Advertisement

Drag Race Video: 2010 Toyota Prius vs 2009 Toyota Prius

 
6,152 views Sep 14, 2009
Follow John

2010 Toyota Prius vs 2009 Toyota Prius drag race

2010 Toyota Prius vs 2009 Toyota Prius drag race

Enlarge Photo

Related Photo Galleries


See more photos »

Which is faster, the 2010 Toyota Prius or its predecessor, the 2004-2009 Prius?

On paper, the 2010 should win. Its engine is larger (1.8 liters vs 1.5 liters) and more powerful (134 total horsepower vs 104 hp). It's even got a lower coefficient of drag, the very respectable 0.25.


This morning we got a note from Roman Mica, a "National Road and Driver Examiner". He set out to answer that question by staging a drag race between a new red 2010 Prius and a silver 2009 model.

Before you hit Play on the video below, we should say that the drag race was pretty amusing. Rather than the roaring of unmuffled 1000-horsepower V8s, you hear two electric whines as the hybrids move smartly off the line.

And it looks like Mica accidentally flipped on his windshield wipers just as the starter (who sounds like about a 10-year-old boy) does his countdown.

In the end, no surprise: The third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius noses out its predecessor to win the race. Mica does note he kept the air conditioner off to conserve power in the car's Hybrid Synergy Drive system.

And the quarter-mile times? They're, ummmm, not given.

Bonus Fact: The other driver's name--Stighetti--alludes to the mute character of "The Stig" on BBC's Top Gear show. Translation: It's an insider joke for car geeks.

[iReport]





Tags:
Posted in:
 
Contribute
Send us a tip Comment Contact the editor
Follow Us

 

Have an opinion?

  • Posting indicates you have read this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Notify me when there are more comments
Comments (7)

  1. Uglydawg Posted: 9/15/2009 8:20am PDT

    "STIGhetti"... sounds like a TOP GEAR rip off, to me.
    Personally I would have also included a Mazda 3 MPS...
    but then no one is going to read this...!
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  2. prettydawg Posted: 9/15/2009 8:29am PDT

    Hang on, did they get overtaken by some old lady with her zimmerframe?
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  3. DriverG Posted: 9/30/2009 7:06pm PDT

    A friend of mine once made a video about rolling joints. He shot it in Hoboken, NJ, but put on screen "Made in Amsterdam" as a lame attempt at CYA.
    A: That road was not closed for this lame test.
    2: Did you hear how young the cameraman was? This guy involves his child in a dangerous high speed illegal street race (uh, sort of), then posts it to CNN!
    C: Since they had one camera, that was four different races edited together.
    4: Is it me, or did he pronounce Stighetti two different ways?
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  4. john Posted: 10/8/2009 2:56pm PDT

    nice car!
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  5. Heyman Posted: 10/11/2009 11:37pm PDT

    I'll keep my 08' Pruis. True Pruis owners know, that drag racing is wasting expensive gas. And dumping more carbon into our atmosphere. Most of us try to avoid going to the gas station!
    (I do like the headlights on the 2010 model.)
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  6. keyboard Posted: 11/11/2009 9:51pm PST

    It was obvious that 2010 Prius would win the drag race. After all the new one has a lot of power and is even more convenient to drive. Toyota has assembled its engineering to ultimately form a very good car 2010 Prius.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  7. fedders conditioner Posted: 1/21/2010 10:31pm PST

    it's a very good car for sure after the drive test
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

Advertisement
Advertisement

Find Green Cars

Go!

Advertisement

More from High Gear Media

 
 
Green Car Reports
  • Follow Us
  • Twiiter
  • Facebook
 
 
© 2013 Green Car Reports. All Rights Reserved. Green Car Reports is published by High Gear Media. Send us feedback. Stock photography by Homestar, LLC.