Prius has better real-world mileage than Yaris

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Eug, Mar 26, 2008.

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  1. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    So, I've been driving my GF's 2008 Yaris hatchback (automatic) lately. It's more agile than the Prius (my 2004), but not as powerful. The Yaris has a tighter turning radius, and is easier to park, not surprisingly.

    This isn't really news, but the Prius gets significantly better gas mileage than the Yaris with my mostly city jackrabbit style driving.

    The distance travelled on one tank of gas is roughly similar, at about 450 km, but the Yaris costs around CAD$40ish (38 L) to fill up, whereas the Prius usually costs less than $35 (33 L) on average. (It's winter here, so the bladder reduces the Prius's tank size.)

    Basically that means the Yaris uses about 15%+ more gas than the Prius. Even though the rated mileage of the Prius was much better, I would have guessed that real-world mileage between to the two cars would have been similar, considering the Yaris is a subcompact, and the Prius is a mid-size.
     
    #1 Eug, Mar 26, 2008
  2. legendx

    legendx New Member

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    The yaris isn't a hybrid.
     
    #2 legendx, Mar 26, 2008
  3. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    Uh, thx?
     
    #3 Eug, Mar 26, 2008
  4. pelewis2

    pelewis2 Junior Member

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    And what kind of mileage would the yaris get if it was a hybrid?
     
    #4 pelewis2, Mar 26, 2008
  5. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    Probably close to the same as the prius perhaps... considering that the yaris has the same displacement as the prius engine, EXCEPT it runs on the otto cycle.
     
    #5 Bob64, Mar 27, 2008
  6. fred

    fred New Member

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    and they call the PRIUS uglyass. compared to a yaris???:)
     
    #6 fred, Mar 27, 2008
  7. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    Very good, but it isn't a hybrid. The unstated point of my post actually was that the so-called "value" articles out there that compare the Prius against non-hybrid sub-compacts may be even more misleading than I originally thought.

    We already knew that the comparison wasn't completely valid, because the Prius has much more room.

    However, it also seems clear that some articles may be overestimating gas mileage of the sub-compacts, at least if you do a lot of city driving. It seemed to me that the "conventional wisdom" out there was that a Prius could only match a sub-compact in real-world gas mileage, esp. considering there had been so much bad press of late for the Prius's EPA ratings. However, real-world use, at least in my case, shows the Prius can be much more fuel efficient than even the Yaris, a car that is two car classes in size smaller than the Prius.
     
    #7 Eug, Mar 27, 2008
  8. legendx

    legendx New Member

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    Sorry, I didn't understand the point of your post. It sounded like you were surprised that a Prius got better mpg than a Yaris.
     
    #8 legendx, Mar 27, 2008
  9. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    If you are going to compare a Prius with anything you have to compare it to a tiny diesel on highways, didn't you read the brief? :D
     
    #9 patsparks, Mar 27, 2008
  10. Tomes

    Tomes New Member

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    It is not surprising to me at all that they hybrid gets better mileage than the non-hybrid, even though the Yaris is smaller. It is always using the IC engine....
    Tomes
     
    #10 Tomes, Mar 27, 2008
  11. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i think we are being a bit harsh on the OP. its nice to have real world experiences related. many people do believe that a cheaper compact would be more cost effective than a Prius...

    and it is not well known that there are frequently other things to consider like size, utility, etc. also... real world driving doesnt always get what a lab says you are supposed to.

    we all know the yaris gets worse gas mileage, but on paper, its only slightly worse. in reality, in certain kinds of driving, like the OP's, the difference is actually much larger.
     
    #11 DaveinOlyWA, Mar 27, 2008
  12. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    Yes, I am surprised, judging by the articles I had read. I thought it was going to be much closer, but the Prius has 15%+ better mileage.


    Even if the displacement is similar, the Prius has much, much more weight to carry. Approximately 30% more weight IIRC.
     
    #12 Eug, Mar 27, 2008
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    His point was that the critics love to say "oh you can buy a Yaris for a lot less than a Prius and get similar mileage" and his post is one example where it doesn't and that the difference was surprisingly larger than expected.
     
    #13 Tideland Prius, Mar 27, 2008
  14. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    Yup. That's pretty much it.


    Heh. Yeah. Funny you mention that. That exact thing happened with me several times. When I told people I was considering the Prius, people asked why I wasn't getting the Jetta TDI.

    BTW, getting diesel in downtown Toronto is a major pain. I found out the hard way after I rented a U-Haul truck.
     
    #14 Eug, Mar 27, 2008
  15. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Yaris doesn't have the synergy. Just a lonely 1.5L ICE to handle every situations.
     
    #15 usbseawolf2000, Mar 27, 2008
  16. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    I tell my son the HSD is like a turbo booster for fuel economy and power.
     
    #16 patsparks, Mar 27, 2008
  17. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    51mpg on $3.00 gasoline or 60mpg on $4.00 diesel? Geez, that's a real tough choice.:confused:
     
    #17 JimN, Mar 27, 2008
  18. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    Wowsers...

    I didn't realize that diesel was so expensive nowadays. Well, around here it's not 33% more expensive, but it's still about 15% more expensive.
     
    #18 Eug, Mar 28, 2008
  19. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yeah, I went down south yesterday. It was anywhere from $3.99 to $4.39/gal for ULS Diesel! :eek:. Regular was $3.49-$3.69 in comparison.
     
    #19 Tideland Prius, Mar 28, 2008
  20. subarutoo

    subarutoo New Member

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    My brother-in-law recently traded his Ford Ranger 4 cyl in on a new Yaris. He is getting about 29 mpg, mostly city. His Ranger mpgs were in the 'teens. He is thrilled. He doesn't have the 45 mile commute that I do, so it works for him. I'll stick with my Prius, more room, comfort, mpgs, though at almost twice the Yaris purchase price. Different strokes ...

    By the way, diesel in LA is arouund $4.20, reg gas @ $3.53 (Shell). I never did get how diesel was supposed to be a better deal.
     
    #20 subarutoo, Mar 28, 2008
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