Consumer Reports review of 2016 Prius Three

I would feel better about the Consumer Reports testing if it was defined well enough either of us could replicate their protocol and get similar results.

Bob Wilson

 

Consumer reports MPG figures = comical. I lost faith a long time ago basing my decision making, whether it be a car or washing machine. Best adverts / reviews are generally the real public who use them.

 

Yup, I too gave up on Consumer Reports years ago. When everything I bought that was Top Rated... broke!

Never buy a Kenmore Washer, Dryer, Refrigerator... anything from them again! All Top Rated. All crap.

 

Last page of http://web.archive.org/web/20050919051541/http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf describes their tests vs. that of the pre-model year 2008 EPA tests.

 

They drive like my daughter. She has the fan on high and the AC full cold all the time. Also drives with a heavy foot.

 

It seems then that the Prius has quite a big trunk in a more compact format...

 

Thank you!!

This is a start and I can reverse engineer a 'Top Gear' version:

Our tests.
These tests are stop-and-go city-driving simulations on our test track, which has a total of 18 stops and 4 minutes of total idle time. Top speed is 40 mph. Two different testers each drive three runs for a total of six 2-minute, 40-second trials on every test vehicle. Total test time is approximately 16 minutes.​

Now we can begin to understand:

• 2.66 minutes * 6 cycles = 15.96 minutes, close enough to 16 minutes
• 18 stops / 6 cycles = 3 stops per cycle
• 4 minutes_idle / 6 cycles = 0.66 minutes idle
• 2.66 minutes - 0.66 minutes idle = 2 minutes running
• 2 minutes / 3 start_stop = 0.66 minutes per start_stop
• Prepare car:
  • cold soak over night
  • full gas tank
  • head lights on, normal
  • maximum A/C or defrost
  • tires deflated to door jam pressure
• Expected Consumer Reports City Test Cycle:
  • standing start
    
  • max accelerate to 40 mph and start timer
    
  • after 0.66 minutes (40 seconds)
    
  • max stop
  • max accelerate to 40 mph and start timer
    
  • after 0.66 minutes (40 seconds)
    
  • max stop
  • max accelerate to 40 mph and start timer
    
  • after 0.66 minutes (40 seconds)
    
  • max stop
  • idle 0.66 minutes (40 seconds and turn around)
  • repeat 6 times

Ok, I have enough information to replicate a Consumer Reports, City test case with our Gen-3, a 2010 Prius. I'm still up in the air about headlights and maximum A/C. Given this is a 'Top Gear' style test, I will turn them on. I will have a high-resolution, recording OBD recorder to share the data.

FYI, it will take me a couple of days to get around to this testing. Today, I am test driving a BMW i3-REx from Charlotte NC to Huntsville AL. This will be my first drive in a BMW i3, ever, ~8 hours not counting fuel and charging stops.

Hummmm, I could use the same protocol with the BMW i3-REx ... <GRINS>

Bob Wilson

 

I think that most reviews online and on magazines are flawed in any case. They never specify *exactly* what they do, when, at which temperature, and so on. From a scientific "experimental repeatable" approach, a nightmare.
They are never really objective.

As much as they are "flawed", I find the EU and EPA (in particular) ratings the best indication how a car will consume *RELATIVELY* to others that are following the same exactly specified test.
What I mean is, if the Gen3 and the Gen4 have been tested on the EU cycle in the same way, then I know that if the Gen3 does 4L/100km on average and the Gen4 does 3L/100km on average, I know that Gen4 *on average* will consume 25% less than Gen3.
If I read that e.g. model X consumes on average 3.5L/100km I still know that on *average* the Prius will be better.
PS: the EU tests for plug-in hybrids are essentially useless...

So for me all these tests online are quite useless (especially for fuel consumption), are often made by biased testers in a non scientific way. Last weekend I was with this friend of mine who works in a magazine about fleet cars, and he tests cars continuously. His way of determining whether the Prius he had for the weekend was good or not, did raise an eyebrow in me, seating in the back - he never managed to keep a constant speed on the highway, braking too hard and accelerating too fast, and he said "I like to drive fast" - how can one expect a positive review from a driver like that? in the end he did like 5.7L/100km (4 of us, A/C blasting at 19C with 24C out) and he said "I don't see how this car can achieve 3.3L/100km as the EU tests say, which are crap in any case, and this car is boring for USA market only". I kept a lot of thoughts to myself. If he were testing a Porsche that was not fast, I couldn't agree more. But he was testing the epitome of fuel efficiency and driving it like it was made to race and expecting wonders.
He could also not believe that the Gen4 had less HP than the Gen3 ("how can it be - it is impossible!") and he complained that a car like the Prius and its size should "at least have 150HP"... Yes, he is German...
BTW: essentially he was telling me without even realising it, that the car I ordered (Gen4) and the one I owned (Gen3) was crap - I spare you his comments about the styling of Gen4.

It's like, back in the day, ADAC (the German automobile club; BTW also involved in a scandal a couple of years back because they falsified results of users' reports to make sure that VW cars would be number one and could then get the ADAC best car award for the year - that helps selling cars....) complaining (and putting into the "negatives" section) in the Gen3 test, that the fuel port is on the left hand side instead of the right hand side (like all German cars have). It makes you think what type of authority and sense they have put into writing everything else...
And I add, I am THANKFUL the fuel port is so, because when I go to the gas station, I can fuel on the other side of the pump, where there is nobody!

I prefer to use references from real drivers reports in here, or even better from Spritmonitor or Fuelly where one can get *averages* of fuel consumption for a specific model or type of car, flattening out any driver specific behaviour or lifestyle.
Spritmonitor (also available in english!) goes one step further and can give even further insights on what are the cars with the lowest *real* CO2 value (The most CO2 efficient cars - Spritmonitor.de).

The only thing I know now, is that the Gen4 will give me on average 25% better fuel consumption compared to my Gen3, with possibly more room for improvement as EU tests don't cover all the cases I drive usually. Both Prius are not built to save fuel on that test, so I know the reference is ok.

 

The article says "October 2005" at the bottom of the page. I wonder if CR has changed their testing since then?

City driving simulation: "18 stops and 4 minutes of total idle time."

In the real world, I'm stopped for at least 4 minutes (or more), at each red light. Especially during the morning and evening heavy traffic times. This makes me appreciate my Prius Hybrid so much more... knowing that the engine cuts off.

 

4 minutes stop at a traffic light????

 

The slang term is 'malfunction junction' if you plan to drive in the USA. Fixed now, at one time Boston MA had 18 lanes merge into 2. But Boston traffic was (is) special.

• You always heard horns going off
• Cars were pre-dented

Bob Wilson

 

In my case, it was that infamous "HE" washer with a known issue in the bad electronics controller board. They never could fix it. Wanted an arm and a leg... it was ridiculous! CR Top Rated.

The Kenmore refrigerator just gave out after only 8 years. Also the CR Top Rated (high end) model.

Oh well, that's all in the long forgotten past.

 

Try driving in the Bay Area on busy streets during rush hour, or sometimes not even rush hour. Good luck w/waiting only 30 to 50 seconds.

 

Yes, 4 minutes... Ok, at least 3:20. It depends on the time of day. And what area of the city. And if the intersection has separate dedicated left-turn lanes. That really slows things down.

So let me apologize for exaggerating somewhat. It's not every red light. Tar & feather me!

 

I was in Silicon Valley a few times and yes, some traffic lights there were extremely long. Like 1+ mins at least. If you are on a side road and what to get on a bigger one, that usually happens... and what I had noticed back then is that traffic lights are hardly if ever, synchronised in a "green wave" - they seemed to switch randomly and essentially blocking traffic. Most people seemed to rush to the next one (forget about pollution, fuel consumption, etc) just to see if they could avoid *yet* another red light....
No traffic light there also seemed to be "intelligent" - that is, regulating itself based on the amount of traffic. I have often seen 1-2 cars waiting *forever* at an intersection because the switching was based on heavy traffi