Topic: CD Article: 2010 Toyota Prius

[airbalancer]

On a trip on the labour day weekend
Cortland Ny to Tom Rivers , missed most of the Poconos Mountains got 4.2/100km driving around 110 km/hr
Tom River NJ to Cobourg 847km, 4.4l/100km, which was driving though the Poconos Mountains with keeping at about 110km/hr
So what car is the "holy grail of fuel efficiency" that you can fit 5 people ?

[airbalancer]

Top Gear votes Prius CIty car of the year
http://green.autoblog.com/2009/12/04/e-tu-clarkson-top-gear-names-prius-the-city-car-of-the-year/

[Canada Stig]

Obviously there is some sort of impression here that the Prius is a world saver.  it is not. 

First, the Prius is a fantastic piece of engineering.  But it is NOT the answer to global warming.  Consider ALL production inputs, not just fuel used. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/environment/2747693/Who-are-you-kidding.html

Second, I agree that it DOES get good mileage, I just don't think it is worth the tradeoff vs a normal car.  I do question how, however, someone could get the equivelant of 53 miles per US gallon travelling 110km/h in the mountains, when the US EPA highway cycle is rated at 51mpg(US) for this car in ideal testing at a steady speed of 47mph (or approx 75km/h).  Seems to be a little bit of a stretch to me.

Prius buyers are huge fans of their cars, and like most environmentalists (you can't have environmental without mental!) they also seem to ignore any evidence that discounts the "green" factor of their purchase decision.  As we know, any action has an equal and opposite reaction, and in the case of the Prius, is does use less fuel than a similar car of a similar size (that I will not dispute) but the environmental impact of its manufacture and shipping it halfway around the world is high. 

Interestingly, If you buy a Prius in Sudbury, where the nickel was originally mined for the battery, you essentially have a 26,000 mile carbon footprint on that car when you eventually buy it (raw materials shipped to Europe, turned into batteries, shipped to Japan, installed in the car, then the car shipped to Canada).  And yes, I know lots of cars have a similar journey from raw material to finished product, but they don't wear the "green" badge.

And if you really want to quote Clarkson and Top Gear on Hybrids

http://www.topgear.com/uk/jeremy-clarkson/clarkson-hybrids-2009-01-12

[airbalancer]

First, the Prius is a fantastic piece of engineering.  But it is NOT the answer to global warming.  Consider ALL production inputs, not just fuel used. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/environment/2747693/Who-are-you-kidding.html 
Does it take in a count that most of the Prius can be recycle?

I do question how, however, someone could get the equivelant of 53 miles per US gallon travelling 110km/h in the mountains, when the US EPA highway cycle is rated at 51mpg(US) for this car in ideal testing at a steady speed of 47mph (or approx 75km/h).  Seems to be a little bit of a stretch to me.

Drove to Kingston and back on the 401 , 320 Km, 4.6 l/100km

[airbalancer]

On a purely economical comparison, the Prius can never win against an economy four-cyclinder model from any manufacturer. It isn’t meant to. One drive in the Prius shows why. Long term, the livability of the Prius, versus a small economy car with comparable (but inferior) fuel economy, becomes apparent. The Prius is larger, far more comfortable, fun to drive—for many, the perfect balance of luxury, compactness, technology, sportiness, economy and price. It’s finally a real mid-size car

http://www.ediweekly.com/features/2009/12/8/long-term-road-test-toyota-prius.html