http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/used_car_reviews/article3552994.ece

Worth a full read.

TimesOnline drives the Prius and the 520d 545 miles to Geneva. Here are the brief results:

BMW 520d:

3,494 lbs
Stereo ON
AC ON
Fuel used on test 10.84 gallons (50.3 mpg)
Fuel cost £54.19 (diesel)
Official fuel consumption: 55.4 mpg


Yota Prius:

2,921 lbs
Stereo OFF
AC OFF
Fuel used on test 11.34 gallons (48.1 mpg)
Fuel cost £54.64 (petrol)
Official fuel consumption: 65.7 mpg


If the numbers above are adjusted for stereo/AC use, vehicle weight, and DRAG COEFFICIENT, the BMW's engine would turn out to be something like 25-35% more fuel efficient, if not more.

I bet BMW's engine transplanted into the Prius would return ~65-70 mpg.


Eye-opening, and for diesel owners, infuriating:

Quote :

"It’s classified by the American government as the “most fuel-efficient car sold in the US” and this seal of official approval is reflected in a special status that the Prius and other hybrids enjoy over conventionally powered cars. For example, you can drive a Prius in American “high occupancy vehicle lanes” – designed for vehicles carrying passengers – even if there’s nobody else in the car. In Britain the Prius has had a similar boost. You can enter the central London congestion zone without paying the usual £8-a-day charge. For road tax purposes it’s classed as an “alternative fuel vehicle” so you pay less tax than you would for a conventional car that produces the same emissions. [WTF? ] Road tax is just £15 a year and in last Wednesday’s budget, Alistair Darling, the chancellor, renewed his commitment to preferential treatment for hybrids. Plus, if you drive a Prius as a company car it enjoys a 3% discount (until April) compared with the tax on other cars producing identical amounts of carbon dioxide. But are transport and tax planners – here and in the US – being fair to the people who drive conventional cars? The official fuel consumption figure for the Prius – supplied by Toyota itself – is 65.7 mpg in mixed motoring. That’s a claim not supported by many of the letter writers to The Sunday Times who say they get nearer to 50 mpg. If our readers are right and the official figure is wrong it has important implications, not least of which is that people driving frugal diesels are getting a raw deal. "

How can Toyota advertise 65.7 mpg in mixed motoring when EVERYBODY gets just 50 mpg? Can't Toyota be sued for grossly false advertising?

And why all this pandering to Toyota (or to hybrid cars) by the US and UK governments?



[Edited on March 15, 2008 at 5:57 PM. Reason : ]

3/15/2008 5:43:51 PM

becaues people who can afford nice cars and have class/good taste such as the 520d can afford not to bitch about road tax.

3/15/2008 5:56:46 PM

consider the difference in the yearly road tax (UK) for the 2 cars:

prius: $30

520d: $230


no matter how rich one is, that's far from fair, considering they both drink the same amount of fuel. not to mention, all the other [very unfair] concessions (financial and otherwise) to the prius-owners.

3/15/2008 6:00:44 PM

doesn't the Prius still have lower overall emissions though, even though the 520d is a very clean diesel car?

3/15/2008 9:08:51 PM

diesel vs petrol
apples vs oranges

3/16/2008 12:17:12 AM

how is that apples vs. oranges? even though they run on different fuel and have different prevailing emissions characteristics, they are both mass market passengar cars.

3/16/2008 2:08:30 AM

diesel availability and cost make them different. if the prius used diesel for the ICE half of the hybrid you'd have something.

[Edited on March 16, 2008 at 11:23 AM. Reason : though the environmental reprocussions of making and disposing of batteries make it a diesel win imo]

3/16/2008 11:22:33 AM

Yes

And Quinn's civic can hit 36mpg and costs 1/10 as much as either.

Green poser power.

3/16/2008 11:56:59 AM

DIESEL IS FUCKING 4$ A GALLON

UNLEADED 87 IS 3.20

3.20 / 4 = 80%

48.1 / 50.3 = 95.6%

DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE? ITS CALLED MATH

3/17/2008 4:26:47 PM

Quote :

"consider the difference in the yearly road tax (UK) for the 2 cars: prius: $30 520d: $230 no matter how rich one is, that's far from fair, considering they both drink the same amount of fuel. not to mention, all the other [very unfair] concessions (financial and otherwise) to the prius-owners."

I can relate this to adjustable costs for speeding violations, which is awesome.

I MEAN SOCIALIST

SOCIALISM

COMMUNISM

RAR RAAAAAAAAR

3/17/2008 4:35:29 PM

Great Read
+1

3/17/2008 5:31:10 PM