Prius vs. Ford F-150

I am still laughing about this story. My truck driver friend called me to tell me what happened on his way home from work. He drives the highway a lot and on this particular day he met his first Toyota Prius face to face. Or should I say mirror to mirror.
Now my friends truck has a 5.4 liter motor with about 300 hp. The Prius steps in the ring with 134 hp. Your gonna have to think about this one. Bigger may not be better. But as with most people these days, my buddy believed he was on top as far as small cars go. He had truck size and truck power beneath him.
Now picture 4 big guys in the extended cab 2008 Ford F-150 totaling about half a ton ( 1,000 lbs,). And in the Toyota Prius was a lone driver of unknown size. Heading down an open highway with very little traffic is the scene.
Now just ahead of my friend and his truck is the Prius and my pal thinks he is just gonna wiz by this tiny car. So as any man would do; he steps on the gas and begins to catch the little car. I suppose the Prius driver noticed this and he stepped on the gas pedal as well.
To the shock and dismay of my friend, he wasn’t gaining on the Toyota. In fact they were running side by side up to 110 mph. That fast for a Prius ? I started laughing at this point. My friends big bad Ford was not able to rip past the car no matter what he did. Now my laughing at him just aggravated that fact ,but it is funny if you know the type of person he is.
When I finally caught my breath from laughing so hard, I tried to explain why he was having difficulty passing this small vehicle. Just because the truck was bigger and more powerful doesn’t mean it was faster. A truck is built for work. It is designed to haul a heavy load therefore it has a torque (pulling power) rating that is impressive. The Prius was designed more with a speed type design. It is aerodynamic to pass through the wind. I am not saying it is a speed machine but it is shaped to move more freely down the road. The truck also had 1,000lbs. of extra weight and is not as efficient moving throw the air.
So, sometimes being bigger doesn’t necessarily mean faster. Trucks are made for doing a job of hauling extra weight. Cars are simply designed to slip through the air to get from here to there as efficiently as possible. Cars use their energy more effectively while the truck is more like a brick in the wind. Maybe next the next time you see a Prius you will remember this story. And if you should decide to pass one on the highway, think about what type of vehicle you are driving before assuming your bigger and faster. That may not always be the case.

Still funny,
Troy Lied