Prius V normal car MPG

As engines become more efficient, it will benefit hybrids as well.

Plus for me, the benefit of a hybrid is more than mileage, it is the environmental benefit of not running the engine all the time.

Overall, a silly article except that it shows that engines can be made more energy efficient.

 

The article points out the real world calculations that are made when purchasing a car -- fuel costs being one part of the equation. The Prius really shines with lower speed commuting.

The hybrid maintenance/ reliability concern should be a non issue at this point .... I did find the dealer extended warranty hard-sell counterproductive.

The article never talks about resale value -- it will be interesting to see what a 2011 Prius will be worth in five years.

The Prius has a very unusual list of buyers -- The econobox commuter being only one segment.

My two surprises -- the car is faster than I anticipated and you can't tell it is a hybrid vs straight IC

 

The article is crap. It brings up the same tired old falsehoods about regular cars getting the same mpg as hybrids. In the case of mild hybrids this may be true but the comparison to the Prius is really dumb. They never compare apples to apple by using similar commutes and driving styles. Then they mention a Prius getting 37mpg and use that as the benchmark? Seriously? Did they not look at any of the online mileage trackers that she the average Prius owner gets 45-48mpg? Stupid articles!

 

he's driving a fiesta to save a nickel a mile? great, now i can get a new hycam instead of a fusion. let some other fools support ford.

 

I'm sorry ........I don't get how this article is stupid.

The miles are a bit off -- but the basic premiss is not. For many ... the price difference will never be made up in purchasing the Prius ... this alone is enough for many not to purchase ..... Add in the necessary weight limiting compromises of the vehicle and you have more people who will pass.

It is not that they achieve the MPG -- it is that they get close enough.



As a side note ...We have a fleet of american cars -- and I can tell you that Ford's are incredibly reliable ...... we never touch them

 

I think what the author of the article is telling us is that he can save more money by looking at the whole picture. Price of car + MPG difference between hybrid and non hybrids = lesser cost overall vs. price of hybrids + MPG difference of hybrids and non hybrids = higher cost overall. The question here is, who wants to be in a Fiesta?

 

Again, they only focus on their wallet and not on the overall reduction in fuel use. A lot of us bought our cars to reduce the use of fossil fuels and not just to save money.

I wouldn't call it close. The average mpg for most of these so-called 40mpg gassers is closer to 30mpg than 40mpg unless they are freeway only cars. There is at least a 10mpg difference on average between them and the Prius. Once the gassers start getting 45+ average then I will concede they are close enough that the fuel savings have hit a point of diminishing returns.

 

Agreed. But unfortunately, his article only focussed on the money part which I would agree. If he'd factored in the other benefits, I'm sure he'll have to go with the prius.

 

Favorite story of the week!
Florida Rep. Allen West (R) Slams Obama Over Cost of Filling Up His Hummer!

Rep. Allen West Slams Obama Over Cost of Filling Up His Hummer

 

FOR starters, do a little comparison of comparable equipment. Prius comes standard with far more.

2nd, anybody gettin mid 30's for MPG in a prius is ... well lets just say they would get far worse mileage in the fiesta... My wife is a lead foot driver and does not believe in coasting, it's gas and brake... no in between and she still gets mid 40's . Also notice that the articles like this always talk about Highway mileage, which unless you do a lot of highway driving is very misleading. Compare city to highway on Prius to fiesta and its a very wide gap.

3rd Prius is much larger than the fiesta. You could compare the Fiesta to the Prius c, then fiesta would be comparable.

4th, trade in value (from owning 4 previous ford products) is not going to be the same... GUARANTEED! Especially at the low end.
I was not as concerned with tradein value since I typically got my vehicles with large discounts & larger rebates, but i still came out behind compare to the comparable camry (used to buy taurus or sables)

5th, price of gas is big variable, Prices in my area have gone up 50 cents in one week (filled up Sunday evening at 3.24, currently 3.79).

6th, My vehicles from Ford were very reliable, but past 5 years they went down hill fast... Not body, but mechanical...

 

In my opinion what is disingenious about this article is the focus on fuel efficient ICE's Highway mileage.

The huge advantage with Hybrid technology is city MPG's, which combine to make a better combined total MPG.

I'm glad that automakers seem to be trying to make engines more efficient. But touting 40 mpg highway? Is only that. Yes for some people that is great. But how many of us hop in our cars and then directly onto the highway to maintain 55 mph or more at a steady rate?

No, in REAL life most of us drive a mixture of Highway Miles and City Miles. And as populations increase, especially around cities, even on highways one finds oneself more and more in stop and go traffic. Thus the advantage to hybrids that isn't being recongized in that article.

I'm also sceptical of some of these high mileage claims period. I currently own a Honda Fit, and before I bought it I investigated Honda Fit forums. I read from people about how they were getting "near" Hybrid MPG's.

You know what MPG I get? Almost exactly what Honda's EPA numbers are. 28 City, 32 Highway for a combined 30 mpg.

I don't get upwards of 40 mpg...my Fit is efficient in comparison to larger ICE SUV's and bigger vehicles, but it does NOT threaten Hybrid MPG in any way.

I think unless you imagine everyone lives on a great expanse connected only by Highways and Freeways it is patently disingenious to claim 40 mpg HIGHWAY ICE's compete evenly with Hybrids.

If I had a situation, where I was singularly and primarily using a vehicle ONLY for highway driving? I "might" bypass a Hybrid and buy one of the uber efficient ICE vehicles. But because I know, in my real life and needing to use my vehicle in a range of both Highway and City driving, a Hybrid still has clear advantage, I keep that reality in mind.

 

The article compares a manufacturer-claimed best mileage for a Fiesta with a pessimistic worst mileage for the Prius. I don't know what mileage people really get in the Fiesta, but I never average below 45 MPG on a tank in my Prius and don't dress like an Eskimo. Consider how many Prius owners would make an even trade for an equal mileage Fiesta, compared to the reverse trade for Fiesta owners. Claims based on hypothetical assumptions don't replace reality. The ownership value of a Prius is viewed as superior to that of a Fiesta by nearly everyone.

 

This and almost every article confuse 'average miles per year' to mean that everyone drives 15,000 a year.

I drove a church lady to her doctor appointment in Memphis this week, her Fusion is 4 years old and does not have 15,000 miles on it. It almost does not matter what it's MPG is, but it is all city miles.

I drive 15,000 miles in 6 months, I will save the 'hybrid tax' in gas money in 4 years.

A taxi averaging 75,000 miles a year pays the entire cost of a Prius in 3 years compared to a Crown Vic.

 

"Toyota Motor, whose Prius accounted for 51 percent of all hybrid sales in the U.S. last year, rejects the notion that conventional engines are a threat. “That position is absolute nonsense,” says Bob Carter, Toyota’s group vice president of U.S. sales. Although Prius sales fell 3.2 percent last year, which Carter blames on supply declines after Japan’s tsunami, Toyota expects record sales this year as it adds a Prius wagon and a plug-in electric model. Fiesta owner Hacker isn’t convinced. “A lot of people get a Prius just because they want to be green,” he says. “I just wanted the most economical car.” "

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Not me. I bought a Prius, primarily because it has the perfect format for me - It seats four tall adults if needed. hatchback for hauling larger items, and most of all it has adequate seating for me, at 6'2" tall while retaining good room behind driver's seat. Matrix, Mazda3 hatch, Focus hatch and all others I can think of fall short in this. I looked hard last year.

Oh my how "they" wish the Prius would just go away.

Funny how they are trying to compare running cost of a Fiesta with a liftback Prius , ha ha. They're gonna be trumped in ....

2 weeks when the the Prius c arrives. Then compare your little Fiesta to Prius.

Know what naysayers? Some people just want some peace and quiet in their hybrid, not some churning gas engine at every stop light, drive through, parking lot, etc, etc....

They will play this 40 MPG HIGHWAY game until the cows come home. It's smoke and mirrors man.

What really matters is the AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY as logged in places like Fuelly | Share and Compare Your MPG I don't give a rats A$$ about highway fuel economy. Wanna see a video of 880 south in the morning? Lemme guess, in friggen Nebraska, people sail along at 70 MPH on barren freeway to work. Whoopee, there's few cars anyway.

This is an anti-electrified car article. There is and will be a contigent to try to make electrified cars look bad.

We'll see how things go this year with $5 gas and a 4-prong Prius attack. I'm seeing new 2012 liftbacks, dealer plates every day.

Ford Fiesta - 35 MPG average , 2,500 lb car

Prius c - 50+ MPG average , 2,500 lb

Prius liftback - 48 mpg (fuelly) , 3,000 lbs

 

2013 Prius c Two , $20,860 total MSRP (sticker price), USB bluetooth, 6 way seat .... betchya it will bank 50 mpg on fuelly by Summer.

2012 Ford Fiesta S hatch, 6sp auto - $15,490 total MSRP ... it's a 35 mpg car.

Fiesta - 11.5 cents / mile gas
Prius c - 8 cents

just looking at gas, no features, assume $4 gas for good, it's 153k miles to make up the cost difference, forgetting about resale, and have to deal with hybrid battery eventually.

So, yes, if looking for the cheapest car, don't buy a hybrid.

 

There's a slew of people that think vehicle electrification is lame. They'll play the same old cards over and over .... hybrids are slow and boring to drive, conventional get just about the same MPGs on the highway, people only buy Prius because they want to be green ... blah, blah, the same old schtick they've said for over 10 years now.

They like to point out how hybrids are only 2.2% (?) total car market share, but you won't see them admit Prius is #14 of all cars sold in US in 2011.

I say, let gas prices go over $5/gallon, bring ample supply of 4 Prius', then let's see how things look in December.

 

While the article mentions a particular persons decision -- the thrust of the piece relates to the relative value of the car ...... a lot of people just don't drive enough to make the Prius an economically viable decision.


I don't need any rational to explain my purchase -- I bought it ..... but I absolutely understand why someone would choose ....lets say a VW Jetta for 23k or a Ford fiesta at sub 20k.

I was surprised how nice the Volt is -- and would make a great city car -- but the cost of the vehicle is too high for what it will return for me at 4k or 5k a year.

 

Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - 2011 Year End - GOOD CAR BAD CAR


Seems the article is just grandstanding after 800% increase of Cruze sales following first year intro.

We'll see how the Cruze holds up and if it can avoid reliability problems.

 

Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - January 2012 - GOOD CAR BAD CAR

Prius/Prius v duo moves up to #18 of all cars/trucks/SUVs sold Jan 2012 US.

Ford sold 55k Fiestas (sedan/hatch) in US all of 2011 vs. Prius 136k

Jan 2012 - 3.5k Fiestas vs. 11,555 Prius/v

Whadya know, there are no subcompacts listed in top 30 sales chart for US for 2011. And the article stuffs a subcompact Fiesta in Prius' face, bragging about its 35 MPGs. whateva.