Is Toyota taking a step backwards? I think so.

I agree with you, Fuzzy. I was able to achieve these high averages only when I drove one day slower than ever before. Like on freeways I mostly drive at 70-75 mph but that day I was barely making 65 mph with a very light foot! And in town on a road that most people drive at least at 40-50 mph, I was driving at barely 30-35 mph which I think some people probably found me annoying as they all passed me! Since then I've been driving just normally keeping up with the traffic and I'm still averaging at mid 50s mpg which is still great for me.

 

Just doing a little regression testing:

17.0 mi, 89.6 MPG (85 MPG corrected), 25 mph (GPS confirmed)
​

GPS track

• 1.1 mile test track
• cruise control - 25 mph
• temperature - 59F/15C
• model - ZVW30
• ODO - ~5,600 miles
• after the first ICE and transaxle oil change at 5,000 miles
• tires - 44 psi
• fuel - Shell 87, E10

Bob Wilson

 

I believe black comes standard and the color-coded spoiler is available as an accessory.

 

Actually it is great for everyone. The difference between my 2003 Prius and 2010 is found when driving errands compared to my morning commute:

I can drive the former Echo route with the ZVW30 (2010) and get similar mileage to what I get with the NHW11 (2003) Prius. But the NHW11 requires taking the shorter distance route and an extra 5 minutes to work, 25% more time. When I drive the ZVW30 to work using the NHW11 route and profile, I get an estimated 5 MPG higher mileage. Regardless of individual driving style, the EPA user data tells the tale:

• 51.3 MPG - 2010 Prius, ZVW30, 51 vehicles(*)
• 47.8 MPG - 2005 Prius, NHW20, 182 vehicles(*)
• 44.0 MPG - 2002 Prius, NHW11, 25 vehicles(*)

* - largest number of vehicles within the model years

Style is a matter of taste and what one considers to be important. Driving can also be considered a question of style, certainly Top Gear made that claim when they got 17 MPG with a Prius.

Bob Wilson

 

I have gotten 12 mpg in a hot lap at the track

 

I believe it and this is why:

All you have to do is maximum acceleration to ~60 mph with maximum braking ... a slalom, road race track or a dirt track rally ... piece of cake. Also, a drag race for 1/4 mile should also do it. <grins>

Nothing like having a little fun. So what style of track were you running on?

Bob Wilson

 

did 2 test laps at Pocono and some autox, nothing significant, it was mostly for gags more than anything else

 

Since when did Toyota change the oil change interval to 10K? As far as I know that is nothing but an unsubstantiated rumor.

 

Cool!

I went to the web site and found a couple of driving schools at the track too. Do you need a 'driver rating' to get track time? Typical costs?

Bob Wilson

 

I'd love to try the Nurburgring in Germany (Nürburgring  -  Home), which has public sessions open to all vehicle types. This from Wikipedia...

This bit puts me off slightly though!

It's not surprising that Top Gear are a fairly frequent visitor there and tried to get a Ford Transit van around in under 10 minutes. The supremely experienced German driver failed by seconds, but scared herself silly trying to do it!

 

Not so really. I'd love a Gen III but I just cant replace my car right now.
Something to remember, the average Prius owner doens't do their own oil changes so they pay for labour. Change oil at double the distance you save on labour too, so a $10 higher cost might actually be a $20 to $40 saving every year on the labour involved in servicing the Prius.

 

I dream of paying $30K for a base model Prius!!
My 2004 was 3 years old when I bought it and just at the end of the warranty, I paid $24900 out the door and that was a hard won bargain! A new one, that is a new 2007 Prius back in mid 2007 would have set me back a cool $37400 ($34,006US) plus on roads and dealer delivery cost! That is for a base model or entry level as Toyota Australia like to call it.

Current entry level Prius is $39990 ($36,365US) plus on road and dealer costs. For the extra coin we get a head up display and electric height adjustment on the driver's seat. Oh I think even the base model here gets LED headlights. Our only other option is the tech pack, although no LKA and the iTech which has leather, heated seats, moon roof and nav.
Any wonder Prius isn't all that popular here. We play spot the Prius at work driving around the city. Today we saw about 12 to 14 on the roads of Adelaide in a 5 hour patrol.

 

Why is everyone acting like you only have to change the oil in the Gen III every 10K miles? Did I miss something? Because my manual calls for an oil change every 5K miles and I've received nothing to the contrary from Toyota.

 

Full synthetic oil can last 10K, well known facts. If they don't like it, they can sue me.

 

That's fine for you but I doubt most people are willing to jeopardize their warranty by ignoring the manufacturer's maintenance schedule.

 

Just search for HPDE in your area, I am sure you can get on Barber or some tracks at Texas fairly easily. Price starts at about $175-$300 per day, depending on the club. They will usually supply you with instructors.

As for prepping, things like fresh brake fluids, pads and tires all help. I honestly don't know if the Prius can survive the beating at the track. I only did 2 laps to show my friends that I could run the car on the track at speed. It was slow and handle quite poorly, but it is fun nontheless.

 

The same people who are complaining about paying $60 for an oil change?

 

Does the warranty say you have to change the oil at the recommended intervals?

Show me please.

 

[catching up...] I expect the hypermilers will come up to
speed on extracting the best from the genIII in due time. Maybe
when they start paying attention to the HSI, adding good
instrumentation to determine optimal loading, etc. The new prius
works so similarly to the old one that really, it should be a
no-brainer and there are probably just a couple of confusing
bits about what a driver sees/feels that need to be gotten past.
.
_H*