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The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

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Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#61

Post by janetmissed »

dtgriscom wrote: post #48
Alex3917 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problems with the Prius are basically: - Terrible in snow and ice - No way to defrost your windshield, unless you're already driving - Poor rear window visibility If not for those things it would be great, but unfortunately they've made zero progress on fixing any of the core issues for the last 25 years. The new models definitely do look cooler, and I appreciate that they accelerate faster, but I personally care…

> Terrible in snow and ice Are they worse than most front-drive cars? (And what about compared with a Trans Am?) > No way to defrost your windshield, unless you're already driving I've wondered about that. The Prius still gets its cabin heating from the ICE? > Poor rear window visibility Agree completely.

My experience with a prius in the north east was that it wasn't particularly bad in ice and snow and the few times I got caught in snowstorms it handled about as well as any front wheel drive car. I certainly wouldn't go out into a snowstorm with it if I had the choice, but thats true of almost any non-awd drive. The windshield defrosting situation was also a non issue for me.

Man I miss my prius, I sold it when gas was under $2...

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#62

Post by bison3 »

I love my Prius. What amazes me about the car is how “idiot-proof” or “smart” it is. I try my best to hypermile and squeeze out every last MPG, while my wife doesn’t make any effort to baby it—and yet, we both consistently get about 57 MPG combined. The car adapts to how you drive it, which is really impressive.

I think Toyota deserves as much credit as Apple for its “it just works” ethos. The way they design the technology to be seamless and work so well behind the scenes is remarkable. Additionally, many Toyota mechanics consider the Prius to be the most reliable car Toyota makes. This often surprises people because of the perceived complexity of hybrids, but in reality, they are elegantly engineered and surprisingly simple.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#63

Post by jgilias »

Tade0 wrote: post #44
jgilias wrote: post #36

I sometimes chuckle that most of the cool Lexuses are now Priuses under the hood! But that’s a good thing. I own a Toyota Corolla hybrid myself, and hybrids are one of those things that I can say I’ve completely changed my mind about. I used to dislike the idea of hybrids, because I assumed that the overall system complexity must be higher than either an ICE, or an EV. And I’m a sucker for simple systems, so I though…

For the reason you stated in the last paragraph I eventually opted against getting a Hyundai Ioniq in favour of a Toyota. The Hyundai felt like driving a regular automatic, so it would occasionally lunge awkwardly and spin the engine in situations where Toyotas switch to EV mode. Sure it had better fuel economy, but I can't stand having a car not react immediately to my input or make noise when it shouldn't.

To be fair, it did take some time for me to get used to how a hybrid sounds. It’s fine when not driving aggressively. When you floor it though, it does feel weird when the engine jumps to the highest safe revs and stays there. That’s a small price to pay for reliability and smooth power delivery though.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#64

Post by lwhsiao »

jgilias wrote: post #36

I sometimes chuckle that most of the cool Lexuses are now Priuses under the hood! But that’s a good thing. I own a Toyota Corolla hybrid myself, and hybrids are one of those things that I can say I’ve completely changed my mind about. I used to dislike the idea of hybrids, because I assumed that the overall system complexity must be higher than either an ICE, or an EV. And I’m a sucker for simple systems, so I though…

Naive question: aren't belts lower maintenance than chains, and don't let last longer? Why doesn't a engine with a chain drive require equal or more replacements?

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#65

Post by Toutouxc »

fortran77 wrote: post #60
Toutouxc wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? It’s a hybrid, by definition, always has been. What is it exactly that you think confused the market?

[flagged]

Yes, the word “hybrid” itself doesn’t say anything about the power source. Maybe you’re thinking of “plug-in hybrid”?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_hybrid

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#66

Post by tzs »

CharlieDigital wrote: post #10
blackoil wrote: post #4

Hope Toyota get their mojo back for EVs.

I'm kinda OK with them just dominating hybrids; especially plugins. I own a 2024 Prius Prime (PHEV) and the setup works great. No range anxiety, no special charging infra (I just plug in on a normal 120v overnight). I got the car in Feb 24 and maybe pumped gas a total of 8 times? If I didn't make two longer trips, it would have been 6. But also, the power output is pretty great and an upgrade over the hybrid only mod…

How well do Prius Primes (or other PHEVs) handle long periods where one's daily mileage is well under the EV mode range and one is able to charge at home every night? I think it has been 5+ years since I've driven more than 25 miles in a day and even longer since I was away from home overnight.

I've read ICEs can have problems if you go too long without running them. Will the Prime's software automatically run the ICE on occasion to keep it in good shape?

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#67

Post by MindSpunk »

dtgriscom wrote: post #45
jgilias wrote: post #36

I sometimes chuckle that most of the cool Lexuses are now Priuses under the hood! But that’s a good thing. I own a Toyota Corolla hybrid myself, and hybrids are one of those things that I can say I’ve completely changed my mind about. I used to dislike the idea of hybrids, because I assumed that the overall system complexity must be higher than either an ICE, or an EV. And I’m a sucker for simple systems, so I though…

Not a challenge, but a plea: where's your source(s) for this? I'm about where you were, but would love to know more about the internals so I can make an informed choice when my current (ICE) car dies.

The wikipedia page is quite in depth [0] but is quite dense and took me a few goes to understand. They're fascinating to understand, and they really are mechanically simpler than a standard ICE + gearbox drive line. I got nerd sniped one day figuring out how my Toyota Crown "gearbox" worked only to discover it doesn't really have one. They don't even have a real neutral gear, the wheels are always mechanically linked to the engine.

They require much more active computer control to work though so they aren't logically simpler in my opinion, but mechanical simplicity is what makes the biggest difference.

There are certainly better more approachable sources though so I leave this as an option as the info is there, but can take a moment to understand.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Synergy_Drive

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#69

Post by isignal »

sobriquet9 wrote: post #50
wat10000 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’ll typically add 50 miles of range overnight, which is more than the average person drives in a day. That’s not minimal. Unpredictability is buffered by the large battery. You can drive 200 miles one day then slowly fill it back up. Fast chargers can be a backup for the occasional times it’s not enough. Why would there be an issue with selling it used when doing this?

Nobody is interested in used EVs, therefore resale values are very low.

Resale values are lower in US because they factor in the 7.5k USD tax credit and the state tax credit mostly, there is plenty of demand for used teslas for example.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#70

Post by jessekv »

dtgriscom wrote: post #45
jgilias wrote: post #36

I sometimes chuckle that most of the cool Lexuses are now Priuses under the hood! But that’s a good thing. I own a Toyota Corolla hybrid myself, and hybrids are one of those things that I can say I’ve completely changed my mind about. I used to dislike the idea of hybrids, because I assumed that the overall system complexity must be higher than either an ICE, or an EV. And I’m a sucker for simple systems, so I though…

Not a challenge, but a plea: where's your source(s) for this? I'm about where you were, but would love to know more about the internals so I can make an informed choice when my current (ICE) car dies.

An accessible video that builds up the design intuitively from first-principals using a 3d model. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_xCssR8qQI
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