Not all is equal in accommodation and economy Have you seen gas prices lately! No doubt you have, the shock of which may have you abandoning your gas-guzzler in favour of outstanding fuel economy. If that's the case, read on but let me first say that not all hyper-economy cars provide equality when it comes to cabin size and thriftiness. Full Article
Nice-looking interior! http://www.auto123.com/ArtImages/97286/2008-honda-civic-hydrid-i03.jpg The test driver stated "..regenerative function of the brake arrangement, a quick snap of the brake pedal nets a harder hit than expected." Have the rest of you experienced this with the Prius? When using regen. braking, is it either "on or off," and not continuous? He also mentioned more road noise than expected. My Corolla is terrible in that department. Most of the time, road noise does not bother me at all. I grew up riding around in my dad's cars, and back then road noise was part of life. The only time road noise bothers me is when I buy a new CD (or download a new song), and I want premium sound. I usually have to listen to it at zero mph for that. Otherwise, road noise does not bother me at all. In fact, I prefer it - that way I can hear how my car is operating.
The snap is the emergency brake assist. Regen is variable up to the max allowed charging current. At higher speed, the higher motor/generator speed means that max current is achieved w/ "less force", at lower speeds, the same "charge current" yields more braking force. ECUs do their thing behind the scenes to translate pedal pressure to appropriate hydraulic vs. regen braking though. The nice thing in the my 2004 compared to my 2002 Prius is Toyota did enough math behind the scenes to make this as smooth as possible. In the 2002, as you slow down, constant pressure yields more force and you eventually develop the instinctive habit of reducing pedal pressure to compensate for the "uneven" force.
