[car fanatics]

Car Fanatics
Photo: Copyright 2012 Vic Handa / Car Fanatics Forum
July 4, 2012
By: Michael Stuart

More than any other car, with the possible exception of the Volt, the Prius has taken a beating from many enthusiasts for what it represents. Comments, often with a startling amount of vitriol, range from 'You'd be an idiot to buy it,' 'It'll never recoup the added cost with the savings in fuel,' 'It's for eco-nerds and it won't even save the planet because of its manufacturing process.' I've even seen the finger pointed at Canada due to the environmental damage done in the Sudbury area caused by mining the nickel which may or may not find its way into the nickel metal hydride battery. It would seem these arguments are falling on deaf ears for those in the market for hybrids as millions have now been sold.

The 'as tested' price of this car was just over $35,000 Canadian. If you keep away from the options, however, you can manage to get one for around $27,000 Canadian. This dramatically undercuts all the plug ins available in the market at the moment.

The buyers of these cars have their own very personal reasons for shelling out the money necessary to get one, so in my review I hope to shed some light on how the car performs in terms of the driving experience and efficiency and we'll just let the haters do their own thing shall we?

Exterior

The Prius V (V stands for Versatility) is essentially a station wagon variant of the original Prius. In other markets it's sold with a third row seat but for the North American market they've left the third row out.

The shape created by this change is a bit like a Prius that's been puffed full of air. The station wagon treatment adds about 250 lbs of curb weight to the vehicle, but still weighs in at a svelte 3,273lbs. While it may not be particularly pleasing to the eye, the 'drop of water' shape yields a drag coefficient of .29 - this is Corvette territory - in a station wagon. This is a mighty impressive feat of engineering and represents 'function over form.'

It's marked prominently as a hybrid, right down to the 'blue treatment' of the Toyota symbol. As such you'll be able to flaunt your stewardship to the environment while zipping around in this somewhat futuristic looking wagon. It did get its share of looks while silently navigating parking lots in full EV mode.

Interior

What results from Toyotas decision to keep this as a two row wagon is an almost limo like back seat with enormous leg and head room and a rear seat which can be slid forward and back to either give more legroom or more cargo room depending on your need. The cabin, front and back, is spacious and comfortable if a bit plain and 'sea of grey.'

The 'Versatility' really comes into play when you fold the rear seats down to reveal a segment best 67 cubic feet of cargo room. This thing could easily serve light contracting duties while still being very stingy on the fuel usage.

Where I'll dock the car some points is in the very odd setup of the instruments and dash. This car has a centre gauge cluster, which I really don't like, along with one of the strangest shifters I've ever seen in a car. The little blue 'golf club' shifter always pops back into the same position regardless of what gear you select, so your only reference for what gear you're actually in is the centre display. Choosing reverse gets you a loud warning beep which continues until you mercifully put it back in drive. A traditional shifter wouldn't need this since you have an obvious visual and tactile reference for the position of the shifter. I also transitioned from a manual Mustang to this car and where the shifter was on the 'stang, there is absolutely nothing on the Prius but empty space. That empty space could be used for a bit of loose storage but in my opinion they should have kept a more standard layout for this car. One interesting feature is the 'B' setting of the shifter, which provides maximum 'engine braking' which is really maximum regen. It feels like a manual would when you've dropped down a gear and boy does it ever juice up the battery quickly.

Both the center display and radio/nav/engine info screens were o.k., but the radio display was too dim compared to the recent Fords I've been in, and the centre display looked behind the times. The centre display itself is very busy, indicating your drive status (EV, Eco and Power/Regen modes) speed, fuel and battery status, cruise symbol and trip information. They may have been better off following the Ford approach where you can configure it to show only the information you want, which would allow individual display information to be larger and easier to read.

This car was equipped with a USB port, however feedback from our other testers suggests that a second USB port would be useful given the more advanced features of the infotainment system, particularly the Entune feature which I didn't delve into. Of note here too is the fact that my ipod skipped on each occasion that I drove the car - I've never experienced that with any other car I've tested which had the USB port.

A nice feature of the interior is the panoramic roof, which is activated by a touch of a button on the headliner. This roof also serves a dual purpose, being lighter materials, it reduces the overall weight of the vehicle and brings the centre of gravity lower. It also gives the cabin an even larger, brighter feel. There is also a double glove box and pop out cup holder for the front seat passenger.

If they're looking at making changes to the interior for the next version, they'd be wise to put the instrument cluster in front of the driver where it belongs, get rid of the wonky shifter, and take some pointers from Ford with their excellent display setup.

Driving the hybrid experience

I'm going to split this into sub sections because the hybrid driving experience is definitely unique.

Acceleration

The primary motivating force here is a 1.8 litre, atkinson cycle DOHC 4 banger, which at 13:1 compression, churns out a modest 134 h/p. There are then two motor generators and an electronic CVT all working together in such a manner that if you truly understood exactly what was going on all the time, your head would explode. Suffice it to say that it all comes together very smoothly.

From a dead stop, the car feels reluctant. To put it bluntly, transitioning from this car back to the G8, I nearly put myself into the back seat in the G8. Throttle tip in is slow, which encourages you to take it easy and also makes it easier to modulate and keep it in EV mode if that's what you're after. The 0 -60 time is somewhere around 10 seconds but it's not as lethargic as you might think. For example, if you need to pass, the CVT and engine work together well to get you moving quickly - I never found it lacking for the ruthless world of highway 401. The engine sound is not exactly pleasing and you don't want to spend much time standing on it, but it does get the job done.

What was a bit disappointing was how little I could use the EV mode. This is not because I wanted to hypermile, but more because it is so smooth you really want to experience it more. To keep it in EV mode from a standing start was difficult, which I find perplexing because the general logic is that electric is more efficient for getting a car going and internal combustion is better for keeping it moving at higher speeds. As mentioned in the main thread, I feel that there could be benefits to both the driving experience and efficiency if they could have the electric motors doing more of the work.

As it is currently, the car feels 'busy' switching from EV mode to Eco mode to generator to power. Don't get me wrong here, they have smoothed the whole thing out incredibly well, but you're still aware of it. Sometimes, it feels like the car has stalled if the engine stumbles on shut off. Once, I experienced an audible thump on a harder start up from a red light. This sort of thing can probably wear on you after a while.

Braking

I've read initial reviews of regenerative brakes describing them as 'soupy.' These I would describe as 'sandy,' as though there was grit or rust on the rotors. The feel of regenerative brakes takes some getting used to. If you've ever driven a vehicle with air brakes, there are some similarities as the regenerative seems to 'hold on' slightly, even after you've begun to release the pedal. Stopping smoothly while trying to get the most regenerative out of each stop becomes a personal challenge. I think I did reasonably well at it for being a hybrid newbie.

Handling

Definitely the most pleasant surprise about this car was the handling. Toyota have done some tweaks with the V which they refer to as 'pitch and bounce control.' This very slick setup uses subtle variations in the torque provided by the electric motors to smooth out the ride. In addition, despite being a very tall vehicle, cornering was excellent and I never experienced the 'tall and tippy' sensation that I get from trucks and sport utes. It almost seems contrary to the spirit of the car that it handles so well, but I did enjoy the limited amount of 'spirited' driving that I experience through the week.

The steering was also one of the best electric power steering systems I've experienced so far. Not much feel, but accurate with good weighting and a perfect sized wheel.

Conclusion: Hybrid mission accomplished

My answer to this question is a qualified 'yes.' Yes, because Toyota has taken a market leading hybrid platform, and transformed it into a very capable and versatile vehicle. As such, they have gotten the jump on their competitors, at least for now. The fact that you can bomb around in a vehicle with this much capability and still get an average of 39 MPG is a laudable accomplishment.

The reason I've qualified my answer is because there are a couple of storm clouds on the horizon which chip away at the value proposition to a certain extent:

1. Recent articles have suggested that current Prius owners are not as fiercely loyal to the car as many of us may have thought. Toyota will have to do their research on why this is happening, i.e., where are these customers going? If the answer is 'I wanted something bigger so I got a sport ute' then they've made exactly the right move. If there is another reason, they will need to find out quickly what that reason is since too much time and resources have gone into this vehicle to have it become a passing fad.

2. New competitors to the hybrid/electrified world are entering at a rapid pace. Toyota is no longer the only game in town. As such, they'll need to keep pace with improved interiors (see my comments about Ford and also the more intuitive setup on the Volt) and possibly a stronger focus on 'pure electric' operation.

Toyota sold more than 21,000 of the Prius family in May 2012. An impressive number in the face of emerging competitors, and one of the benefits of being 'first out of the gate' in this segment. They will need to work hard to keep the car up to date and relevant to their current customers. Cars like the Prius V should also help them bring new recruits to the 'hybrid experience.'

[REVolution]

Great review! Pics are amazing as usual.

I like the V better than the regular Prius. The wagon look makes it look more natural.

[supremor]

[G8mike]

RotaryKing aka Rev;216097 Wrote:Great review! Pics are amazing as usual.

I like the V better than the regular Prius. The wagon look makes it look more natural.

The tweaks done to the handling for the V should definitely make their way into the regular Prius. From the comparisons I've seen, the V handles much better than the 'garden variety' Prius, which is counter-intuitive.

I should also mention that I spoke with an owner of an '05 Prius and they mirrored what I felt - they really wanted more EV operation out of it. Also, they have owned it, trouble free, for 5 years (purchased it in '07) so they definitely have created a quality product. Their only concern is that they don't want to keep it past the 8 year mark for the battery.

[G8mike]

Speaking to my final points about increasing competition - look out, here comes Ford:

http://carfanaticsforum.com/thread-16843.html

Better mileage and lower price. This will be the trend for hybrids - they're just going to keep getting better and cheaper as production ramps up across multiple manufacturers. These are good times for both the enthusiast and the 'Eco-weenie'::

[CTS-Vluvr]

Well written review my friend. We take very different approaches, but I like your straight forward style. What camera are you using? My reviews have great exterior shots, but I always forget to do the interior stuff until after my buddy with the nice DSLR isn't around. I know what you mean about getting out of a Prius and getting into a real car in regards to the massive power difference. I think people are less loyal to the Prius than previously thought because they are sick of the slow pigs that they are.

[McLovin]

Did not read it yet, but I did run though pics, and wow is that ugly.

[G8mike]

CTS-Vluvr;219684 Wrote:Well written review my friend. We take very different approaches, but I like your straight forward style. What camera are you using? My reviews have great exterior shots, but I always forget to do the interior stuff until after my buddy with the nice DSLR isn't around. I know what you mean about getting out of a Prius and getting into a real car in regards to the massive power difference. I think people are less loyal to the Prius than previously thought because they are sick of the slow pigs that they are.

Re the photos you'll have to check in with Mr. Handa on that front.

We've each got our own writing/reviewing style, and that's what keeps it interesting. What I've found most rewarding about doing these so far is that I can cut through what any other mags biases might be, and lay out my own opinion. I've sometimes read reviews during, or after I've written mine and found similarities, but also differences as well.

I really did just about throw myself in the rear seat of the G8 after driving this thing though - the throttle tip in is just massively different between the two.

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McLovin;219686 Wrote:Did not read it yet, but I did run though pics, and wow is that ugly.

I guess it won't win any beauty contests, but it's worlds better than the first gen Prius (I just saw one yesterday). Bleech.