NeilT

if so any idea what 'real world' fuel ecomony they deliver? The Toyota website suggests 65mpg, but I wonder what that really equates to.

Also, anyone know how long the battery lasts before it needs replacing and cost of a new one?

Not for me btw - my mum's after replacing her ageing Micra and the Prius seems to be top of her list at the moment.

Neil

BOB.T

A chap told me his did about 45 MPG, on average.

I wouldn't bother with one. I don't think the benefits outweigh the negatives of the batteries and motors, yet. If economy is important to you/your mum I'd go for a small diesel

Dieseldog

Have a look at Spritmonitor.de. Out of 506 listed, the average is 54mpg, in a range between low 40's to high 60's.

If you consider that a) the type of person who diligently records their mileage on the site is probably interested in max economy, and b) a Prius owner is also probably interested in max economy, I would hazard a guess that driven normally, the car probably gets mid to late 40's.

Which is pretty much as Bob.T suggests.

BOB.T

The Focus and Fiesta diesels are both (give or take) 65MPG
....I was gonna compare VW and Vauxhall but to be honest both the respective websites are crap and I got bored!

Anyhoo, Prius, crap!

Shark Man

the Prius DOES NOT give ultimate fuel economy.

Its a common misconception about this car. The idea of the electro-hybrid-petrol, is it reduces CO2 and pollution when its being used in an URBAN environment (i.e local pollution)...fuel economy is a secondary factor in all of this.

That's why its not a diesel (diesel produces nasty carcinogens therefore not "green"...like petrol is supposed to be better!?!?! ).


If one wants a ultra economical car on fuel, get something small, light and diesel powered. Like the 1.4 diesel engine found in the Peugeot 207 HDi, Citroen C3/C2, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Aygo, Mazda 2 etc (they all have the exact same engine...60+mpg ).

Eddie1980

Anyone fancy getting into a v12 conversion of a prius, I love irony!

brickboy

IIRC Honest John got an average of 48mpg over a 6-month road test, which is probably "real world" economy.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Because it's all about politics and giving the impression of being environmentally conscious. Actual science takes a firm back seat.

Diesels generate sooty particulates, which are perceived - rightly or wrongly - as "not environmental". That means a diesel hybrid wouldn't project the 'right', fashionable image, regardless of its other merits. Chances are the engine would have to be bigger to lug all the batteries and motors around too, so I have my doubts about how much better it would be on fuel anyway.

Bear in mind that a litre of diesel produces 2.7kg of carbon dioxide when burned, compared to 2.4kg per litre for petrol, so if CO2 is your concern, you'd need to be doing (say) 54mpg as opposed to 48mpg just to break even.

austinwrx

check out sunday times driving site.

they did a huge test between a pious and a bmw diesel. did maybe 3000 miles in them. the bmw was more efficient.

the pious achieved about 43 mpg. crap really when you'd get about 65-70 mpg fromm a lupo or aygo or c1 etc

pwhittle

same as a deisel Mondeo then (been eeking out 53mpg recently due to the price hike)
just a very over-priced mid-sized car then really...

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

A 520D, if I recall correctly. Not exactly a small car, then

austinwrx

wasn't it a 3 series.

they're tiny !

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Toyota Prius proves a gas guzzler in a race with the BMW 520d review | Used Car Reviews | Driving - Times Online

Shark Man

12.6 inches and 80kg between a 520d and a 320d to be exact.

The weight and spatial awareness of the average plump female


...of which a Prius is a whopping 200kg lighter

Devildog

This is whay cracks me up.

And not in a good way..

Current derv Shogun = £400 per annum to tax
Wife's previous petrol dog carrying people carrier van thing = £200 a year to tax

And yet we get more than 2.7/2.4 or 1.125 x MPG from the shogun on the current drive cycle and so are producing less Co2 than before but paying twice the tax.

Not only does the whole co2 and the environment issue fail to stack up, the whole tax heavy Co2 emission vehicles fails to stack up.

To the OP - the fact that there are far more efficeint vehciles out there, together with the the environmental cost of manufacturing a Prius, in terms of "real" pollutants is so much higher than that of a "normal" car, that hybrids should, in all reality, be banned.

borat52

Diesel really is a horrible fuel from a human health point of view, its usually seen as "better" with regards to CO2 and CO emmisions (but its negligible in reality) but look at the fine particulate emmisions (the ones which kill people) and its terrifying.

Diesels emit 20-25 times more fine nitric oxide particulates than petrol and about 120 times more than LPG vehicles.

Personally I would rather have more CO2 than Nitric Oxides - the CO2 won't kill us any time soon, the NO particulates will give us lung cancer, accumulate in our vital organs and contribute to asthma from word go. I think I'm correct in saying that deisel vehicles are severly taxed and tested for fine particulates in Tokyo which is why the Japs have not made (m)any groundbreaking diesels yet, the advice from the Government out there is don't buy diesel as its puts out too many fine particulates.

LPG is the way to go int he short term if you care about the environment.

I think the Prius is a Red Herring, far more environmentally friendly cars out there when you consider the total impact from manufacture to disposal.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

If you think that's bad, try working out the tax you pay for every kg of CO2 produced by your car, and then compare that with the tax you pay for every kg of CO2 produced by your domestic boiler.

Naturally this makes perfect sense, though. 'Car CO2' is much more environmentally damaging than 'home CO2', and it's much harder to put on a jumper than it is to simply stop going to work, shopping and seeing your family.

Oh, wait...

Shark Man

I belive since eEuro IV compliance is becomming more widespread. NOx emissions and partculates from modern diesels are next to nothing compared to non-Euro compliant engines (which is why most modern diesel have particulate filters and EGR systems....reducing oxygen levels in combustion reduces NOx, the downside is it increases CO2).

If I'm correct Euro IV NOx for diesel cars should be 0.25g/km...which is about 3 times more than the limits for a Euro IV petrol engine - converse to 20-25 said above, which would be directed at older or large commercial engines.

VCAcarfueldata.org.uk - Emissions Testing

dpb

Id imagine another reason then for why diesel development in japan has something to do with the poor sods being squeezed into such a small amount of living space and therefore proportionatley more liable to be choking on such particulates ..!

Shark Man

This popped up in my email today: Green cars: how they really measure up | Car Features | 4car | channel4.com

Looks like the Mini Cooper Diesel wins. Funny how a German car needs an engine made by Ford/Peugeot.