Author Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2012 Toyota Prius V; Day 1 (Read 8359 times)

Autos_Editor · « **on:** April 11, 2012, 04:07:12 am »

James tests the Prius V, a vehicle that Toyota hopes will give its hybrid poster child wider appeal.
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PJ · « **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2012, 10:52:47 am »

I surprised how many I have seen so far. It's only been out a short time but they seem to be everywhere... and it does look like a 1st gen Mazda 5 (except from the front).

dragonfly · « **Reply #2 on:** April 11, 2012, 11:23:23 am »

Nice James..Is this the cheapest model Prius?AKA, smallest? Not bad looking...I know they're built tough as nails...But...where's the gearshift? Is it that black button on the center (UGH) dash? Neat car..Let's see if you can get mileage down around 4 L..
Looking forward to a pleasant week Jack

wing · « **Reply #3 on:** April 11, 2012, 12:47:34 pm »

No this is the largest Prius, the C is the smallest. The gearshift is the little blue lever. And I'm getting nowhere near 4

Frontier1 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 11, 2012, 01:29:42 pm »

Quote from: wing on April 11, 2012, 12:47:34 pm

No this is the largest Prius, the C is the smallest. The gearshift is the little blue lever. And I'm getting nowhere near 4

And I'm getting nowhere near 4

Maybe you're not the guy on the Queensway driving 95 getting passed by everyone with a look that could kill on their face...lol

5 Wheel Drive · « **Reply #5 on:** April 11, 2012, 02:44:14 pm »

I've driven a regular Prius from the car pool at work, and I found it slow. I'd hate to think of this one, which is bigger, loaded up with a family's luggage for a weekend away. That would be painfully slow. That poor little engine would be working so hard to pull around the extra weight, I'm guessing the FE wouldn't be that great.

A Prius V with the conventional 2.4l power train from the Camry would make for a very interesting competitor to the Mazda 5, Rondo, and Orlando.

wing · « **Reply #6 on:** April 11, 2012, 02:48:22 pm »

^ Get outta my head -- demon!

Ex-airbalancer · « **Reply #7 on:** April 11, 2012, 04:12:49 pm »

I thought the V was more of a 5 to 5.5 L/100km car

jaari · « **Reply #8 on:** April 12, 2012, 01:32:46 am »

That has got to be the most hideous dash/steering wheel I've seen in a long time...

JohnM · « **Reply #9 on:** April 12, 2012, 06:21:09 am »

I'd be interested in the RPM at 100km/hr and the noise levels. What speed have you had it up to in pure electric mode?

Can you run around town in pure electric mode? I am sure this would be impossible in Toronto but maybe workable in a small town.

CHeers,
John M.

wing · « **Reply #10 on:** April 12, 2012, 07:47:55 am »

John there is no tach unfortunately.

And you would have to drive ridiculously slow to stay in EV mode

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mike · « **Reply #11 on:** April 12, 2012, 08:22:54 am »

Quote from: JohnM on April 12, 2012, 06:21:09 am

I'd be interested in the RPM at 100km/hr and the noise levels. What speed have you had it up to in pure electric mode?

Can you run around town in pure electric mode? I am sure this would be impossible in Toronto but maybe workable in a small town.

CHeers,
John M.

Once you break 40 km/h or 1 km of driving, EV mode stops working. Also, if you apply anything more than 1/4 throttle, EV mode stops working.

I had an Escalade Hybrid last night for the evening and it can go much further, and harder, in EV mode it appears.

wing · « **Reply #12 on:** April 12, 2012, 09:02:01 am »

This is not really true. You can do a lift and put it back into EV and you can go up to about 70km/h in EV mode. But you aren't going to be driving around in pure EV around town without some serious effort and awareness. This annoys me with the Prius as other hybrids, even the Porsche Panamera have allowed me to drive from the highway off ramp directly to my house (about 1.5km) on EV alone but the Prius won't let me do any of it in EV.

whaddaiknow · « **Reply #13 on:** April 12, 2012, 09:30:16 am »

Where is Day 2, James? Clicking on the link brings up Day 1.

wing · « **Reply #14 on:** April 12, 2012, 09:32:10 am »

Sounds like your computer cached day 1, as that is clearly day 2...

Mike · « **Reply #15 on:** April 12, 2012, 09:38:02 am »

Quote from: wing on April 12, 2012, 09:02:01 am

This is not really true. You can do a lift and put it back into EV and you can go up to about 70km/h in EV mode. But you aren't going to be driving around in pure EV around town without some serious effort and awareness. This annoys me with the Prius as other hybrids, even the Porsche Panamera have allowed me to drive from the highway off ramp directly to my house (about 1.5km) on EV alone but the Prius won't let me do any of it in EV.

Oh, never tried that. I was speaking more from a dead stop.

wing · « **Reply #16 on:** April 12, 2012, 09:39:52 am »

There is a trick to most hybrids and with most of them doing a hard throttle lift will kick the car back into EV mode.

BradT · « **Reply #17 on:** April 12, 2012, 11:06:19 am »

I drove a "V" last week and didn't mind it. Granted it was only around town and it didn't seem as pokey as I was expecting. I am just wondering whether it will have enough room for a couple of car seats and stroller in the trunk and also enough room for luggage for a week or so. I haven't tried the CR-V yet, but this it what I will cross-shop. Is the get-up-and-go decent if it is left in its standard drive mode?

nsmyhte · « **Reply #18 on:** April 12, 2012, 01:46:51 pm »

"The centre gauge cluster is an acquired taste but allows more storage space."
Apparently it doesn't otherwise it wouldn't only have one cupholder in the centre console...

Ex-airbalancer · « **Reply #19 on:** April 12, 2012, 01:49:45 pm »

Quote from: wing on April 12, 2012, 09:39:52 am

There is a trick to most hybrids and with most of them doing a hard throttle lift will kick the car back into EV mode.

I can do about 2.5 km in EV in our Prius from the 401 to home

Author Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2012 Toyota Prius V; Day 1 (Read 8359 times)

nsmyhte