Truth about hybrids, esp Prius

[ebxr8240]

I have often driven one at work and never thought I was saving fuel..
It would have if I drove like Miss daisy..
A Focus, etc driven similar would save on fuel without the extra $$ to purchase!! How we are all brainwashed these days!! Peer pressure also...
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=MXPCckjTMVg

[Fev]

ah i saw this on TV, i thought it great video. Wonder how many american's have seen this and gone - Crap. since they seem to love em

[WindsorXR]

I wonder how many old people have seen this that think they are doing good!

[Daymoe]

Is this a video about the batteries and how the nickel mine is an environmental dead zone? I can't watch it because I'm capped >.<

[vztrt]

Yeah, they played it on SBS on monday.

[Daymoe]

They had a Toyota rep come to my school and they brought down a Prius and let all the little kids year 7s and 8s sit in there and start it up, they were all amazed with it and how it was "so quiet" and good for the environment... Good for the environment my pooper!

[alter_EGOXR]

i personally think the prius is really a waste of the extra cash....u may as well buy a charade or drive a scooter...im quite sure the electric motor only works at speeds below 40(correct me of i am wrong). that top gear segment is soo true, it jst depends on how you drive....and plus u have to floor it in a prius to get up a hill, but in a 8cyl. vehicle you dont need to be using a heavy foot.

[phoenix99]

How stupid are people to seriously pay 40-45 K for the prius in the first place.

I remember a comparison earlier this year, if you bought a 45 K prius instead of mid size family car for 25 K, it would take something like 15 years to be on par with costs as the mid size car. People are too stupid to think for themselves these days and believe everything they are told.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by phoenix99

How stupid are people to seriously pay 40-45 K for the prius in the first place.

I remember a comparison earlier this year, if you bought a 45 K prius instead of mid size family car for 25 K, it would take something like 15 years to be on par with costs as the mid size car. People are too stupid to think for themselves these days and believe everything they are told.

It would be like driving a diesel, with the price difference being about 30-35c/l.

[Mr Hardware]

Two apparent advantages to a prius:
Very Small Total Cost of Ownership: WRONG!
Very Small Environmental Impact: WRONG!

I see the only way to solve the oil issue is to drive an LPG Falcon. Space, Pace and Grace!

[alter_EGOXR]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I see the only way to solve the oil issue is to drive an LPG Falcon. Space, Pace and Grace!

i second that!!

[pauljh74]

The latest Top Gear episode has the guys driving from Switzerland to Blackpool in England - which is 750 miles. They were all only allowed to do it on 1 tank.
Jeremy drove a Jaguar XJ6 TDVi (2.7 litre twin turbo diesel) - fail in style was his motto
James drove a Subaru legacy diesel (2.0 litre turbo diesel) - large tank equals good range
Richard drove a VW Polo Bluemotion (1.4 litre Turbo diesel) - efficient engine but small tank

Jeremy achieved 5.3 l/100km (53 MPG)
James achieved 4.5 l/100km (63MPG)
Richard achieved 3.5 l/100km (80MPG)
That is "proper" Imperial gallons (4.55 litres) not US gallons (3.78 litres)

They did most of it on motorways and encountered peak hour traffic jams on the M6 in England. Jeremy thought bugger it - "I'm not going to make it so I'll drive faster and use the A/C." He predicted he'd run out somewhere near his home. In the end they ALL made the distance.

Richard pointed out why would you buy a Prius when the VW is 7000 pounds cheaper. In Australia we don't get all the diesel models the Europeans get - diesel is cheaper over there, so a diesel passenger car is more attractive for them.

[ebxr8240]

Um you guys need to drive one.. Though I drive spiritly it wasn't too slow for what it was.. But you chew through fuel doing it..
Isn't that against what they sell this car on ??
With an electric motor they have torque at very low rpm unlike a petrol combustion engine..
An all out electric car would be far better.. I plug into a power point at work. essentially halving my expenses Lol...
I can see car parks in the future looking like spider webs with cables charging their batteries..

[snakeoil]

toyota are very clever people

Create a market for something that makes you feel good

well that would be a first

ford get off ya bums and offer a dedicated LPG BOSS
Australia has got 100 years plus supply!!!!!!!

[Ford_V8]

Haha these "environmentally friendly" hybrid cars are a joke, it's backwards progress if you ask me. (Proper) Electric cars are the only way forward, and it is beyond me why they aren't commonplace already (oh that's right, there's oil companies making squillions out of a dead end fuel). Although, like most Top Gear segments, it was fairly biased, the M3 would have used alot more fuel in a real scenario (city driving ~35km/h) as the electric motor would have been doing most of the work for the prius. Not to mention the M3 had the upper hand aerodynamically as it had the advantage, albeit small, of drafting.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Ford_V8

Haha these "environmentally friendly" hybrid cars are a joke, it's backwards progress if you ask me. (Proper) Electric cars are the only way forward, and it is beyond me why they aren't commonplace already (oh that's right, there's oil companies making squillions out of a dead end fuel).

Proper electric cars? You mean the ones that you cant go from state to state because the battery will go flat?? Hybrids are meant to be the bridging gap so it can still be practical out of the city. Until batteries can do long distances and charge up quickly hybrids will be around.

[PoweredByCNG]

Originally Posted by snakeoil

ford get off ya bums and offer a dedicated LPG BOSS

No, no, no, no, no!

The people at Ford need to get their ***** into gear and make a half-decent LPG six cylinder offering first.

Regards,
Dave

[platinumXR]

Originally Posted by PoweredByCNG

No, no, no, no, no!

The people at Ford need to get their ***** into gear and make a half-decent LPG six cylinder offering first.

Regards,
Dave

Toilet is that way mate...

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by platinumXR

Toilet is that way mate...

also arby, thanks for those figures. It's nice to see real world figures for cars over hundreds of thousands of kays.

[Turbotory]

Grab yourself a copy of the doco "who killed the electric car"

If you want to end your night in frustration and anger.

Prius = Con Job.

[Falcon Coupe]

Truth about Hybrids ?

[Pete from Port]

Big news item..."Chevy VOLT does 70klm on a single charge". Get away from the coast and most towns are at least 100klm apart. No power points in gum trees.

[arby]

Just pulled these from works annual report -
4 cyl hybrid - Prius 4.89 L per 100km (295,348km)
4 cyl petrol - Camry 10.19 L per 100km (133,251km)
6 cyl petrol - Adventura/Rodeo 12.89 L per 100km (418,585km)
6 cyl diesel - 4X4 26.36 L per 100km (7,957km)
6 cyl LPG - Falcons 14.63 L per 100km (696,052km)

Most of the prius kms are from city driving (we have a fleet of around 20)

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by arby

Just pulled these from works annual report -
4 cyl hybrid - Prius 4.89 L per 100km (295,348km)
4 cyl petrol - Camry 10.19 L per 100km (133,251km)
6 cyl petrol - Adventura/Rodeo 12.89 L per 100km (418,585km)
6 cyl diesel - 4X4 26.36 L per 100km (7,957km)
6 cyl LPG - Falcons 14.63 L per 100km (696,052km)

Most of the prius kms are from city driving (we have a fleet of around 20)

They are selective figures, none are marketed against the Prius, what are the VW TDCI figures ?

Even my two ton four cylinder diesel work ute does 9.6.

[ebxr8240]

Originally Posted by arby

Just pulled these from works annual report -
4 cyl hybrid - Prius 4.89 L per 100km (295,348km)
4 cyl petrol - Camry 10.19 L per 100km (133,251km)
6 cyl petrol - Adventura/Rodeo 12.89 L per 100km (418,585km)
6 cyl diesel - 4X4 26.36 L per 100km (7,957km)
6 cyl LPG - Falcons 14.63 L per 100km (696,052km)

Most of the prius kms are from city driving (we have a fleet of around 20)

Sheesh they lined up some heavy opposition to them!!
A Rodeo !!
Wow now load up a boat a tent etc and take the family out on holliday etc in the Prius..
These figures are granny driving...
With the gear I have to carry and times I have to meet there is no way the Prius would do any where near above consumption..

[burnz]

Originally Posted by arby

Just pulled these from works annual report -
4 cyl hybrid - Prius 4.89 L per 100km (295,348km)
4 cyl petrol - Camry 10.19 L per 100km (133,251km)
6 cyl petrol - Adventura/Rodeo 12.89 L per 100km (418,585km)
6 cyl diesel - kenworth b/double 26.36 L per 100km (7,957km)
6 cyl LPG - Falcons 14.63 L per 100km (696,052km)

Most of the prius kms are from city driving (we have a fleet of around 20)

not bad fuel from the truck

[automaniac]

I have never been a fan of the Prius or hybrids in general for that matter. If anyone is considering one i say check out a small turbo diesel instead, they're more fun to drive with excellent economy.

One thing people seem to forget about the Prius is that it's 'Combined' or average fuel economy is 4.4L/100km but majority of Aussies drive on Highways/Freeways to work where the Prius consumes alot more because that small engine has to rev a bit higher. It's the same reason why that M3 had better economy, the Prius engine was working too hard.

I bet if you look around on the net you won't be able to find the highway fuel economy figure stated anywhere. But don't worry because I think that the Australian government is making it mandatory for all manufacturers to display this value in the next month or so and i'm sure Toyota will be worried because a Yaris could probably beat the Prius.

[Poetic Justice]

Er... how much common sense does it take to realise that a 1.5lt 4cyl will rev more (thus use more fuel) than a V8?

prius 104 g/km co2 emissions
bmw m3 293 g/km co2 emissions

Pretty stupid argument if you ask me. At the end of the day, hybrid is a good option for city driving. Diesel cars will get better run out on highway driving...

Each car has its own merits really. The only thing I can fault Prius on is the initial price tag which seems to negate any savings over buying something like a Corolla or Focus or like...

The current generation Prius is priced because it also had other new technology when it came onto the market (it's an old model now) and has aged. Next year will see the new generation Prius released which will have even greater technology again including using the 1.8 engine from the Corolla and yet still making more power and using less fuel.

[xbgs351]

Where is this study he mentioned?

A Top Gear clip has zero credibility on this subject.

[phoenix99]

found a bit more info with numbers

According to the Toyota web site the Prius uses 4.4L/100Km when driving in the city and the manual transmission version of the Corolla Hatchback uses 7.4L/100Km (7.7 for the auto). For the average 16,000Km that an average Prius owner drives that would save 480L of petrol which would save about $700 at current petrol prices.

The Corolla Ascent Hatchback (the cheapest of all Corollas) is $21,000 while the cheapest Prius is $37,400. If you compare the Prius with the cheapest Corolla then it’s a $16,400 price difference. If you save $700 per annum then it won’t cover the interest on a $16,400 loan or match the interest rates earned by a bank term-deposit if the $16,400 was invested. So it seems apparent that at current petrol prices (NB petrol prices are expected to increase) and with average Prius driving patterns a Prius will not be more economical than a cheap Corolla.