Real Ife Mpg

[Velocette]

Hi All,

A long term toyota owner, my wife has a new Yaris one of a long line of Yari in the family. I am now contemplating swapping my Octavia Diesel auto for a Prius. Foot problems dictate an auto as necessity I'm afraid. never thought of a Prius for some reason, as I was enquiring at my local dealer about Diesel autos and he suggested one of these. having had a look I am impressed by quality (of course), space, boys toys and eight year drive train guarantee. Not impressed by boot space. However as i drive 30k miles a year - at my expense - my car buying decisions centre on safety, economy and reliability. The Octavia, my second, has been great but with 80k on the clock i am concerned about the DSG box reliability. So if i am to change, now is the time before i pick up service costs for routine oil change, gearbox oil change, brakes, tyres etc.

My thought is an 07/08 mk II with up to 20K on the clock giving me plenty of mileage upside. i would appreciate any owner comments on driveability - i am 6'3" and commute 120 miles in total each day. I am particularly interested in real world mpg as part of the economic calculation. My regular trip to work is around 15 mins either end on twisty country lanes and 40 mins on fast A road and motorway (A43, M40 for those familiar with it). I will make my decision in the next week, tnanks in anticipation.

Velocette

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Can't really comment on the gen2 Prius, but I believe it is ever so slightly smaller than the gen3. I am 5'11'' tall and have plenty of leg room and still leave enough for my passengers in the rear.

I personally love my Prius despite some niggles and the fuel economy and smooth drive are superb. I get about 48-50 mpg round town and mid 50's upwards on a run. The best tank I had was about 58 mpg when in France but I don't really hang around and if you take it easy you should get late 60's to even early 70's to the gallon.

It is smooth to drive and effortless. I wouldn't class it as a drivers car but the steering isn't too bad and the grip more than ok. I'd try and arrange a 24 or even a 48 hour test drive with the dealers and see if the car suits you. If you look back through some of the posts on here you will find the same questions asked by others, many of whom are now Prius owners. There is a lot of rubbish out there about the Prius, usually from people who have never even been in one, let alone driven one.

Am sure others will add their two pence worth.

[cootuk]

If you're doing a lot of motorway driving then it really is a toss up on whether you go for a diesel. The Prius isn't really optimised for long term fast driving, but for mixed/town driving. Though you should get over 50mpg on the motorway.

After a couple of years the Prius would have 80-90k miles and any purchaser would be aware the hv side is only warranted for 100k.

[Chris Dance]

I am more than happy with my Gen2 T Spirit 57 plate. I do a reasonable amount of motorway driving and the Prius is ideal for our needs. I am not a high mileage driver as I am retired.

My son has the same car as mine and he has his own business in UK and in Europe. He is a high mileage driver using the motorways and often drives to France. He also says the Prius is a very good car.

Grumpie Cappie summed the critics up well in his comments.

My neighbour is 6ft tall and he has travelled with me as a passenger and he found the car comfortable.

Lowest fuel consumption I have had is 43MPG in Winter but last August the on board computer recorded 65 MPG. I pay an annual London congestion charge of £10.

Best car I have ever owned.

With the rear seats down there is stacks of room; there is also storage under the floor at the rear.

[Velocette]

I am more than happy with my Gen2 T Spirit 57 plate. I do a reasonable amount of motorway driving and the Prius is ideal for our needs. I am not a high mileage driver as I am retired.

My son has the same car as mine and he has his own business in UK and in Europe. He is a high mileage driver using the motorways and often drives to France. He also says the Prius is a very good car.

Grumpie Cappie summed the critics up well in his comments.

My neighbour is 6ft tall and he has travelled with me as a passenger and he found the car comfortable.

Lowest fuel consumption I have had is 43MPG in Winter but last August the on board computer recorded 65 MPG. I pay an annual London congestion charge of £10.

Best car I have ever owned.

With the rear seats down there is stacks of room; there is also storage under the floor at the rear.

Thanks everybody for your comments. It is clear to me that this is not a straightforward no-brainer based soley on mpg, and of course once it gets to 100k or eight years old then value will drop significantly. However my octavia isnt exactly gold bars on wheels either. My thought is that should i get to 100k and all is well then it probably means I like the car and would keep it longer anyway. I tend to trade cars on a fairly regular basis as my policy has been to buy low mileage, older, cheaper cars and this would represent a change to purchasing a younger lower mileage model but still within my guideline of £200 per month depreciation. In other words I accept that a car devalues £2.4k per year or around 10p per mile I put on it, perhaps a little less. If I can get mpg up from my current summer average of 47mpg/winter 45mpg to around 55 then this would save me around £690 a year taking into account mpg, petrol v diesel costs, road tax savings but before any extra insurance and service costs. I think service costs are likely to be lower and insurance a group higher so hopefully not much in it there. So some financial upside which is worth having. I am not concerned about roadholding and all that driving at the edge stuff, if it goes round corners thats fine by me, but it does have to be comfortable over an extended period. Boot space especially floor to ceiling may be important depending on whether the dog fits comfortably or not. SWMBO and not the dog will decide that one!

So where are we? Assuming a satisfactory test drive and SWMBO thuimbs up then providing the cost to change is not more than £2.4k per year (ie swap a 54 reg for a 57 reg= 3years = £7.2k) then i think we will be in business. Of course I want the Spirit with all the toys, 1 yr warranty and maybe negotiate the first service free as well. As you can see I am a very reasonable chap to deal with

Thanks all, Velocette

[ColinB]

I am more than happy with my Gen2 T Spirit 57 plate. I do a reasonable amount of motorway driving and the Prius is ideal for our needs. I am not a high mileage driver as I am retired.

My son has the same car as mine and he has his own business in UK and in Europe. He is a high mileage driver using the motorways and often drives to France. He also says the Prius is a very good car.

Grumpie Cappie summed the critics up well in his comments.

My neighbour is 6ft tall and he has travelled with me as a passenger and he found the car comfortable.

Lowest fuel consumption I have had is 43MPG in Winter but last August the on board computer recorded 65 MPG. I pay an annual London congestion charge of £10.

Best car I have ever owned.

With the rear seats down there is stacks of room; there is also storage under the floor at the rear.

Thanks everybody for your comments. It is clear to me that this is not a straightforward no-brainer based soley on mpg, and of course once it gets to 100k or eight years old then value will drop significantly. However my octavia isnt exactly gold bars on wheels either. My thought is that should i get to 100k and all is well then it probably means I like the car and would keep it longer anyway. I tend to trade cars on a fairly regular basis as my policy has been to buy low mileage, older, cheaper cars and this would represent a change to purchasing a younger lower mileage model but still within my guideline of £200 per month depreciation. In other words I accept that a car devalues £2.4k per year or around 10p per mile I put on it, perhaps a little less. If I can get mpg up from my current summer average of 47mpg/winter 45mpg to around 55 then this would save me around £690 a year taking into account mpg, petrol v diesel costs, road tax savings but before any extra insurance and service costs. I think service costs are likely to be lower and insurance a group higher so hopefully not much in it there. So some financial upside which is worth having. I am not concerned about roadholding and all that driving at the edge stuff, if it goes round corners thats fine by me, but it does have to be comfortable over an extended period. Boot space especially floor to ceiling may be important depending on whether the dog fits comfortably or not. SWMBO and not the dog will decide that one!

So where are we? Assuming a satisfactory test drive and SWMBO thuimbs up then providing the cost to change is not more than £2.4k per year (ie swap a 54 reg for a 57 reg= 3years = £7.2k) then i think we will be in business. Of course I want the Spirit with all the toys, 1 yr warranty and maybe negotiate the first service free as well. As you can see I am a very reasonable chap to deal with

Thanks all, Velocette

Earlier this year I received a 09 plate 2nd gen Prius as a company car, replacing my personal Auris. I am (mostly) with the Prius, at 6'2" I find it very comfortable, apart from the steering wheel being too far away, I average 50mpg with mostly motorway cruising at a true 70 (note that the speedo over-reads by 5mph). Note that they do not seem to like 'spirited' driving, it suits my more laid back style fine though.

In summary I would consider spending my own money on a Prius - you can't say fairer than that.

Colin

[johalareewi]

The gen3 Prius has been out for a year so there might be some second hand ones coming onto the market?

[Dave R.]

Also in agreement with comments - I love the relaxed driving, happy with the economy, recognise some shortcomings in trim, finish and features, love the "toys".

Mine's a Gen III T-Spirit (company car) so very happy with the impact on Tax!

Regarding economy - take a look at www.fuelly.com for "real-life" consumption figures - though beware that the site defaults to US units - you need to select UK gallons for the numbers to make sense! Also, beware of the effect of ambient temperature on fuel consumption - the Prius is particularly sensitive - I was getting low 50's to the gallon during the winter and am now getting high 50's/ low '60s in the summer..... so all the Prius owners from warmer climes are likely to be skewing the results! B)

[Velocette]

Also in agreement with comments - I love the relaxed driving, happy with the economy, recognise some shortcomings in trim, finish and features, love the "toys".

Mine's a Gen III T-Spirit (company car) so very happy with the impact on Tax!

Regarding economy - take a look at www.fuelly.com for "real-life" consumption figures - though beware that the site defaults to US units - you need to select UK gallons for the numbers to make sense! Also, beware of the effect of ambient temperature on fuel consumption - the Prius is particularly sensitive - I was getting low 50's to the gallon during the winter and am now getting high 50's/ low '60s in the summer..... so all the Prius owners from warmer climes are likely to be skewing the results! B)

Many thanks all for your response, very interesting and i think worth a shot if I can the right deal. The salesman phoned today and said he could "speak to his manager" about the blue one I saw on saturday, so we will see. Thanks also to Grumpy Taxi driver for his personal note to me, I would reply personally if I could work out how to do it! But thanks for your very informative comments. Cheers All. Velocette.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

One thing I would add - I own a 2009 gen3 Prius which is the latest model with the 1.8 engine. Apparantly there isn't much difference between them but the gen3 is a little better on the motorway for mpg's.

Don't want to nosey into your personal finances but what about a new one? Just at the dealers today for a niggle and I noticed they were doing some great finance offers on new cars AND you get the 5 years warranty! Being the newer model it should hold its value better and you get the peace of mind of the warranty. Guess it depends on your budget though but worth a thought.

[timberwolf]

My Gen 2 has an eight year hybrid warranty and I would guess that it is the expensive hybrid components that worry people more than the oily bits.

[Velocette]

My Gen 2 has an eight year hybrid warranty and I would guess that it is the expensive hybrid components that worry people more than the oily bits.

Nice idea GC! But I am too mean to do that. I do have the wonga available but always other things to spend it on I'm afraid. I did buy SWMBO a new Yaris last autumn but the thought of spending 20k+ on a new/near new car only to see it depreciate like a stone would keep me awake at night. I usually buy low mileage, good condition older cars and then run up the miles on them but doing 25/30k a year now I am prepared to get something newer. Sat in an 11k miles 08 Spirit complete with leather at the dealer on saturday, the salesman said "i think this could be sold, if you are interested you need to make your mind up", yeh right! Within 10 mins it was sold for £12k I called in today at another dealer on my travels around and was interested to see an 07 with 12k on the clock advertised for £10.8k, and that was sold too. The salesman said that if people come in after a second hand Prius they get out of their chairs pretty quickly as they know there is a sale in the offing. Well, I have to do a deal this weekend as I am off working overseas for a while and want to get my old car traded in before I go as otherwise things like insurance, service etc become problematic.

I'll keep you informed, and thanks all for your inputs, Velocette

[johalareewi]

... The salesman said that if people come in after a second hand Prius they get out of their chairs pretty quickly as they know there is a sale in the offing.

Had the same problem looking for a second hand automatic Yaris. They were sold as soon as they came in!

[Velocette]

... The salesman said that if people come in after a second hand Prius they get out of their chairs pretty quickly as they know there is a sale in the offing.

Had the same problem looking for a second hand automatic Yaris. They were sold as soon as they came in!

Well, I have done it! Bought an 07 in silver with leather on thursday. Nice low mileage with a new MOT and service. Picked it up on friday and still trying to work out how all these gizmos work. Pleased with the deal and looking forward to a 140 mile round trip tomorrow to see how it goes.

Cheers, velocette

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Enjoy - I'm confident you will. Now you will be able to see what all the fuss is about.

[r04drunner1]

Well, I have done it! Bought an 07 in silver with leather on thursday. Nice low mileage with a new MOT and service. Picked it up on friday and still trying to work out how all these gizmos work. Pleased with the deal and looking forward to a 140 mile round trip tomorrow to see how it goes.

Cheers, velocette

Congrats. How did the round trip go?

R04drunner1

[DeZemBer]

Well, I have done it! Bought an 07 in silver with leather on thursday. Nice low mileage with a new MOT and service. Picked it up on friday and still trying to work out how all these gizmos work. Pleased with the deal and looking forward to a 140 mile round trip tomorrow to see how it goes.

Cheers, velocette

Hi Velocette,

I'm a new member here and like you, looking forward for my very first Prius ;)

I'm interested to get a similar model as yours (57, Gen II Prius). Do you mind to share roughly how much did you paid for yours?

Thanks.

DeZ

[Jan&tone]

Welcome to the club both of you...

I'm sure that you will be pleased with your gen2.... It's a smashing car...

[SgtWilson]

Hi All,

Im sure that my comments and questions have been asked so many times before, but ive tried reading as many forums as possible about the Gen2 T3 Prius.

Currently have a 07 Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 petrol which has now done 35k miles and so im now looking to change. I average around about 20 mile trips mostly A roads and town driving at a time (on 'flat' Norfolk, UK roads), and currently average 41 mpg.

Ive now test driven a T3 Prius and was very impressed with the vehicle (09 plate with 10k miles), but just wondered what sort of mpg I might get with my type of driving, can I expect better than my current focus? as i estimate that i need at least 52mpg for the car to come financially even with a new 10 plate focus zetec 1.6 petrol over 3 years and 10k miles a year.

Also, what are residual values like? ie. if I kept it for 3 to 5 years?

Thanks for your comments and help on this question, and any advice that you have for me would greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Sarge

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Will you get 52 mpg on a 20 mile commute through rural Norfolk?

You should get 60 - 70 mpg depending how steady you drive. If you get the gen3 Prius (the new shape) then it is rated below the magic 100g/km and will always be in demand in London due to the congestion charge - including the proposed new bandings.

I know these mpg figures of 60 mpg sound crazy but they're true - as others will confirm.

[Jan&tone]

Sgt Wilson

My gen 3 is 2 weeks old and on a trip from s.e.Essex to folkestone a13/m25/m20 and return I got 61+ mpg - on a brand new car!!

I'm sure tha I will get much more when it's run in so in Norfolk I would expect you to equal mine... I've not been to cromer yet in this one but that's due soon and again 61+ mpg would be expected

[Ancient Nerd]

Currently have a 07 Ford Focus Zetec 1.6 petrol which has now done 35k miles and so im now looking to change. I average around about 20 mile trips mostly A roads and town driving at a time (on 'flat' Norfolk, UK roads), and currently average 41 mpg.

Ive now test driven a T3 Prius and was very impressed with the vehicle (09 plate with 10k miles), but just wondered what sort of mpg I might get with my type of driving, can I expect better than my current focus? as i estimate that i need at least 52mpg for the car to come financially even with a new 10 plate focus zetec 1.6 petrol over 3 years and 10k miles a year.

Most of my mileage is a 40 mile each way cross country commute through Norfolk and Cambridge. Around half is on fen roads, the rest split between rural A and B roads. It suits the car well. Unless you push the car very hard, you should get between 55 and 60 mpg in a Gen III. If it's a Gen II, then a bit less.

The Gen II on 16" wheels, or the Gen III T3 are likely to be more comfortable than the current T4/T-Spirit on 17" wheels.

[Jan&tone]

Ancient nerd,

Quote

The Gen II on 16" wheels, or the Gen III T3 are likely to be more comfortable than the current T4/T-Spirit on 17" wheels.

Unquote

What makes you say that?

[Ancient Nerd]

Ancient nerd,

Quote

The Gen II on 16" wheels, or the Gen III T3 are likely to be more comfortable than the current T4/T-Spirit on 17" wheels.

Unquote

What makes you say that?

I had a Gen II before my current Gen III. It's still in the family, and I occasionally get to use it. The Gen II is definitely a more comfortable ride. I have no practical experience of the 15" wheels on the current T3, but I would be very surprised indeed if they didn't give a significantly softer ride.

I would have much preferred the smaller wheels had they been an option. If the reversing camera had been an option on the T3 or T4, I would have bought one of those instead.

Putting it in perspective, I used to have a Honda Civic on 17" wheels. That was much worse than the Prius.

As an aside, I always find it amazing that all the demonstrators I have seen in various dealers have 72 mpg plastered all over the side of the car, but are inevitably T-Spirits that 'only' do 70mpg.

[Jan&tone]

Hi ancient nerd,

Interesting observations. I must admit that I don't find my gen3 t-spirit as quiet as my gen 2 t-spirit, more road noise but less engine noise, but with the state of the roads now, I don't find the ride any less comfortable. T'will be interesting to see any other replies/thoughts