The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry • Hacker News Board

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#131

Post by mplanchard » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 7:48 PM UTC

Alex3917 wrote: post #39

gcanyon wrote: post #19

The new Prius is really good-looking (to my eye at least), especially in person: I don't think the photos (I've seen) do it justice. Fun comparisons to the car Burt Reynolds drove in Smokey and the Bandit: Compared to the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am: - The Prius is as fast 0-60 (~7 seconds) - The Prius has nearly the same top speed (~115 mph) - The Prius is 4x(!) as fuel-efficient (57mpg vs. 12-16mpg) - The Prius has all t…

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…

I own a Prius and live in Vermont. It does just fine with snow and ice. As others have pointed out, proper snow tires make a huge difference, way more than any car tech. I also think the newer models have AWD as an option.

To defrost, you can just turn the car on, switch out of EV mode, and turn on the defroster. It works like every other car.

The rear window visibility is not the best. I do agree there.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#132

Post by loeg » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 7:48 PM UTC

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…

I wish Toyota would make enough Siennas to satisfy demand. Instead, there's are long wait lists at dealers.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#133

Post by mplanchard » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 7:50 PM UTC

sandoze wrote: post #108

I know all cars can’t be perfect but as a 2010 Prius owner (I probably shouldn’t complain given it’s 15 years old) it has had several well documented issues that never prompted a recall. I was hit with a bad oil gasket that causes the engine to burn oil. It’s so much work to replace their solution is to replace the entire engine. My solution is to keep putting oil in it. I was told by the dealer this is common over 7…

FWIW they have adopted carplay. I have a 2019 prius prime, which was I think the last year before they swapped over. My neighbor has a 2024 model, and it has resolved my two main complaints about my car, in that it has carplay and they have three seats in the back now instead of two.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#134

Post by brianbest101 » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 7:51 PM UTC

sandoze wrote: post #108

I know all cars can’t be perfect but as a 2010 Prius owner (I probably shouldn’t complain given it’s 15 years old) it has had several well documented issues that never prompted a recall. I was hit with a bad oil gasket that causes the engine to burn oil. It’s so much work to replace their solution is to replace the entire engine. My solution is to keep putting oil in it. I was told by the dealer this is common over 7…

Good news! They have CarPlay on all their vehicles now

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#135

Post by blacksmith_tb » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 7:51 PM UTC

rssoconnor wrote: post #71

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…

> - No way to defrost your windshield, unless you're already driving I have a 2022 Prius Prime, and I am moderately sure with the car on and in park I can press the front window defrost button, and the ICE will turn on and start blowing hot air on the front window. Also, while parked and plugged in at home, I can use the remote A/C button to start heating the cabin and front windshield while clearing off snow and cle…

Can confirm, I have a 2017 Prius Prime, I keep it set to prefer all-EV driving, but I just got in and turned on the defroster to melt some frost off the windshield, it switches on the ICE engine. My only complaint is that it is not terribly smart about turning it back off during the same session of driving, if I turn off the defrost. I think in theory the heat pump would be able to provide the heat to do the job, but it'd use the charge in the traction battery up quickly...

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#136

Post by miohtama » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

gcanyon wrote: post #19

The new Prius is really good-looking (to my eye at least), especially in person: I don't think the photos (I've seen) do it justice. Fun comparisons to the car Burt Reynolds drove in Smokey and the Bandit: Compared to the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am: - The Prius is as fast 0-60 (~7 seconds) - The Prius has nearly the same top speed (~115 mph) - The Prius is 4x(!) as fuel-efficient (57mpg vs. 12-16mpg) - The Prius has all t…

But

- Does not look as cool

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#137

Post by mplanchard » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

tzs wrote: post #66

CharlieDigital wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 IC…

We had this situation when we lived in a big city, before we moved somewhere that we drive longer distances regularly. We’d often go over a year without filling up. The engine runs occasionally to keep the gas from going stale, and in the winter the engine will kick on for the defroster. We never had any issues with it, and still have the car now.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#138

Post by smitelli » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 8:02 PM UTC

recursive wrote: post #104

hammock wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn’t sound as cool though. Maybe the Mustang team was onto something when they were playing supplementary fake engine sounds in the cabin speakers

Will people always think vroom vroom sounds cool? As far as I'm concerned, we can't get rid of it soon enough. When I rent an ICE car, I'm always annoyed by the engine revving sounds.

I mean, I’m not really a fan of the spaceship whine that the newest Honda CR-V models put out in electric mode. It’s going to be hard to please everybody on this planet.

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#139

Post by mitthrowaway2 » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 8:08 PM UTC

hammock wrote: post #100

gcanyon wrote: post #19

The new Prius is really good-looking (to my eye at least), especially in person: I don't think the photos (I've seen) do it justice. Fun comparisons to the car Burt Reynolds drove in Smokey and the Bandit: Compared to the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am: - The Prius is as fast 0-60 (~7 seconds) - The Prius has nearly the same top speed (~115 mph) - The Prius is 4x(!) as fuel-efficient (57mpg vs. 12-16mpg) - The Prius has all t…

Doesn’t sound as cool though. Maybe the Mustang team was onto something when they were playing supplementary fake engine sounds in the cabin speakers

Could you imagine if the Ford Model T had coconuts installed to mimic the sound of a horse's feet?

Re: The Toyota Prius transformed the auto industry

#140

Post by usrusr » Sat, Jan 18, 2025, 8:12 PM UTC

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…

I would not call a CVT "not a gearbox". Were Audis equipped with their multitronic option (not in any way related to hybrid or BEV) "cars without a gearbox"?