Toyota Prius can do continuous 103 mph -- Gore proved!

[kenvlach]

Anyone catch the news on Al Gore's son getting clocked at 105 mph on I-5 by an Orange County sheriff's deputy?
Perhaps most surprising (other than I-5 in OC is usually a traffic jam), it was in a Toyota Prius! The follow-up story:

Who says the Prius can't get out of its own way?
Al Gore III's alleged 100-mph jaunt alters perceptions of 'wimpy' hybrid cars.
By Dan Neil, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, July 6, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prius6jul06,1,4739292.story

Toyota says that the Prius is speed-limited to 103 mph to avoid depleting the battery. "It can go 103 mph indefinitely" on gasoline. Also, the Prius has a low 0.26 coefficient of drag, low "rolling resistance" tires and weighs only 2,932 pounds.

Not really new stuff, but now street-credible. Maybe clever marketing by Toyota? And good 'green' advertising, getting more people to consider high fuel-efficiency vehicles?

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Is that weight correct? My S2000 weighs as much with me in it! It may not be a hybrid, only an inline-4, but it goes a lot faster than 103 ;-)

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[dcasto]

weight, batteries, 103 isn't that fast, what's fast is how long it took the get 103, 4 miles? My 1.8 liter toyota can get to 95 in the 1/4 mile.

 

[kenvlach]

103 is reasonably fast for public highways. No idea how long it takes for the 1.5L gasoline engine + electric (110 hp total) to attain that speed.
Its 0–60 mph time is 12.7 seconds.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tech/TechSnapPrius1_5_01b.pdf

Also, "40-70 mph performance, more important than stoplight drags, takes a mere 8.93 seconds." [seems rather slow to me]

http://cars.about.com/od/toyota/fr/05_toyo_prius.htm

But dcasto, your Toyata can't recover kinetic energy via regenerative braking when the flashing red lights & siren come on behind you!

 

[dcasto]

You are right and you also give insite on why hybrids on the open road do not live up the the fuel savings. Driving across Kansas, the prius won't get any better milage than a 1.5L scion because the prius weighs much more. Going up a mountain pass, the batteries will be dead in a few miles. Coming down the pass, the batties will be full in a few miles.

 

[kenvlach]

True, hydrid vehicles have extra weight, so if you're driving 400 miles continuous on flat highway (say eastern Colorado & Kansas), an optimized gasoline only would get better MPG (& diesel better still). But still, the Prius is rated 52 mpg city/45 mpg highway by the EPA & verified in comparison testing (see the fueleconomy link above). What MPG does your 1.8L achieve at constant highway speed?

 

[dcasto]

my last trip across the rockies over 4 passes I used 8.7 gallons to go 330 miles. Only had to stop for a couple of breaks. I ran between 35 to 65 doing exactly the speed limits as posted. Net change was 1500 feet up.

Time before I was driving alone and it took 10.1 gallons, of course I did hit 103 at times and did 65-75 MPH going up as well as down. Love VVTL-i.

 

[drwebb]

FWIW- My 2000 Toyota Celica GT returns 42 mpg w/ the 1.8L engine running up & down the highway to work (always WOT on the entry ramps). The same motor in the Corolla is supposed to do a couple better.

 

[kenvlach]

Drag racing spurs the development of greater power to weight ratios. Analogous to gamesters pushing competitive advancements in computer video cards. The NHRA rulebook added electrics (including motorcycles) in 1999:

http://www.nedra.com/about_us.html

Toyota's Supra HV-R hybrid racer that won the Tokachi 24-Hour Race in mid-July, with enhanced regenerative braking, is probably more relevant to street hybrids (although it used capacitors rather than batteries).

http://www.automotivedesignline.com/blogs/index.jhtml;#201203078

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/300978/Hybrid+car+wins+race.htm

The next hybrid vehicle advance was supposedly a big weight savings by use of lithium ion batteries, but safety concerns have delayed this, at least in Toyota's next generation Prius.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/10/toyota-delays-next-gen-lithium-ion-prius

Any comments on the winner of the Honda Insight Marathon (last fall in Tonkawa, Oklahoma) on getting 2,254 miles on a single 13.7-gallon tank of gas (165 MPG)?

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/Get50MpgInYourOwnCar.aspx?page=all