I am in the market for a Prius but have a potential problem. My garage is sunken much like the basement of a split-level house. The driveway is inclined downward between the street and garage entrance. On Toyota's web site they publish Approach/departure angle specs for most of their trucks but not for cars.
Does anyone know the Approach/departure angle specs for a Prius? Is there anyplace on Toyota's web site that has this info? Is there anyone at Toyota that knows the answer?
Simple -test drive a Prius and drive it home. You will immediately see if you have a clearance problem.
I have a performance modified car that is lowered to the po> I am in the market for a Prius but have a potential problem. My garage
If it does scrape, you can build a short ramp from a 2x4 that changes the approach and departure angles. Take the car on a test drive, and bring it home to see if it fits in your garage.
That's not simple. I just wanted the approach/departure angle data.
Does anyone know the approach/departure angle information? Toyota USA are you out there reading this newsgroup?
I recommend going to
The easiest thing to do is to take a test drive and see how it does on your driveway.
I can tell you my neighbor who just bough one scrapes my drive way when he pulls up into it, but did not in his lexus es330... so prius is lower than a camry/es330/avalon
I'm with Ray on this one. Approach and Departure angles on passenger cars is not normally given on spec sheets. I'd guess that even Toyota doesn't know if you went to the Contact Us link on their Website. I'm certain they could find out, it's not rocket science.
Measure the distance from the tire to the lowest point on the vailance, and to the ground at a point directly below the vailance, then measure the distance from the ground to the vailance. With this you know one angle, 90° and all three sides of a tirangle, computing the remaining angles - one of which will be the approach or departure angle depending on which end of the car you are on - is simple geometry.
I still think that knowing what the angle is is of very little value. The real value comes in knowing what it might take to convert your garage and driveway to accomodate your car. If you can make the adjustments to your house for $10, then you are good to go -- buy a piece of plywood and a 2x4 and move on.
No!
This was recommended twice and he is not willing to test drive the Prius to determine if he will have a problem. He wants to "crunch" the number first. My only question is how he will compare the numbers from Toyota to his driveway measurements (whatever they are and how accurate)? Let's hope he is better than Lockheed-Martin - measure one in metric and the other in English and don't convert.
I think the Scion xB is even lower. I will still consider one in the future. My old knees and back are not as flexible as they used to be . . . PLus there is room in the back for my walker :-)
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Some people would rather have other people jump through hoops than consider jumping through one themselves...
It will depend on the weight of the driver and whatever else is in the car, how much the springs have sacked, tire pressure, speed and more but that's already too many variables to muddy the waters.
Pat
No. The easiest thing for me is to:
A - Obtain the approach/departure angle data B - Bring your Prius to the house
I am tired of hearing about what I should want. I just want the data. If you don't have it then move on there's nothing for you here.
No conversion will be performed. "If the car don't fit I'll forget about it."
As you observed, geometry is a simple matter for those who learned it.
Well, if you can't figure out the angles that are on the car, then you are not going to be able to do very much with applying angles to the driveway. Good luck. I think your best option is to get a car on a test drive and see if you can put it in the garage without tearing it up.
And apparently whoever built your driveway never learned it.
Merritt
You haven't seen my driveway, have you?
Driveway measurements have been done and the angle is calculated. If you don't have the angle data for the Prius then shove off.
Toyota knows this data but has chosen not to include it in the spec sheet for the Prius. Since the Toyota newsgroup residents have proven to be a useless bunch, a neverending source of irrelevant opinion and information, and Toyota USA is not forthcoming, I will buy a truck instead.
Thanks for nothing and have a nice day.
You're welcome. They never give the approach and departure angles for passenger cars because they assume that passenger cars will be operated in places where the approach and departure are not significant events. Trucks, on the other hand often times see an obsitcle where it is important to know how tall the suspension is, and how steep the approach and departure can be.
You can easily determine the approach and departure angle with a tape measure, a pencil, and a straight edge. The automaker will not have the data you need because it isn't important to them to have it.
Please buy a Ford and hang out over on that newsgroup.
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