Question; For Prius Hybrid owners, if there are any....

[jrallan26]

I have a question concerning this hybrid vechicle. When at a light, the engine shuts off and is on battery power, correct? How would that affect the a/c controls? Would that shut off?

I am asking this question because my wife wants a hybrid, either a Prius or a Camry. I would rather her go for a newer TDI either a Passat or a Audi...

[Paul H.]

I would think that it would have no affect. if the a/c were to shut off while idling, then who in the south would what one?

[Seanz0rz]

yea, i would just assume that it would stay on, but im not really sure how.

very interesting question. maybe something to look into.

[oly884]

...then who in the south would what one?


The south is full of rednecks in their big ford trucks, why would they want one anyways?!?!?!?!


























Sorry, I had to.

[Seanz0rz]

thats the south east. in southern california all the hippy enviromentalists drive them, and movie stars. probably some tree hugging prius driver that egged my truck...

anyway, thats way off topic.

its hot down here, like 2/3 of the year, at least. my ac stays on throughout december, and only during jan, feb, and march is it the least bit chilly.

i cant possibly imagine the AC not working because of being stopped.

[MTL_4runner]

I have a question concerning this hybrid vechicle. When at a light, the engine shuts off and is on battery power, correct? How would that affect the a/c controls? Would that shut off?

I am asking this question because my wife wants a hybrid, either a Prius or a Camry. I would rather her go for a newer TDI either a Passat or a Audi...

No, at a light the A/C does not turn off. The engine may stop and the A/C will run off battery power until the charge drops enough to force the engine to start again. The A/C on those is completely electric, not driven by an ascessory belt like on typical gas powered vehicles.

The Camry hybrid is a very nice vehicle too, but make sure to check that the reduced trunk space will work for you. Then TDI's are also excellent in the fuel economy category, but then you need to put up with VW's repair record which isn't the most stellar out there.

[jrallan26]

My dad told me the tip to getting a tdi, he has 2, is to read the vin # and get a German-built TDI.

I wonder if the a/c works okay....

[mastacox]

Not sure about a Prius' A/C compressor, but in a Honda Hybrid it has TWO A/C compressors. One runs off a belt when the engine is running, and is a "large" full-capacity compressor. The second one runs off of an electric motor and has less cooling power than the engine driven one, but keeps it cool enough while you are sitting at a light. it could be the Prius has a similar setup, or it might be just a full-electric compressor, but one way or another I'm sure it works without the engine running.

If you're doing a lot of in-city driving the Prius will shine, but if it's mostly highway driving you'll get better mileage in a TDI. I personally want a (German assembled) Golf TDI, 50mpg and low-end grunt! Definitely take a test-drive in each; I find the Diesel VW's MUCH more fun to drive, especially with the 6-speed DSG. The Prius may be a "technical marvel," but driving one feels disconnected and sluggish IMO.

[ecchamberlin]

thats the south east. in southern california all the hippy enviromentalists drive them, and movie stars. probably some tree hugging prius driver that egged my truck...

anyway, thats way off topic.



WOW That is being logical about owning a car the gets good MPG. ???????

Anyway

The a/c in my Prius works really well and does not turn off at a stop. If I stay out of the skinny pedal the engine won't start until I hit about 25-30 mph. We have about 7K miles on our 07 pkg #2 and really are happy with it. No issues with the drive system but I do have an interior trim noise that I am going to try and figure out. Very minor though.

It drives different than a normal car because it is different. Takes some getting used to at first. The handling was a bit on the loose side for me but going from the stock 15" set to 17's with low profile tires made a huge difference.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/ecchamberlin/p1010356.jpg

We replaced an 04 Taco double cab Prerunner with this car. The Taco averaged about 16-18 mpg and the Prius has a total miles average of 49.5mpg and the driving is 50/50 hwy/city.

I guess if owning one, and liking it, makes me a tree hugger/hippy then so be it.

[arjan]

I love the new turbo diesels for everyday driving. They sound good, and are quite quick. I still wish Toyota and gm would bring their diesels over here.
Opel (GM) uses the DTI, also a good engine. We drove across Germany last summer and the 1.9L DTI (Opel Vectra GTS) has 150HP, clears 200km/hr quite easily.
Toyota has an 173HP diesel in their avensis.

[garrett]

I guess if owning one, and liking it, makes me a tree hugger/hippy then so be it.


Yeah... there are 2 too many stupid comments in this thread.

[Seanz0rz]

i think its wonderful that you have a car that gets amazing gas mileage. i want one real bad too so i dont have to cope with 17 mpg on the 4runner.

what angers me is people who get mad at me for driving a vehicle that doesnt get spectacular mileage. i cant tell you how many times ive been flipped off for no other reason than just being a gas guzzeler. ive had people yell at me in the parking lot of a grocery store.

i simply cant afford a new car that gets such great mileage.

and eric, you know i love you man. my saying treehugger and hippy was suppose to imply militant environmentalists, not you in anyway. you are awesome, and i aspire to your greatness. if i was 21, id buy you a beer for big bear!

[MTL_4runner]

Eric, that Prius looks fantastic with the low profile wheel combo (that's gotta be one of the best looking ones I've seen yet). If I didn't have kids, I'd probably be looking at Priuses too.....but I need something at least Camry-sized to lug all the family junk around on trips.

[amgraham]

i think its wonderful that you have a car that gets amazing gas mileage. i want one real bad too so i dont have to cope with 17 mpg on the 4runner.

what angers me is people who get mad at me for driving a vehicle that doesnt get spectacular mileage. i cant tell you how many times ive been flipped off for no other reason than just being a gas guzzeler. ive had people yell at me in the parking lot of a grocery store.

i simply cant afford a new car that gets such great mileage.

I love it when people do that to me.. It gives me an opportunity to explain that I still get over 20 MPG fully loaded on the road and they can go screw themselves because I have a lot more fun with it than I would with an econo car. They don't have much to say after that :) .

I don't mind people driving hybrids and all.. I think it's great actually. I just don't like the attitude some people get with it (I thought the "Smug" episode of Southpark was particularly funny :P ). I had a professor last semester that actually singled out those of us that drove trucks and SUVs and told us how we needed to get a Prius like him. He was a finance professor so I then argued about the difference of his $30K+ investment compared to the about $3K I have in my truck and how long it would take me to use up that difference in gas and how much more useful my truck is in the meantime. I love messing with those kind of professors... I still somehow got an A too :D .

But, all joking aside, I would probably get a TDI if I could afford it. I like diesels and have always been a VDub fan regardless of their quirks.

[Markduce]

Volkswagon did come out and talk about the problems they have had. They said the new line up will be better. OR, you cant go wrong with getting a wolfsburg Ed. This means your VW was built in the main Volkswagon plant.