I'm about to order a 2006, but I have one concern: on a long (3+mi), steep, winding grade in the B mode, will I have to ride the brakes continuously to keep the speed under 25mph? (Anyone recognize the Old Priest Grade?) Now, I descend in my WRX in 2nd gear (5spd man) with occasional braking, but I have olfactory evidence of other people not shifting down, but using brakes, and it smells expensive!
The regenerative braking should cover it mostly (depending on the total drop) and B mode should help.
We take Hwy 89A from Flagstaff to Sedona when we go that way, about 2700 ft loss of elevation, and just use brakes to keep the speed around 30-35 mph. The battery fills and probably ends the regeneration somewhere near the end of that drop. If you are dropping less than about 2000 ft it should rarely - if ever - go into friction braking unless the speed drops to (IIRC) 11 mph. BTW, our Classic Prius fuel economy for the round trip (including the climb back out of the canyon) is about 60 mpg. The incline isn't as steep as you describe, in fact it is pretty gentle, but it really illustrates the potential advantage of hybrids.
Others in the Yahoo Prius group have reported making steep mountain descents and their wheels being cool at the bottom.
Basically, don't worry about riding the brakes. It is more efficient than downshifting and typically doesn't use the friction brakes at all. That's a hard thing for me to remember, though.
Mike
Just put it in B and don't worry about it. I've driven thousands of miles through the California mountains and the B mode does a nice job of keeping the car from accelerating.
Enjoy!
Yeah, um, that's what it's for!
In fact, a recent post to the Yahoo Prius group included this link to pictures of his front brake pads at 8,000 miles and at 100, 520 miles. As the text says, he couldn't measure any wear with a ruler.
Mike
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