Posted on 09/13/2024 8:53:46 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Would you be impressed by a car that gets 93 mpg? If the answer is yes, then you’re going to be impressed by the current Toyota Prius. While the current Prius may be EPA-rated for a “lowly” 57 mpg, it just completed a cross-country drive, from Los Angeles’ City Hall to New York’s City Hall, while averaging 93.1 MPG. That’s a 3,200-mile trip, so unlike a lot of fuel efficiency tests that take place over a few dozen or a few hundred miles, this one took place between two of America’s biggest cites, one on each coast . And yes, that’s a new fuel-efficiency world record, certified by Guinness.
How does a Toyota Prius nearly double its certified fuel efficiency? The single biggest factor is how it’s driven, or in this case, who is doing the driving. This hyper-efficient Prius owes its record-setting run to a gentleman named Wayne Gerdes, who publishes a website called CleanMPG.com and has a long history of setting efficiency records.
The last time Wayne drove across the country, in a Kia Niro hybrid in 2016, he achieved a then-record 76.6 MPG. Wayne has also set records for driving a Volkswagen Passat TDI through all 48 contiguous states while averaging 68 MPG.
So Wayne Gerdes likes to break automotive efficiency records. And this time he chose the current Toyota Prius, which has already won a long list of accolades, including my personal assessment as the best car you can buy today, at least if you’re looking for the best combination of value, reliability, performance, safety, styling, and yes, fuel efficiency. It didn’t surprise me to see Wayne pair up with the current Prius to break another record. Still, getting an average of 93 mpg out of the car while crossing the U.S. is truly impressive.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
My 2017 Ford Focus has gotten as much as 51 mpg and routinely gets 42-43 mpg on highway trips. Not bad considering I paid about half the cost of a Prius o buy it.
2.2/100km is 108 mpg US gallons...In a $15,000 USD vehicle not a 48,000 vehicle. The Chinese are kicking a$$ and taking names in the auto industry. The Don is right it will be a bloodbath as soon as they are allowed to export to North America. Mexico is first they will corner that market and Texas being next door we see Mexican plates all the time NAFTA means they are legal here as long as they are current in Mexico a person can drive Mexican plates and Mexican titled car here if thst have USA insurance that’s like $30 a month for liability only. This test was done in normal traffic with battery competently depleted so only in gas hybrid mode...again 2.2L/100km is 108mpg in real.world traffic that’s absolutely insane. That BYD also carries a bladder busting 1300+ miles of petrol. That’s equal to DFW to New Orleans and back without a stop. My bladder hurts just thinking about 18 hours in the seat.
Thanks - I know next to nothing about electric or hybrid design.
All cars have motor rpms and tire revolutions - whether manual, automatic, hydro, ICE, hybrid or electric.. and therefore they all have a ratio between the two motions. At one extreme of that ratio you use less fuel - but put more stress on the the motor.
I get your point though, that with a hybrid like the Prius, the driver’s strategy for obtaining optimal fuel efficiency would be much more complicated than with an ICE, and would require a keen understanding of the design and what conditions trigger the ICE to kick in or lay back.
That’s pretty good, at 70 not 85
Mph a Prius will do 65 mpg. Up the speed to a cruise set 85 mph which is ten over Texas max speed limits and the defacto wink wink ok cops will let you pass them with and it drops to 56mpg. What speeds where you running on the motorway to see 40s? My S60 at 75 is lucky to see 30 mpg the Expedition is 18 mpg at those speeds and the F250 diesel is in the 15s above 70 mph. The Tesla is using 250 watt hours per mile at 75 half that at 50 air resistance is the reason it goes up logarithmic with speed.
Cost of ownership is still higher with hybrids.
As long as that’s the case, that’s a deal breaker for me.
With a Prius type hybrid its all how light you can accelerate using the least amount of energy to do so. That and since air resistance is log log to speed you have to drive slow. Prius crush slow city driving at steady speeds. You will see 100+ mpg at ,35 mph and steady speeds. It’s the start stop start that eats up fuel.this is where regen braking system shines it takes about 600 watt hours to bring a full sized sedan up to 60 mph same amount to bring it to a halt that in a normal car is pure heat in the brake pads. Hybrids capture up to 80% of that so do EVs that’s how they double city miles that and being able to run the ICE at its higher eff points more of the time. My Telsa uses 150 ish wh/mi in the city so just the braking energy from 60 to zero is four miles worth of steady cruising in a EV. This is also why EV absolutely crush city driving I use one tenth the cost and energy in my Tesla vs the S60 of identical size. Plus the Telsa is less per month than the S60 so its capital expense is half what I already paid for the S60 and the only reason I still own the Volvo sunk cost
Huh... I just looked you can get a 2022 Prius for $23,000 with 40k miles in DFW today, you can form the same dealership get a 2022 Corolla the identical sized car for $22,000 a difference of 1,000. The Prius is going to save you 20+ mpg for every mile driven vs that Corolla in identical use. Over 100,000 miles that’s $2800 less in fuel for $2.77 a gallon today if it goes back to $3 that number goes up to $3100. Also factor in that you will never put brakes on a Prius they don’t use friction braking expect for panic braking 150,000 miles on the original pads is the norm. $1000 or more for a modern brake job if you don’t do it yourself but who has motor turning machines modern rotors are too thin to not turns or replace after the first set of pads this is not the 1970s anymore. Hybrids already make fiscal sense welcome to the 21st century.
Sunk cost drives all my decisions - LOL
I’m 72 and drive a well-maintained 2006 Honda Civic and a well-maintained (considering) 1965 MG Midget.. I’ll probably drive them until they die or I die whichever comes first. I’m not defending the practice - it’s just the way I’m wired I guess.
That being said, I’d buy a Tesla if I was in the market for a new car and if they were a little less expensive.
I’m not stuck on ICE like some people. Whatever technology wins out is ok with me - I just don’t like being forced.
Ten years ago I was pissed off that they were trying to regulate incandescent bulbs out of existence - now I’ve pretty much switched over to LED voluntarily.
Toyota hybrids have a reputation for last a long time .
ing
“for last a long time”
For a moment, I thought you’d gone “full Walz” on us.
Same I was in a rage over CFLs and stock piled 100 watt nonhalogens now they mostly sit unused since 1600 lumen LEDs use 11 watts don’t heat up the closet or utility room and last what seems forever. I do use the incans for chicks keeps them warm in the box put a IR dark plate over the bulb so they can sleep and still get the warmth. LED just matured into superior technology.
I fully expect EVs with solid state cells to blow nearly every use case for ICE out of the water. 600+ mile ranges, 20,000+ cycles, 10C or faster charging at superchargers. That’s 6 min or less for a full charge. No one and I mean zero people have a functional oil well and refinery in the back yard or back 40. You can and I do every day charge a Tesla off solar panels above it. Once solid state cells that are fire proof nanoglass based ice is dead. Electric drive units are cheaper and have only one moving part its the batteries that make a EV expensive and in the case of Tesla profit margins. Tesla could let out a $15,000 EV with LFP cells and a 150 mile range. LFP cells can take 3000 cycles to 100% DOD that’s 450,000 miles in a 150 mile EV. Virtually no one commutes more than 40 miles per day the NHTSA has the numbers 96% of all Americans drive less than 30 miles per day total. That’s 5 days between charges for a 150 mile EV. Since you can 240V charge 30 miles on under 2 hours you could charge four EVs over night off a single 30 amp 240V line put them one timers which the software already does for you with schedule charging. That’s technology today LFP cells it only gets better from there. People can rent a car for longer trips which the avg American takes less than two trips per year longer than 400 miles , you rent for edge use cases. That said I have taken my Tesla to Florida a couple of times from Texas never had an issue Tesla has superchargers every 50 miles along the interstates. Stop for 15 min every three hours in the seat is my bladder limit anyways.
A 3-hour ride on my Honda is a better value than a mediocre 9 holes in a golf cart. $5 gets me a lot further on the bike and we never have a bad day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.