Disappointed in Prius ('08) waiting for '10

Watch VW for that

 

Hm, where did you see this? Everything I see about the new VW indicates about 60 mpg (not all that far from the official current Prius numbers.)

I live up in the hills, so I usually get about 40-41mpg from my Prius, mostly on surface streets. I am happy with it, compared to my other vehicles.

As to European makers, I sure hope they come up with something great. My problem is, after purchasing 3 Japanese-made cars, I am really leery of going back to European-made - too many quality headaches (although, having the 2010 Prius manufactured in the States may make me pause, too.)

Also, I recently had an Audi 4/1.6 rental, and while I've always liked Audis, this thing was dangerous to drive on two-lane roads - passing trucks required long stretches of clear road, because pick up was glacial.

The Prius is just a different class of car, when compared to similarly fuel-frugal small-engined Euro-vehicles.

 

BLAST!
Really, you made very intelligent comments. I can only tell you that my experience with the Prius gives me a deep appreciation of TODAY's Toyota's mass market technology of the hybrid. I have driven the Audi 6, 1967 corvette convertable, Lexus SC300, and Porche Carrera 911 4 and rode in many other very luxurious cars. And the Prius technology drives circles around these other cars. Most importantly, it delivers on a totally different level. It educates the driver on what drive system is being used, and amount of fossil fuel being burned every second, while reducing pollution levels. It utilizes less moving parts, it harnesses kinetic energy in a braking system, while reducing brake wear.
This is the blast...how can you compare this technology compared to straight fossil fuel technology? Fossil fuel technology was invented before the 19th century.
My suggestion would be lighten up on the performance requirements you have, appreciate this technology, enjoy the benefits of saving money at the pump, and relax while driving the speed limit....
Yeah, I believe the Prius will reach its zenith when it enters Daytona 500 but until then, you will be driving futuristic technology today...even if the car doesn't lay rubber.
BTW, the emission standards for diesel fuel changes State to State. Recent changes in Illinois knocked MPG's significantly to eliminate sulphur discharge.I know those europeans are more sophisticated in many ways but until these environmental issues are dramatically changed by sophisticated technology it appears harnessing electric energy is the hope of the automobile's future...and hybrid technology is the first step to this end.

 

Hey,
To each his/her own.
Your post has some valid points.
I bought my Pri for the MPG ,it's reliability and customer satisfaction.
After driving luxury vehicles for many years the Prius is close enough.
The smaller Euro cars are much to vanilla for me.
Actually I was waiting on the Aptera when the Prius caught my attention.
Have to say I am happy with my Pri!

 

Zack, from what I have read, the 2010 Prius will have more battery capacity, and a LARGER gasoline engine that is more fuel efficient than the current one.

This will be perfect in my opinion. I have had my car a little over 3K miles now. But, 2K of those were from Idaho to Nebraska, then up through South Dakota and back to Idaho. During this trip, I encountered every condition imaginable except snow.

Of particular interest were long steep grades. Going up, I ran completely out of battery (more capacity would help here). When I went to pass a motorhome, I couldn't. The gas motor did not have enough oomph (bigger would be better). Then, coming down the long steep grade, the batteries charged to capacity and a lot of my inertial energy was wasted because it could not be stored in the battery (more capacity would help).

While the Prius won't win many drag races, I did not think the Prius lacked passing power, unless the battery was depleted (only happened once). Overall, I would buy the 2008 again. I am very interested in the 2010 however. I like my Prius so much, I would buy the 2010 and keep the 2008 too.

If you can hold out, I think the 2010 will be more impressive, but I have averaged 48 MPG overall with a best of 52 MPG on one tank. I consistently get 48 in town hauling the wife and two kids with the AC on constantly. I only get 37 on my motorcycle!!!

As far as performance and horsepower, I offer this: I own three vehicles (and a motorcycle). My truck has 425 horsepower and can accelerate to 60 MPH in 6 seconds flat. I have a Nissan Maxima with 265 HP that is close behind the truck. And ... I have the Prius which can sprint to 60 in 10.5 give or take. Which one do you think I drive the most? The Prius by far. The others may be more fun to drive, but driving the Prius puts a smile on my face at the pumps. And I still think it is fun to drive, just in a different way.

Another interesting point: Since I have owned the Prius, I have started to drive my other vehicles differently. I have been able to improve the truck's mileage 1.5 MPG to 15.5 in town just by altering my driving habits and coasting when possible. The Prius is teaching me new tricks

Good luck,

Mike

 

Problem is, they will not reveal any numbers, or driving conditions, and the car is at the concept stage. They don't even say it will be produced: by 2010 VW plans to have 20 vehicles as an "experimental fleet," which is basically just proof of concept. Not something anyone should count on, or wait for.

I hope they succeed, but there are also others who are feverishly working on alternatives. And the Prius is here and now

 

Not me; Just got back from 500 mile trip in the Sierras and averaged 51.1 MPG

 

Not me. Just returned from 500 mile trip up in the Sierras and averaged 51.1 MPG. A 2008 Prius with #2 pkg

 

The wife and are also in the Prius market. We rented one from Hertz. Got an '08 base model. Drove it for 600 miles over varying conditions - flat road to hills to the mountains. Mind you, all this was in the Phoenix area where the average highs were running 108. The car performed better than I expected. With the AC on the entire time, power and torque was as good as my wifes Mazda 3. Ride was better, and it had more room than the 3. Acceleration wasn't as good as the 3, but then again, the car wasn't designed to pull off a stop like a top fuel funny car - it was designed for economy. Finally, the overall mileage when I turned it in was 43.5.

We are now on the fence: should we buy a new '09 or wait for the '10? Obvously the second gen design is very mature. The '10 may have a few issues and quarks like most first year designs. Any thoughts from you more experienced folks?

 

The first year of a new model *always* has some problems. I wouldn't get one.

 

I bought a Toyota Matrix and the Rav 4 the first years that they came out, never had a problem with either one. I trust Toyota's quality and would not hesitate to by the first year of a new model.

 

I was on the fence for a while about going for the current or sucking it up to wait a year for the new one. I was a slight bit turned off by a number of Mulit-function display failures in the 2004 and early 2005 models, after 3 years, even though Toyota was offering refurbished replacements for about $800.

There might be another change in year 2010 with a plug-in or Lithium Ion battery version, I decided to get the current gen, enjoy it, see what comes along in 3 or so years with the new Prius, maybe get a new one or keep mine.

This current Prius is a really nice car. But, if the new Prius gets the 1.8L engine with more economy, that will be a big plus. The current Prius will accelerate pretty well, but needs a good dose of throttle to do so. A little less throttle needed would be a plus.

 

Zach, welcome.

As you can see, we are rabid but not unreasonable ;-)

My only 2 cents in this discussion is to emphasize that local driving conditions and driver conduct can affect mpg quite a bit for all cars. The best thing you could do in trying to sort out how much fuel economy benefit *you* can expect is to rent an alternative vehicle and see how they directly compare.

My experience is 40 mpg in a Honda Civic, and 60 mpg in the Prius. I think a 50% improvement in fuel economy is typical if the cars are about the same in size and power and the driver and locale are the same in an equal mix of city/highway driving.

Is 50% less fuel use a disappointment ? To me, only when 100 mpg cars that I can afford are available. The 2010 Prius tests about 10% better fuel economy than the current generation in the Japanese city course.

Cheers

 

Does anyone know the performance of the 2010 Prius? Will it be comparable or even faster than a 2.4L Camry? Currently I'm driving a 2002 Camry and I'd like to change into a more economical 2010 prius but I wouldn't want to sacrifice performance (yea my driving habits lol bad driver).

 

First model year cars always have some minor problems but not disastrous mechanical problems.

First year Prius has the software problem causing the ICE shut down unexpectedly and the Camry Hybrid has the center console squeaking noise.

 

if they do not let us americans have g-book or the intelligent parking assist by 2010 i will be disappointed

 

This is an old thread, but I would like to comment some...

What was your average trip length?
Short trips kill your mileage on any cars.

If you knew Prius history, you'll understand the battery capacity becomes smaller and smaller, however the performance and the mileage numbers are increasing.
NHW10:40 modules
NHW11:38 modules
NHW20:28 modules
That's the innovation!

Thats driving strategy worsen your number.

I bet the 2010 Prius will have only 10% max improvement than the current.
That means your mileage will be 46-48 mpg on the 2010 Prius at the same conditions of your rental 42-44 mpg experience.

I think you missed a very important part of the article.
It says "No specific fuel efficiency figures have been provided yet, but VW gave an example of driving from Potsdam to the “Automobile Forum” in downtown Berlin and back – averaged over 100 kilometers - the Golf TwinDrive consumed just eight kilowatt-hours of electricity and 2.5 liters of fuel."
The TwinDrive is a plug-in hybrid and it uses electricity and fuel.

There will be no magic vehicle available among 2010 models.
I believe we have to be satisfied 100%(twice) mileage improvement on Prius than conventional vehicles and max 10% improvement on 2010 models than current models.

Ken@Japan

 

I agree with all the comments and want to add mine. My 2008 Prius even at lower than EPA estimates is still a good investment in the UNITED STATES because of high prices and the depreciation. On short trips, I get much less than I would expect which is part of the "5 minute" start up cycle and so those who do very short trips often will not realize the full benefit on the best MPG. Having said that, OVERALL, the car is wonderful to drive, plenty of power and on those longer city trips, will achieve MPG that is impressive. Maybe instead of a bigger battery, they can add bike petals and connect a chain to the rear wheels. Better mileage and get trim at the same time. Who could ask for anything more????