Toyota Prius

moonrakerz

The Toyota Prius has been hailed by all and sundry as the answer to automotive pollution - buy a Prius and save the planet !
They must be good - half of Hollywood drives one, you could get a Powershift grant of £1000 (from the taxpayer) towards buying one, have one as a company car and you pay a lot less tax, free from Ken's congestion charge.
There you have it, OR HAVE YOU ?

Miles per gallon:
The Official EU mpg figure for the Prius is given as 65.7 mpg, however the motoring media on their tests of this car seem to be incapable of getting anywhere near this figure,
Telegraph < 45 mpg
Auto Express 41.5 mpg
Autocar 44.1 mpg

Yet on 'ordinary' cars they got,
Citroen C4 49.6 mpg
Focus 1.6tdci 47.8 mpg
BMW 118D 48.5 mpg

Many car buyers complain that they cannot get the (official EU) mpg figures quoted in manufacturer's brochures. The reason for this is - the EU test does not accurately represent 'normal' driving, it actually skews the figure dramatically towards a vehicle like the Prius. 2.5 miles, 12 stops with an average speed of 12 mph. This is why the Prius figures are so high, when it it used 'normally', the figures look poor.

A US marketing organisation calculated that a Prius cost $3.25 a mile to run over its expected life, whereas a Humvee cost $1.95 ! Some of the assumptions made in this study were not very scientific , to say the least, and this result is hardly to be believed. However, what was interesting, was that Toyota claimed them they had their own internal and externally audited figures to prove this reports was not true - despite many requests, neither their figures or even the name of their external auditors were ever produced.

A final point on this type of technology, which you have to admit has been wonderfully marketed by Toyota.
Two cars:

1. Lexus LS600h: 5 Litre V8 engine. 30.4 mpg. Emissions 219gm/km.
2. VW Polo Bluemotion: 1.4 Litre engine, 72 mpg. Emissions 102 gm/km

Guess which one is exempt from the London congestion charge, because it is made and marketed by Toyota and uses the same technology as the Prius ? Nice one, Ken !

I really find it difficult to believe many, if any, of the statements put out about what I should be doing to save the planet, when cars like the Prius are touted, by it's maker (understandably !) and organisation such as Transport for London (inexcusably) as what we should all be driving.

My next car will be a conventional diesel, which will do more for the environment than a Prius, and at quite a large financial saving to me.

thescouselander

moonrakerz wrote: »

My next car will be a conventional diesel, which will do more for the environment than a Prius, and at quite a large financial saving to me.

I really dont think diesels can be considered good for the environment. They release loads of particulates which can be very harmful to health so many environmental groups say you're better off driving petrol if you do most of your driving in built up areas.

Personally I have a problem with diesel vehicles as the fumes can cause me to sneeze and my nose to run (this is especially bad if I'm behind an old smoking bus in a queue of traffic). If I had my way they would be banned!

moonrakerz

thescouselander wrote: »

I really dont think diesels can be considered good for the environment. They release loads of particulates which can be very harmful to health so many environmental groups say you're better off driving petrol if you do most of your driving in built up areas.

Modern diesels have particulate filters in the exhaust system.

For the reasons stated in my OP, I'm afraid I tend not to take much notice of what "environmental groups" say ! Much of their output is NOT based on substantive fact, more on unsubstantiated rumour and half truths.

thescouselander

moonrakerz wrote: »

Modern diesels have particulate filters in the exhaust system.

For the reasons stated in my OP, I'm afraid I tend not to take much notice of what "environmental groups" say ! Much of their output is NOT based on substantive fact, more on unsubstantiated rumour and half truths.

Not withstanding what environmental groups say, its pretty obvious that diesel engines (even the new ones) pump out a lot of particulates. Only yesterday I was behind a fairly new Audi diesel that emitted a big smoke screen as it accelerated, I see this sort oif thing all the time. The smoke is actually soot from over Dieseling and its not very good for you if you brethe it in.

crox

The other week I was standing in traffic behind a Prius spewing out smoke, what's the battery driven motor for again?

mkbean

The Prius looks like a great toy, i might get one next.

But moneysaving or better for the environment - no.

Get a secondhand 1990's VW Golf Diesel and save the massive amount of energy it takes to make a new car.

kittiwoz

Diesels do emit more particulates i.e. soot but their overall emissions are generally less. Whilst soot isn't good for you if you breathe it in neither are the other components of exhaust fumes, emitted in greater quantities by petrol engines. They are, however, less visible.

moonrakerz

thescouselander wrote: »

Not withstanding what environmental groups say, its pretty obvious that diesel engines (even the new ones) pump out a lot of particulates. Only yesterday I was behind a fairly new Audi diesel that emitted a big smoke screen as it accelerated, I see this sort oif thing all the time. The smoke is actually soot from over Dieseling and its not very good for you if you brethe it in.

On that basis wood smoke is a lot more dangerous than neat carbon monoxide purely because you can see it ?

Cardew

moonrakerz wrote: »

On that basis wood smoke is a lot more dangerous than neat carbon monoxide purely because you can see it ?

I was going to have kippers for lunch, now I am not sure if I should!

On the subject of Hybrid cars, I assume Red Ken thinks that every Prius and other Hybrid cars will switch to electric motors as they enter the congestion zone.

moonrakerz

Cardew wrote: »

I was going to have kippers for lunch, now I am not sure if I should!

On the subject of Hybrid cars, I assume Red Ken thinks that every Prius and other Hybrid cars will switch to electric motors as they enter the congestion zone.

Sorry about your lunch !

Your point about the electric motor in the Prius is well founded, it does perform well in town, but it performs poorly on more open driving because of all the extra weight it is hauling around.

But hang on a sec - isn't it a congestion zone NOT a pollution zone ?

peak9

Hi we own a prius.
Our mpg is 55.4 at the moment and that seems pretty fixed. We live in the Peaks so all our mileage is up hill and down dale, without doubt it's the most economical car we've ever owned. Plus the added "benefit" that it parks it self