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Interesting Hybrid vs Tesla consumption conclusion

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by PaulDM, Mar 31, 2022.

  1. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    Hi. With electric and gas prices rising I thought I would do a comparison calculation for a single (long) journey from where I live to Glasgow which is an easy to calculate 500 miles (804.6 km)
    Now all these calculations are based on UK figures for miles and consumption. Both vehicles should arrive with a full charge / tank ready for the return journey. Time is not a factor in this calculation.
    Here are the facts I used:
    Cost to fill 43 litre Prius tank £58, range 595 miles ( can get better ,basing this on current range calc)
    Tesla figures are founded on their own European Energy Label Statistics on Tesla.com for the Model X Performance of 23.6 kWh/100km range 265 miles (let’s assume a real world slight reduction to 250 for ease of calculation)
    I am assuming that there are appropriate filling stations along the journey, the Tesla using a fast charge ( which they add 10p per kWh to the base price of 28.6p / kWh) and gas fill up is £58

    So… on a 500 mile journey the Tesla makes 2 stops, Prius 1.
    Tesla “fills up” with 804.6 / 100 * 23.6 * 38.6p
    Prius “fills up” with 500 / 595 * £58

    Tesla fuel cost £73.30
    Prius fuel cost £48.70

    Not exactly an encouragement to move fully BEV.
     
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  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    That's why the math always gets hairy and other factors get dragged in.

    There are many good reasons to get a BEV, but "saving the owner money" isn't quite a slam-dunk yet.
     
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Right. But unless you do that 500 mile journey every day, home charging is much cheaper.
     
  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Welcome other factor #1: Where you charge!
     
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  5. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    Yes, agreed, a 6-8 hour home charge on our cheapest tariff reveals a cost of £39.68 for the Tesla and if I applied the same logic and filled the Prius with E10 instead of E5 petrol it’s costs reduce to £37.81
    Hybrid is still better on your pocket.
     
  6. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    And - since you can't build a fossil fuel Refinery & underground fuel pump system in your backyard or garage, whereas you can put solar on your roof .... many people Charge EV's for free.
    The real question is why compare a model X (much less the performance version) against a Prius. Much more likely, apples to apples would be a Tesla Mosel 3 versus Prius ..... or on the larger end, Highlander Hybrid vs. Model X.
    But ....
    a, "Performance" Prius?
    LOTS of mods will get you 9.38 seconds in the ¼ mile.

    View attachment 224595

    Whereas a modified but street legal model S can pull 8's in the ¼ mile

    View attachment 224596

    Apples to apples

    .
     
    #6 hill, Mar 31, 2022
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2022
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  7. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Right question, wrong answer. Both Toyota and Tesla (and virtually every other automaker) have worked very hard to make certain that no apples-to-apples comparison is possible. You're only fooling yourself when you try to force it.
     
  8. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    No, hybrid is better on your pocket, not mine.

    50 miles driven around home costs me $0.25 in an EV.
    It would cost me $4.00 in a Prius.

    There are far too many variables to claim the cost, in general, is higher or lower.
    If you want to generalize you need to use averages, which then looses most meaning for those that don’t have average gas & electric prices.
     
  9. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    This are real gas and electricity figures and the consumption is real world numbers
     
  10. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    Because this is a Prius forum. Hence not considering another Toyota hybrid. And most uk Teslas I have seen on the road as I drive round the country are Dual Motor performance models.
     
  11. Zythryn

    Zythryn Senior Member

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    Right, for YOU.
    Your final statement was that a hybrid is easier on other people’s pockets.
    I am simply saying that isn’t necessarily true and gave an example of my real world costs.
     
  12. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    I’m saying compared to the most common Tesla I have seen on motorways in the UK and my own car.
    Good for you, if your journey type and model Y are great for economy

    my post is an observation

    horses for courses
     
  13. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Yes, a Prius forum - where you compare to another manufacturer, the Model S.
    That said, as of last year there have been over 40,000 model 3s sold in the UK (out of over 90,000 S, 3, & X). How odd - that anyone would not notice Tesla's largest seller, the 3, & thus only be able to compare apples to oranges.
    I did a semester at Cambridge & noticed how popular bicycles were. So maybe the next apples to oranges comparison should be bicycles versus Prius.

    .
     
  14. kevinwhite

    kevinwhite Active Member

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    A Tesla Model X Performance is not really a good comparison with a Prius. The model X is much larger and would make a better comparison with a large SUV. The Performance version is even more of a stretch - you're comparing a vehicle that can carry seven people and do 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds with another that carries 5 people and is three times slower.

    A better comparison is the Tesla Model y long range that uses 28kWh/100 mile. That would cost about £54.

    Meanwhile the cost for fuel for the Prius in the UK currently is going to be more like £60 with current fuel prices.

    kevin
     
  15. kevinwhite

    kevinwhite Active Member

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    I suspect they are not "Performance" models, just the standard dual motor.

    They will be dual motor as Tesla doesn't really make the single motor RWD version any more.

    kevin
     
  16. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    Jeez

    I thought this post would raise eyebrows not blood pressure.
     
  17. dbstoo

    dbstoo Senior Member

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    It's been done. The total cost of ownership (averaging $25,000 for a hospital birth in some areas) plus several years of feeding, medical expenses, etc before the cyclist can even ride a bike... Then there's the cost of food and housing and repairs for that 500 mile ride posited by the OP. Nope, a bicycle is not necessarily cheaper than a hybrid.

    The Tesla Performance may be faster for the first 3 seconds, and yet, in a 500 mile race, the Prius will reach the finish line first. Its been done. Restrict both cars to the legal speed limit and it's a no brainer; The Tesla comes out as more expensive to buy, more expensive to run and slower to complete the task.
     
  18. kevinwhite

    kevinwhite Active Member

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    A Prius is cheaper than a Range Rover or a Ferrari and will be just as fast.

    Most people charge their EVs at home where, even in the UK, the price per kWh is half what was used in the OP's calculation. That would put the running costs of even a Model X lower than a Prius, a Model 3/Y would be even lower. And that's not counting the frequent servicing costs of the Prius.

    I have both a Tesla Model 3 and a Prius Gen 4.

    kevin
     
  19. MIkeDr

    MIkeDr Active Member

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    As maligned and as artificial of a metric as it is, the US EPA’s MPGe is pretty useful in these sorts of comparisons. Basically it gives you an MPG equivalent for electricity at 12 cents/kWh. So if you see an EV with 100 MPGe, fuel costs are kinda/sorta hard as expensive as a Prius averaging 50 MPG.
     
  20. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    See post #5