Stealth prius

[phoebelala]

Got a new prius on Thursday for the company car, AMAZING technology.

One unexpected thing is the fact that when driving slowly thru the village it is normally in electric mode and twice since thursday i have had to hit the horn to warn hapless peds who wandered into the road because they can't hear me coming!

Great fun at the local retail park yesterday, sneaked up to within a couple of feet of a dolly bird undetected, ended up talking to her for half an hour about what a great guy I am for being so green! ended up offering me her mobile number

Anyone not heard of a prius, go have a look just to see how clever Toyota are.

If the French made one of these it would be broken all the time.

Al.

[The Lovely Boyo]

If the French made one of these it would be broken all the time.

Al.

Peugeot did have a go a few years ago - they put lectric motors into 106's or some such little things.

Apparently they left a load with a village in Northern France and they kind of pooled them as a big experiment.

And yes, they had reliability problems but the biggest issue was tha fact that pedestrians kept stepping out into the road and nearly getting whacked.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Great fun at the local retail park yesterday, sneaked up to within a couple of feet of a dolly bird undetected, ended up talking to her for half an hour about what a great guy I am for being so green! ended up offering me her mobile number Al.

Al?...........Al?............. .Al?..........wake up Al............Al???

[phoebelala]

Al?...........Al?............. .Al?..........wake up Al............Al???

Like it, I was sure it really happened though

These motahs can snap the knicker elastic of a "greeny" at 100 yards.

Al.

[nero279]

I drove one of them electric 106's a few years ago, canterbury city council were running a few about. And we was working on a community safety project for them and local schools while i was at college, so i got to drive it a couple of times. I didn't like it, it wasn't even like an automatic in that you never felt it going through the gears, it seemed to just have one gear that must of been sort of centrifugal or something, the rev's stayed the same but the car would still accelerate. It was the first automatic i drove though and i kept trying to use the brake as a clutch.

[MattF]

I'm just waiting for the first report of the prat who's had the accident because they forgot it was still running. It's gonna' happen.

[Apache]

I drove one of them electric 106's a few years ago, canterbury city council were running a few about. And we was working on a community safety project for them and local schools while i was at college, so i got to drive it a couple of times. I didn't like it, it wasn't even like an automatic in that you never felt it going through the gears, it seemed to just have one gear that must of been sort of centrifugal or something, the rev's stayed the same but the car would still accelerate. It was the first automatic i drove though and i kept trying to use the brake as a clutch.

They dont strictly need a gearbox. The higher the load, the harder an electric motor tries to turn.

[Apache]

Great fun at the local retail park yesterday, sneaked up to within a couple of feet of a dolly bird undetected, ended up talking to her for half an hour about what a great guy I am for being so green! ended up offering me her mobile number
.
Al.

Al, you dont want to get involved with greeny hippy lentil eaters!

1) She inevitably paints her own DMs purple or some other wacky colour cos "I'm mad I am! LOL"

2) She knits her own jumpers maaan

3) She's probably a veggie - bang goes the highlight of summer, the beery barbecue

4) She's 'in touch with her emotions' (ie - She whines her eyes out all night after a glass of home-made elderflower wine) and wears that slightly pained, slightly superior expression all of the time

[MattF]

Al, you dont want to get involved with greeny hippy lentil eaters!

1) She inevitably paints her own DMs purple or some other wacky colour cos "I'm mad I am! LOL"

2) She knits her own jumpers maaan

3) She's probably a veggie - bang goes the highlight of summer, the beery barbecue

4) She's 'in touch with her emotions' (ie - She whines her eyes out all night after a glass of home-made elderflower wine) and wears that slightly pained, slightly superior expression all of the time

Seeing as the other Matt ain't here at the moment, I'll fill in. As long as she can do the shuffle, I'm sure he wouldn't be interested in the personality.

[da SLUG man]

is there a pause when you floor it and wait for the petrol motor to start??

[MattF]

is there a pause when you floor it and wait for the petrol motor to start??

They're horrid. The engine kicks in seamlessly when you reach a certain speed, and drops out again when you go below a certain speed. I'm still waiting for the first prat who instinctively thinks it's stalled and shoots forward in it. Someone will do it.

[huff_diggler]

http://www.toyota.com/prius/index.ht..._HOME_X1_PRIUS

sorry i couldnt drive that, even if ..etc etc

however.....

http://www.toyota.com/fjcruiser/exterior.html

[da SLUG man]

They're horrid. The engine kicks in seamlessly when you reach a certain speed, and kicks out again when you go below a certain speed. I'm still waiting for the first prat who instinctively thinks it's stalled and shoots forward in it. Someone will do it.

so, is it like bump starting a car?... does it have a starter motor??
what if it fails to start first time??

[MattF]

so, is it like bump starting a car?... does it have a starter motor??
what if it fails to start first time??

If I remember correctly, the drive from the electric motor is engaged at low speeds. As you start to reach the speed where the engine takes over, the engine is started, and then the switchover happens at the preset speed. Vice versa when you slow down, the motor takes over and the engine is stopped. As to whether it has a time delay to allow for minor variations, I'm not sure. I would assume if the engine fails to start, it will go into a limp mode, allowing the speed to go upto the maximum of the electric motor but no more.

[da SLUG man]

If I remember correctly, the drive from the electric motor is engaged at low speeds. As you start to reach the speed where the engine takes over, the engine is started, and then the switchover happens at the preset speed. Vice versa when you slow down, the motor takes over and the engine is stopped. As to whether it has a time delay to allow for minor variations, I'm not sure. I would assume if the engine fails to start, it will go into a limp mode, allowing the speed to go upto the maximum of the electric motor but no more.

it would have to be quick from a standing start to flooring it!!...

which is how most people drive!!