Consumer Reports on G III new Online

Typical magazine. I believe 44 is a tad low, but while many are achieving well over 50, I'm finding that 46 is about what I can do and still drive the speed limit. I don't live in flat land and most of the miles so far are interstate. I still think that's incredible, but if everyone thinks they will get 55 or that if they don't they must be doing something wrong, then they are mistaken. (BTW, This is my third hybrid and I know what I'm doing). Still I'm totally in love with my Prius V.

 

CR did the same thing with testing of the Insight so I will no longer believe CR in Car testing again. Will rely on actual owners and those mag's that have mature adults with half a brain that know some thing about testing Hybrids.

 

if you live in a hilly area (like North Central WV), 44 is realistic.

 

there is a learning curve and a break in period

i am on my fourth tank with MFDs give or take like

53.7 (450 miles)
55.4 (480)
57.1 (490)
59.3 (400 miles so far)

and calculated about 2 mpgs lower. essentially the same commute and conditions.

so even though i had 75K miles in a gen 1, i had to learn the gen 3 and have gotten incrementally better with time and also the car and tires are breaking in

 

I'm assuming they would drive the Prius or Insight just like any other car -- not aiming for high fuel economy.

Any flatlander who has at least a 20-minute commute each way (not all high-speed freeway) and doesn't have harsh winters or super hot summers will have to try NOT to get 55 MPGs. Of course, this describes very few people. I'm not among them, but I get some similar results in May, June, September and part of October!

What people need to do is compare cars in or under similar conditions. For instance, what fuel economy would you expect out of a Camry or an Explorer in the West Virginia mountains? Not what you'd expect out of those cars in the flatlands.

 

When I commute 46 miles round trip it's not hard to get 55 or so. When I work from home and just toodle to the gym or grocery, keeping it above 47 is hard, because the car spends all its time in warm-up mode.

 

Got a link to their full review? I still only see the first look. (I have a subscription so that's not the issue)

 

The link is here: 2010 Toyota Prius: First Drive

This is an overview. A full review is apparently not yet available/performed.

Greg

 

The only dissapointment I have, if you can call it that, is that I was able to drive my TCH and average 38+, well above the EPA. With the Prius I have to work hard to get 50. My wife can't do it, but I have to hypermile to achieve it. Same routes, same weather. The prius seems to be on the "edge" and unless all the conditions are right you'll not get the 55+ results. Whereas anyone trying a little bit can get 38 to 40 on the TCH. Granted, there are some rural areas where I can hypermile and get 65 to 70 mpg all day. They just are not anywhere I normally need to go.

Overall though I'm still satisfied with the 46mpg and love the handling a lot more than the TCH.

 

That's exactly why the EPA tests exist and why they're the only figures that should be quoted. Serious attempts are made to control many of the variables, though there's still a bit of variation permitted in some tests: 68-86°F (20-30°C) is the permitted range for the City, Highway and High-Speed tests. No, it isn't going to match any one person's driving exactly, so you won't get exactly what the EPA report - and note that two of the tests, A/C use and Cold Temperature running have mutually-exclusive conditions, making it very easy to beat the EPA figure in moderate conditions.

To see exactly what the test conditions are, go to Fuel Economy Test Schedules, then click Detailed Comparison.

Using different drivers on different days with different weather conditions and different routes, magazines cannot possibly produce fuel economy results that can be meaningfully compared with each other, or with the EPA results. The same is true of our own results, of course.

 

There are at least of couple of ways. One is to simply drag the link from the webpage address bar to the reply box (this thing I'm typing in at the moment). Another is to use the icon menu above where I'm typing and select the blue globe with the link in front of it. Simply fill in the address via cut and paste from the address bar containing the desired link. It's been a while since I've done the latter, but I think that if you highlight (select) certain text within your comments prior to choosing the link icon above, that you can then turn the highlighted words into the link.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for sharing. I subscribe to CR and I have to admit that I am left a little disappointed in their mpg assessment of the Gen III. I'm suprised that a reputable source like CR claims that the Gen III has gotten a little "thirstier" than previous generations.

When I first got my car (first time driving a hybrid) I drove it just like any other car I've driving and still averaged 48-50. Now that I've learned how to drive a hybrid more effeciently, I can consistently get around 51 mpg. I just don't see how CR came up w/ 44 mpg? (Unless they only drove it for a short distance while the car is warming up.)

 

Only 200 miles on it so far here. Work is 13 each way and everything else is short hops. I also live in a town "up the hill" a bit - lots of ICE going up and lots of glide coming down. If I work at it with HSI (this is fun for me) I am 45 - 46 avg. I can tell it could go up with longer trips. The work drive brings my average up from all the short hops. This is a really small sample with only 200 total miles so far, I am just looking at the trip meter avg. at this point.