if you do only highway driving.

I get what you are saying.
Also don't forget, hybrids get to "cheat" the MPG advertising law, by allowing a pre-charged battery to discharge, helping the gas engine MPG's.
This of course requires plugging it in to an outlet that may be fed by a coal fired electric plant, and this isn't factored in. The city part of the City/HWY MPG sticker wouldn't look so pretty if they had to play fair and start with a discharged battery.

 

[cqaigy2]

My sister had a 2006. She drove that thing hard for over 200k. One of the power sliding doors needed fixing so they traded it in. Her's was an awd limited. I'm sure if you asked her she would have nothing but great things to say about it. Never had anything more than routine maintenance done to it. But with her kids going off to college she didn't need that much room.

My sister has a 2006 too. She fixed the door though. Her youngest son says he want the van when he gets his driver's license. I expressed my surprise that a young guy would want a van for his first car. He said he has great memories of growing up in the van. :laughing:

I've driven it a few times and was surprised at how well it handled, very easy to drive, park etc. If i needed a van, i'd probably buy one.

 

[cqaigy2]

ok all u Prius owners, I got a question... do these cars come with a little invention called CRUISE CONTROL?? I got behind one just today, freakin pos would slow down 5-10 mph on every hill, causing me to have to let off the throttle and hit the brakes going up hill in a 70 mph zone! VERY frustrating. Its not the first time i have witnessed this with the Prius. Im about to decide that instead of watching the road or the speedometer, all the Prius drivers are watching some "fuel savings" idiot indicator screen on the dash!.

I drive a ford ranger so i know it has a cruise control, and i followed another ford ranger driving just as you described, only difference between us is i was carrying a fairly heavy load and the truck in front of me was empty. Ticked me off having to bleed my speed off while going up hill.

 

[milkman]

I get what you are saying.
Also don't forget, hybrids get to "cheat" the MPG advertising law, by allowing a pre-charged battery to discharge, helping the gas engine MPG's.
This of course requires plugging it in to an outlet that may be fed by a coal fired electric plant, and this isn't factored in. The city part of the City/HWY MPG sticker wouldn't look so pretty if they had to play fair and start with a discharged battery.

Wrong Wrong Wrong, do some more research, plug in only applies to the Plug in Prius, which is sorta similar to the Volt. The regular hybrid doesn't plug in and is not like the diesel electric locomotives either, the locomotive has no storage battery, the diesel generates electricity that is sent to the drive motors. The Prius uses a combination of gas engine and battery with electric motors. Keep working on it, but be careful, you might get sucked in..:thumbsup: