Disappointed in Prius ('08) waiting for '10

Whatevs. As I told someone on another (non-car) forum who decided to sell her Prius, there are plenty of people on wait lists so if you don't want one, by all means let someone else have it.

 

First, the Prius is not supposed to be particularly fast.. that it IS NOT designed for.. speed and high mpg just dont' go together (outside of an electric, different story).. but I got to tell you .. I've had an 06 Prius since new and right now I average over 58 mpg.. that is AMAZING..... it's all in how you drive.. little things make a big difference.

 

second.. with a prius vs diesel or any non-electric, consider this:.. there are many times on EVERY trip you take where your gas motor is not running AT ALL... ZERO, ZERO, ZERO emissions... For several minutes at a time even while driving down the road... depending on how fast, how flat, etc etc

 

Driving for maximum MPG with a Prius (or any car) requires some skill and ability. I am sure that when EV's hit the road some drivers will get 70 miles from a charge and some will only get 40.

I have owned my 05 for 6 weeks now and I can get in the low 60's without really paying much attention.

 

Consumer Reports reported an average of 44 mpg ... to me that is really good for a car. My 1000cc sportbike will not average 44 mpg, only 45 in highway mpg.

I was too curious about the 08 Prius, so rented one a couple month ago.

I specifically recall going up the steepest grades over Hwy 17 towards Santa Cruz. The car seemed taxed. What would happen if the car had 4 people and cargo?

Being 6ft. 3in., I just felt a bit too tall in the driver's seat.

If Toyota can give it a skosh more power, 6-way manually adjustable driver's seat, tilt/telescopic steering wheel, and retain the gas mileage and cargo utility, the 2010 will be just about perfect. I hope the '10 is at the car shows around Thanksgiving timeframe this year.

Plug-in seems like a nice option for those who can plug-in.

 

My 08 prius was preceded by a 07 and a 06. Little or no difference between the cars. I live in the suburbs of Houston and cannot achieve the 50-60 mpg average many claim to achieve - the driving climate will not permit the kind of driving that is requried to achieve those kind of numbers. Agreeded the prius tech. has been around for years and while still superior to most vechs. we all await the next generation of hybrids. Others may be first with the next gen. hybrid but I have faith that toyota will do it right the first time out of the box. Till then my average 46 mpg is something I can live with. Look for a fuel sipping oil burner coupled with a lithum batt. for extended ev. - one has been built and is being tested in Germany.

 

LOL....

Well, at lest you drove it. I can respect that, even if I don’t agree with you conclusion.

Sorry to laugh, but with gas prices headed where they are, who really gives a rat's @ss about performance? If you're that rich, then just keep that Beemer running for the next decade.

For me, I accept that I don't drive at Le Mans everyday and that the more "modest" (read reasonable) performance offered by the Prius is more than adequate for the average driver. Sure, I like cars that go "vroom vroom", but I like eating better, I like paying the credit card companies less, and I really hate subsidizing big oil and to some extent the middle east.

I'm sure that this won't be popular, but it needs to be said.

Hope to see you back in a couple of years! Hopefully you'll still be able to get here.

Peace!

 

If we had the vehicles that Europe has, I'd probably be driving something else. We don't and the prius is about as good as it gets here for the time being. The next generation jett TDI shows some promise, but I'm sre the sticker on the window will be a bit more painful.

 

Well I too respect that you drove one first. I think the Prius is a car which requires some time to get accustomed to. I initially did not like mine, thought I made a big mistake. After a couple of months of driving it along with starting to make some changes to personalize the car, I have loved it ever since. I have never attained the claimed mileage but routinely average 45 MPG.

I am 52 and drive the car moderately aggressive. I don't play the egg under the pedal routine and I certainly don't hold up traffic on the road. I like the canyon roads and when I find someone in a sports car in front of me in the canyon it is time to play. I don't crowd them, but they know I am there. Also, when a sports car is behind me and the road is clear in front of me I lead them through the turns at a good clip. By the time we emerge from the canyon they are looking at my Prius going what the heck have you done to that car. My car just turned 84,500 last night and still looks new. I will be eagerly awaiting the 2010 model for my next car.

 

Using the battery more would almost certainly give worse consumption.

When the Prius is running off the battery it is in effect taking a loan from future fuel consumption. As the efficiency of the generators, motors and battery are in the region of 50% - any energy use from battery will require twice as much energy from the engine to recharge the battery.

The engine control software takes this into account and only uses the battery under conditions where the engine would be running at less that half its normal efficiency (for example at less than 10-15HP).

Also it takes energy to energy to carry the battery around - the existing battery weighs about 100lb, doubling that would add another 100lb and could reduce fuel economy by 1mpg just because of that as well as adding significant cost. It is not a simple compromise and is not the best for all situations although does well for most.

kevin

 

Hello Zack, welcome to PriusChat from a fellow GTA resident. I live in Mississauga and have had my '06 for just over two years and over 83K KM of driving, which I track, partially for work purposes. You may want to click my GreenHybrid link below to see a "real life" idea of what to expect, in Toronto's climate.

Overall, my average stands at 4.95L/100km (approx 47.5MPG US), driving completely normally, mostly on the 401 at rush hour. Just what this car was designed for. While it is far from the posted 4.0/4.2 numbers, I am very happy with the performance of this car so far.


A few thoughts, some recapping comments made earlier;

• The Prius is *not* designed to be a sports car, so comparing to a V6 anything is apples and oranges. It in fact has plenty of power for everyday driving, it just won't suck your eyeballs to the back of your head.
• Do not make the common mistake of comparing *real life* Prius numbers with *posted* numbers on other vehicles. Both are measured in "ideal" conditions, and your real-life driving factors would also bring down the other vehicles as well, to a degree.
• As someone else mentioned, be careful quoting European car mileage, due to the imperial gallon (4.55L) vs the US gallon (3.78L). This inflates their numbers about 20%.
• Contrary to what one would think, trying to drive as much as possible in Electric mode does NOT increase your overall efficiency. That battery will need be recharged anyway, you are only postponing the fuel consumption. Just drive it normally and let the car manage when to use EV.
• The car is engineered to minimize *emissions*, not fuel. Whenever the car starts up, the engine HAS to run to warm up the catalytic converter. Since a significant part of the fuel savings comes from shutting the engine off when not needed, this means short trips and very cold temperatures (i.e. Canadian winter) make the engine run more and reduce your efficiency. Longer trips, warmer climates are your friends.
• Don't believe the myth that the battery in the Prius will need to be automatically replaced at the end of your warranty for some $x000 amount of money. The battery is managed so well, that it generally lasts for the life of the car, and is at least more reliable than a typical automatic transmission (which this car doesn't have!), which is a big-ticket repair.
• The car should actually require LESS maintenance that a conventional car (i.e. longer lasting brakes, more reliable electric components, no "transmission", alternator, or starter, the latter three are relatively common failure components). Lots of threads about this stuff.

Anyway, I've written enough... it really is an excellent car, and the more you read & learn about it, the more impressed you will be. There are LOTS of excellent resources on this board to answer anything you need to know, and if you can't find it, just ask.

PS - you do realize there is $4000 in tax breaks for Ontario residents, right? $2K from Ontario and $2K from the Feds, though the latter expires at the end of the year...

 

I am going to disagree a little with both Kevin's. I Truly believe that there are many situations that if I had even a little more battery I could do far better on my mileage. In my day to day driving, I have more than enough opportunities to keep the battery charged and find myself wanting more battery at times.

If the battery is taking a loan from future fuel consumption, why are we hauling around the added weight of the battery and all of the electronics and paying the added price?

Would the Prius without the electrics and lighter weight get as good or better mileage? I don't think so, not even close. So somewhere in the mix we are getting more from the electric than we are "putting in".

 

With NO special techniques, and over a mixture of suface, freeway, and hill driving, we get 50.

 

I get about that same mileage myself, hitting 45mpg pretty consistently.

I have achieved 60mpg before and could stay above 50mpg consistently, but I've chosen to drive faster. If I kept my speed between 65-70 that would make a huge difference. But driving 30k miles a year, I've started to drive faster.

First year though my running average was about 50-51mpg. Sometime after that I picked up the pace

 

I got 48 mpg first 150 miles. Raised tire pressure from 37/35 set by dealer to 39/37.
No change in handling. Last 50 miles I'm getting 52 mpg. The mpg depends a lot on how many short (0-5 mile) trips. That will bring you down into the 40s.

 

Add 2 mpg to the CR value for mixed driving--in my experience with other cars. Looks like the Prius is pretty close to a 50 mpg car on average.