'Extra Urban' "Top Gear" "BMW 318"

The 318 is different than a 320d. The 318 is a petrol 4 cylinder car while the 320d is a diesel 4 cylinder car.

318i = 35.8 / 58.9 / 47.9 for the manual (6-Speed)
318i = 33.2 / 54.3 / 44.1 for the automatic (6-Speed)

Now neither of those are higher that a Prius so their claim is unfounded or the intern made a typo.

Some of us also prefer a manual to an automatic so we don't see having an automatic as an asset but rather as a liability.


Your note on the test cycle is a very valid one and cycles vary from country to country. The very low city speed of the Japanese cycle is why the Prius gets a crazy 100+ mpg rating there.

 

Bob,

Re: the graph in your first post.

I do not understand the relevance of the data shown.

If I'm reading it correctly, the units of measure for the x-axis is seconds,
and the values run left to right, from 0 seconds to 400 seconds.

400 seconds/60 seconds per minute = 6 minutes, 40 seconds. And in that
brief interval, the car starts at 0 mph, travels at various speeds up to 75
MPH, and returns to 0 MPH. And the distance traveled is on the order of
maybe 5 miles.

This is the entire EC "extra urban" fuel consumption test, and it lasts
6m+40s? This simulates what, a fast run to town to get beer and
weinerschnitzel?

What's the connection to the every day, and day after day, real world?

Or is that one of your points; the test itself is kinda dumb?

 

for some reason clarkson et al [al being the UK motoring press] have taken an extreme dislike to the prius

clarkson insists on calling it a PRY-US.

this kind of rant is typical for him, he has a pathological dislike of all kinds of vehicles-- which can be very amusing when he vents

top gear is entertaining, not objective

its a very different scenario than in the US. there are few Prius on the road in the UK. I think around half of all new cars are diesels.

diesel used to be cheaper than petrol, but is now much more expensive, [around 12p/18c litre more] approx 50p/70c gallon]

 

Top Gear guys are bunch of populist idiots. It is nice to watch and laugh show, but that's it. No one should base their decisions based on Top Gear idiot opinions. They are very, very biased and have a history of being that since start.

 

When the EPA re-worked its calc's the Prius changed from 50mpg-60mpg to down in the 40mpg's. The Prius didn't change. Those of us who got 50mpg/60mpg still got it. Those that did better or worse still did the same. Only the test changed. I'd be curious to find out if the BMW mpg test is the same as the one they subjected the Prius to.

Then there's reliability. Not all the world rates mpg as the end all beat all. Consumer Reports often gives thumbs down to BMW 3 series. "Fun to drive" to me, means it'll be running, now that I've outrown hard cornering & burning rubber. Here's another forum's rating on the 3 series:

BMW 3 - reliability rating -- An used car - TÃœV reports

 

All you have to do is Google "Jeremy Clarkson" and read the litany of complaints, errors and plain biased commentary he is accused of to get a handle on this guy. As a fellow Brit, but an American by choice, I know the type well. They have an almost total immunity to consideration of other peoples opinions, and relish the thought of pissing others off with snide, smarmy and fatuous comments, especially if they get a laugh from the great uninformed and unwashed multitude, which they usually do. The car tests are done at Dunsfold Park, an old airstrip originally built by the Canadian Army during WW2.

He is a motoring version of Rush Limbaugh, in a different neighborhood.