Accurate record of fuel economy for different trims?

Discussions I've seen on PriusChat indicate almost no difference - apart from some which showed that 17" wheels might make a very slightly perceptible difference - but in fi$cal terms, negligible. To be honest, I'd suspect you would barely notice the difference.

The only differences which seemed to be relevant was one poster who replaced tyres with non-ECO tyres, and said it make a detectable difference, but I seem to remember that they said that the improved roadholding mad it worth the slight drop.

Buy the car you WANT to drive.

 

The Eco was made lighter to fit in a different EPA bracket. At almost 18K miles my average with a lot of highway commuting it around 56 mpg. The EPA rating is 52 combined.

Buy the one you want but incentives may make the Prime more desirable.

 

To muddy the waters further: the OD of 215/45R17 is slightly less than 195/65R15, which means the miles pile on the odo a bit faster, making both displayed and calc'd mpg a bit more "rose tinted". Close to 2% IIRC.

FWIW our (albeit 3rd gen) OEM wheels are 17", shod with Michelin Pilots, the originals still. They seem roughly on par with 15" Michelin X-Ice (on Corolla steel rims) that I switch to, every winter. That's not considering the aforementioned 2% for OD variation.

 

My average on the ODO is almost 58 mpg on stock tires with aftermarket wheel. There are so many variables to gas mileage and the weight of the car is just one of them. My car always has two passengers when I drive. I wouldn't sweat the small stuff.

I would never buy another car that doesn't have the options I really want, I did it once and regretted it.

 

Let's say they are completely accurate and a decked out touring edition gets 50 MPG.

Driving 15,000 miles per year, 50 MPG in a touring trim would burn 300 gallons of gas. The 2 Eco would burn 267 gallons of gas

You're talking a difference of about 30 gallons of gas per year, literally less than 100 bucks with current gas prices. Don't worry about the mileage, get the car you want

 

Actually my Trim Two has averaged over 56 mpg for 18K miles, mainly highway.
Would the Eco have been that much higher? The EPA for the Two is 52 combined. I think Eco is 54.

 

Do or have you owned a Prius before? Let us know what you decide. Good luck on your Prius search.

 

Agree - just buy the model you want. The biggest factor in MPG is the driver, the MPG quoted by TOYOTA is achieved in a laboratory (I think that's still the case).

 

Rental cars, very difficult to be sure of anything accurate with them unless you drive them long trips. There's a good chance that the tank wasn't filled - just enough to show up "FULL" on the gauge - which could be 5 litres short of first click. Tyre pressures, wear could be different, one could be due for a service etc.

Don't get too hung up with MPG testing unless you can do a LONG trip. I just went to the shops, 3 km return, 6l/100km with a full battery to start, 3 bars at the end. Mid-afternoon, light traffic, 20C deg. Much the same as I did 2 weeks ago when it gave 3.8l/100km. Both with a cold engine. As far as I could detect, I didn't drive any harder - just that the dashboard readout is an averaging of the inputs it gets, none of which are accurate, and in small trips there are so many variables.

Unless you can do a test of at least 200 km, and you were able to fill the tank when you start and again when you finish, you would be wasting your time and effort. And you really should ensure that each one starts and finishes with identical hybrid battery charge, and each with either a stone cold or a warmed up engine.

 

I knew a guy that had a Gen 2 Prius and loved the gas mileage but he totaled it. He bought the same car and the same year and was never happy with his gas mileage of the second one. Two identical cars but different gas mileage, who knows why.

 

As soon as you have two of anything, it can be maddening. I had a bike with twin tail pipes: one grey, the other more sooty. Drove me nuts.

 

Two wives will do it too.

 

I could see that one coming...

 

Bah! Just one wife can manage that by herself if you don't choose wisely!

 

Bah, according to this forum, due to my 17" wheels, I should get less than the 52 MPG showing on the label.

Hit regularly 70 MPG on my way to work and I can get over 100 MPG too.

Go figure. Unless your driving style, condition et traffic are different than mine.

 

Are you looking at that small "From the Flag" mileage display? Have you calculated the mpg after driving 600-700 miles? Using my Prius, I re-traced the route I used to drive to my former employer, and yes, the from the flag mpg is over 80 or 90. But it's only 3 miles to work.

I'm very happy to get an overall average mpg of 56... refueling at the 600 miles driven point. Keeping the car in the Eco mode definitely makes a difference for me. No more "warp-drive".