I really wanted a Prius. Mostly for the gas mileage and the hybrid and the bragging rights, but also because when I drove it, I liked it. Not everyone in the family did, though, and since I refused to buy a car only one of us would drive, we went with the Ford Escape Hybrid instead. Same general idea, better pick-up than the Toyota Highlander, and a different braking system. This turns out to have been the best idea ever.
First Toyota’s had to recall gas pedals because they get caught in the floor mats. That’s a little amusing to me, but the really scary thing is something that happened to us while test driving: the brakes don’t like potholes. Basically, if you’re braking the car while you go over a bump (pothole, manhole, whatever), the brake can stop being as responsive and need you to mash down on it. For a moment, you feel like the car isn’t in your control, but then it comes back and off you go.
Toyota and Ford share the regenerative braking system. This means every time you brake your car, your charge the EV. Makes stop-and-go traffic not as much a pain in the ass. Ford’s is slightly different, and has less of a noticeable ‘hiccup’ when moving from EV to gas and back again. When we test drove the Prius and had a braking ‘moment’ but the dealer swore that was by design. That it was just the switchover.
Well now, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
The system is calibrated to use one kind of braking or the other for optimum braking performance and maximum efficiency. The calibration and sensors are apparently not responding well to potholes and bumpy roads, and thereby producing an unpleasant driving sensation, and a safety hazard for pedestrians.
Ford? Doesn’t have this problem.