The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

However, the initial braking power is much stronger than on
most Toyota cars.
The brake worked abruptly with a jolt immediately
after the pedal was pushed down. At this point, it would
have been difficult to pump the brakes to achieve a more
even operation. The group wanted to improve the feel while
maintaining the performance. It was difficult, however, to
perfect it due to the limitations of the regenerative brake.
The same problem was noted at the media test drive event
held in May 1997. To further evaluate the brake, women and
young people from the company who seldom drove cars were
also asked to test-drive. Eventually, all of them said it was not
as annoying as they expected. The group judged that the
brake was not too uncomfortable once they got used to it.
There are two types of brakes in general: those that are
operated by stroke (stepping length) and others that are
operated by stepping force. Japanese cars are generally stroke-
type, while European cars are generally force-type. To be
different, brakes for the Prius were designed to be similar
to the force-type brakes. In addition, this style helped
facilitate control between the hydraulic brakes and the
regenerative brake. The brake was adjusted so as to release the
increased braking power before coming to a full stop.
Even during the test-drive event at Hakuba in Nagano
Prefecture held after the presentation of Prius on October
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