Colder weather has zapped my mileage to 44mpg

It's also dirtier...

 

I'm puzzled. Do you have the actual records of your Civic MPG? I had not one but 4 civics in the past 10 years and none of them had significant MPG drops in the winter... Interesting.

 

It's the winter... that salt and snow makes it hard to keep my Prius clean...

 

That's an excellent point: diesel is more expensive because it has more energy. (this is old news to anyone who has done any reading on fuel efficiency)

Energy difference: diesel has about 17.6% more energy per gallon, so to compare apples to apples, you would have to get 56.4mpg in a diesel to match the Prius's 48mpg highway.

Price difference: diesel always costs more because of the energy difference (unless someone dicks around with the taxes). In this particular example it's about 16.9% more. So to match the Prius on fuel costs, you would have to get 56.1mpg in a diesel.

Now, let's apply that to the "horrible" 38mpg you say you're currently getting - to match that with a diesel, that diesel would have to get 44.6mpg.

And in the summer months when the Prius is hitting 55mpg, you would have to get 64.7mpg in the diesel to keep up with the Prius on a year-round average.

Good luck with that.

 

"...goes totally out of question..."? By that do you mean it's off topic? If so, then that's true in the strict sense. Off-topic replies are my specialty.

My point is that automobile mileage is all over the map. People like to cherry pick figures to justify a preconceived notion. This is especially true with apocryphal stories about great mileage. However, at the end of the day, being a consumer is about buying what you want. You are free to buy whatever car you want without feeling a need to justify your decision. If you want an Audi, buy an Audi.

Tom

 

Never mind...

 

You are right. You have convinced me. The Prius is a piece of ___. I was so dumb to buy a Prius. First I am going to puke. Then I'll kill myself. Just kidding.

I know you are unhappy. On the other hand, what do you expect from a Prius chat group? Do you think everyone will admit they made a bad choice and dump the Prius and buy an Audi? This will just get you more and more upset and the Prius Chat members to disagree with you more.

If it is any consolation, I (and others) totally agree with you that an Audi is better for you. If you want more support or justification for an Audi, you need to go to the Audi chat group.

If you want all of us to admit that we made a big mistake buying a Prius - that's not going to happen because we like the Prius and the characteristics that you like in an Audi (like Diesel) are not that important to us.

 

This statement reminds me of one of my favorite quotations: "Never try to teach a pig to sing; it only wastes your time and annoys the pig."

Tom

 

Am I just dreaming or last summer diesel was considerably cheaper than gasoline in the US? It was like 40-60 cents cheaper in IN!

Come on dude, get over it, I know the Prius will give me better savings with fuel costs (despite of the absurd winter drop) compared to a TDI... better reliability, less carbon emissions… yada, yada, yada… but my whole point is that those factors count for a very small price to fulfill my expectations.

Of course, Prius owners trying to justify their choice, love the argument of "it's the most FE car overall even after the winter drop", but then, when more FE cars hit the market (not too far away anymore), so…

Remeber, top FE is not everything! In fact, in my case for instance, it has become so obsolete...

 

Heavens... that's so old and boring Tom... everybody knows it... you can do better than that, come on.

 

Rhino, I couldn’t agree more. I'm not to trying to convince anybody that a TDI is better than the Prius. Clearly, it's not the case for most of you. Fine! If you look back in my recent posts, the only time I try to explain why I'm frustrated with my Prius and want to get a TDI instead is when folks challenge my reasons. Look back and see by yourself. You will see all my recently opened posts (not the ones answering someone) are all about reporting my Prius MPG data and being open about discussing it. Afterwards I still have my Prius and have to cope with it. It's not me trying to justify a TDI over a Prius... it’s looking a lot more like you guys trying to justify a Prius over a TDI...

 

Most likely the taxes are skewed in IN. And sometimes refining capacity doesn't keep up with gasoline demand, but usually that's a temporary deviation.

What exactly were your (unrealistic) expectations? Beating EPA by 5% all the time? Or was your expectation to beat EPA by at least 5% all the time, AND beat EPA by 15-20% in the warmer months?

And for someone who is on track to do 40,000 miles or more this year, I would think overall fuel costs (which you admit are best in the Prius) would be the topmost factor...

If you want to talk farfagnugen, you're in the wrong thread... (the wrong forum, for that matter)

 

It's old, but it's spot-on, and sound advice. I see people doing it over and over, and even catch myself at it from time to time. We humans have a desperate need for approval, and we go to great lengths to get it. It's not good enough that I make a decision, I want my friends to agree that it's a good decision.

Tom

 

I agree and it brings to my last sentence in my previous post...

It's not me trying to justify a TDI over a Prius... it’s looking a lot more like you guys trying to justify a Prius over a TDI...

 

Anyone interested in starting a collection to help IK buy his Audi

 

Again, the same answer tells it all... but I must repeat it...

It's not me trying to justify a TDI over a Prius... it’s looking a lot more like you guys trying to justify a Prius over a TDI...

I will STOP making any comparisons of the Prius vs. TDI here unless I keep being challenged to do so. That’s exactly what I was doing until folks opened the can of worms again. Do we have a deal?

 

My MPG was at 47 mpg in early Jan when the temp was in the 20's but the weather warmed up from the 20's to the 40's and my mpg went up to 51mpg

 

LOL! That's really funny.

IK, this may be a good opportunity for you. Play your cards right and you can have that Audi for nothing more than a few more posts and a promise to not come back. I think you may be onto something.

Tom

 

I will STOP making any comparisons of the Prius vs. TDI here unless I keep being challenged to do so. That’s exactly what I was doing until folks opened the can of worms again. Do we have a deal?

 

Sorry, but you picked at a common scab:

Since October of 2005, there has been a long string of TDI advocates who have come to Prius forums 'picking a fight.' They usually do this by making claims that are empirically false or inflated:

• mileage - even the user reports at Fuel Economy don't support the TDI mileage claims
• equal to - even though the TDIs have been compacts, not family sedans like the Prius
• vague claims of performance - 'torque'; ability to spin tires; optional traction control

Understand there are likely areas having more to do with personal preference that rate right up there with paint color, location of controls, and location of displays. I'm good with that because folks are shaped differently and have diverse options about 'art.'

The title of this tread and the initial couple of hundred posts were folks trying to help improve your Prius winter performance. A lot of skilled, experienced Prius owners offered their 'lessons learned' only to see the thread become an A3 vs Prius stream ... harking back to the old TDI 'chip on shoulder' threads we've seen so frequently. The term "bait and switch" probably describes the impression.

My recommendation is leave this thread alone. Had it ended with just mileage discussion, no problem, but the A3 tainted the stream. It probably can't be fixed but that pretty much is how it looks now.

Bob Wilson