Plug In Prius Breaks M P G Records

[Parts-King]

“Toyota’s new Prius Plug-in Hybrid has smashed the all-time fuel consumption record for Which? tests,” reports the consumer magazine. “Our team averaged 83.1mpg, making it easily the most fuel-efficient car we’ve ever measured.”

The new Prius was “even more impressive” in the urban cycle test, where it returned a “remarkable” 235.4mpg in a rolling-road simulation of stop-start city driving. Even in a test that simulated out-of-town driving, the car averaged an “impressive,

record-breaking” 100.9mpg, “confirming that it should be exceptionally frugal in real-world driving scenarios.

“The new Prius Plug-in Hybrid’s 83.1mpg figure comfortably beats the previous average fuel economy record set by the Smart ForTwo CDi, which averaged 70.6mpg.”

It’s only on the motorway where the Prius falls short of exceptional. The Which? tests averaged 46.3mpg on a motorway test, making the Prius “hardly any more frugal than a conventional petrol-engined rival”. The mag says the secret to the

Prius’ low-speed fuel figures is its Battery pack. “Unlike the existing Prius Hybrid, whose electric motor is recharged by the on-board petrol

engine alone, the Plug-in Hybrid’s Battery can be recharged from a domestic plug socket in 90 minutes. This gives it a much longer range using electric power – up to around 14 miles – so the petrol engine is used less.”

The Prius will also be a “cheap” car to run in town. Recharging the Battery from empty costs 64p, providing 14 miles of petrol-free travel. Figures could improve further still. Which? could only test the lease version of the Plug-in

Hybrid, and is yet to get its hands on the retail production version that will arrive next year with a lighter, more compact battery pack, “raising the prospect of even better fuel economy”.(Link: Which?, 17 November)

Kingo

[ol'git]

That's very impressive mileage, lets hope the 'retail' version gets more.

I'm not sure about the Motorway mileage though, don't the 'normal' GenII - GenIII get more?

[dee s]

When is the Plug in being relesed then ?

Still no date announced it seems

[ol'git]

When is the Plug in being relesed then ?

Still no date announced it seems

I would imagine it'll be like the Prius + ... March 2012 to co-inside with the new registrations?

[Jan&tone]

That's very impressive mileage, lets hope the 'retail' version gets more.

I'm not sure about the Motorway mileage though, don't the 'normal' GenII - GenIII get more?

Motorway mileage of 46.3 was a motoring journo trying to set a record between two motorway junctions, not driving as the rest of us do!

My only problem with the plug in one is no electricity in the garage and 40 yards between the front of the house and the carpark!

[Dacre]

That's very impressive mileage, lets hope the 'retail' version gets more.

I'm not sure about the Motorway mileage though, don't the 'normal' GenII - GenIII get more?

Motorway mileage of 46.3 was a motoring journo trying to set a record between two motorway junctions, not driving as the rest of us do!

My only problem with the plug in one is no electricity in the garage and 40 yards between the front of the house and the carpark!

This is going to be the major problem for most motorists - how do you charge an EV when you don't have an electrical supply where you park your car overnight.

The Prius plug in sounds brilliant and would suit my driving habits perfectly - I'm either pottering around locally doing lots of drop offs and pick ups (kids think I'm a taxi!) or driving into London or going down the motorway

[Sagitar]

My car is garaged in an integral garage which also contains the consumer unit for the house, so ideal for charging. And since most of my journeys are short, town-journeys the car could be very good for me. The only question really is about the capital cost?

I asked about release date when I was in my local dealer last week and got the impression that target dates are going back for some reason - towards the end of 2012?

My Gen3 will be three years old next September and that would be an ideal time to change.

[ol'git]

That's very impressive mileage, lets hope the 'retail' version gets more.

I'm not sure about the Motorway mileage though, don't the 'normal' GenII - GenIII get more?

Motorway mileage of 46.3 was a motoring journo trying to set a record between two motorway junctions, not driving as the rest of us do!

Hi Tone, how's it going? This is what I was referring too, quoted from the article "However, the Toyota isn't so impressive on the motorway. In our simulated test of motorway driving we averaged only 46.3mpg."

Surely, if you're going to test a car's FE wouldn't it be better to actually take the car on the road instead of using a 'rolling road simulation'? I dunno, journo's these days are useless at their jobs, too busy hacking peoples mobile phones to do any real work.

[ol'git]

The Prius plug in sounds brilliant and would suit my driving habits perfectly - I'm either pottering around locally doing lots of drop offs and pick ups (kids think I'm a taxi!) or driving into London or going down the motorway

As it would me, 99% of my driving is all local and no more than 8 miles usually.

[timberwolf]

Hi Tone, how's it going? This is what I was referring too, quoted from the article "However, the Toyota isn't so impressive on the motorway. In our simulated test of motorway driving we averaged only 46.3mpg."

Surely, if you're going to test a car's FE wouldn't it be better to actually take the car on the road instead of using a 'rolling road simulation'? I dunno, journo's these days are useless at their jobs, too busy hacking peoples mobile phones to do any real work.

I would think they test in a lab because then the tests can be repeated exactly the same way for each car? If they tested the car on the road, they'd have to drive exactly the same route, with exactly the same traffic, with exactly the same wait at each traffic light/junction, and they would have to be careful about the weather (temp, wind, moisture,...), etc.

[Jan&tone]

Hi Tone, how's it going? This is what I was referring too, quoted from the article "However, the Toyota isn't so impressive on the motorway. In our simulated test of motorway driving we averaged only 46.3mpg."

Surely, if you're going to test a car's FE wouldn't it be better to actually take the car on the road instead of using a 'rolling road simulation'? I dunno, journo's these days are useless at their jobs, too busy hacking peoples mobile phones to do any real work.

I would think they test in a lab because then the tests can be repeated exactly the same way for each car? If they tested the car on the road, they'd have to drive exactly the same route, with exactly the same traffic, with exactly the same wait at each traffic light/junction, and they would have to be careful about the weather (temp, wind, moisture,...), etc.

You could be right, but I doubt it. Motoring journo's are only interested in how fast the car goes, how quickly it gets to 60 and how many cup holders it has.

I personally wouldn't even trust them to tell the truth about the colour of the car they drove!

IMO the only way to find out about a car is to drive the damn thing yourself.

And yes ol'git, I'm fine thanks!

[johalareewi]

“Our team averaged 83.1mpg, making it easily the most fuel-efficient car we’ve ever measured.”

Doesn't Mr Flan's PHEV Prius beat this?

[Sagitar]

Hi Tone, how's it going? This is what I was referring too, quoted from the article "However, the Toyota isn't so impressive on the motorway. In our simulated test of motorway driving we averaged only 46.3mpg."

Surely, if you're going to test a car's FE wouldn't it be better to actually take the car on the road instead of using a 'rolling road simulation'? I dunno, journo's these days are useless at their jobs, too busy hacking peoples mobile phones to do any real work.

I would think they test in a lab because then the tests can be repeated exactly the same way for each car? If they tested the car on the road, they'd have to drive exactly the same route, with exactly the same traffic, with exactly the same wait at each traffic light/junction, and they would have to be careful about the weather (temp, wind, moisture,...), etc.

You could be right, but I doubt it. Motoring journo's are only interested in how fast the car goes, how quickly it gets to 60 and how many cup holders it has.

I personally wouldn't even trust them to tell the truth about the colour of the car they drove!

IMO the only way to find out about a car is to drive the damn thing yourself.

And yes ol'git, I'm fine thanks!

These are not "Motoring journo's". The tests were carried out by "Which", a consumer organisation that sets out to conduct comparative tests on an objective basis. As somebody has already said, they conduct their tests under laboratory conditions in order to maintain consistency and give comparability. They do not claim that their mileages are those that you will achieve on the road, any more than the official figures used in advertising are those that you will achieve on the road. If you want to compare one vehicle with another, then it seems to me that the "Which" reports are as good a basis as any other. You cannot however just pick up a few figures in isolation, you need to read the reports and make a judgement about whether the test method tells you what you want to know.

In my days in industry I carried out tests in an environmental test laboratory and I know how difficult it can be to design laboratory tests that will allow fair comparison of a range of products that have been designed with slightly different end use objectives and price points in mind.

[kithmo]

The Prius plug in sounds brilliant and would suit my driving habits perfectly - I'm either pottering around locally doing lots of drop offs and pick ups (kids think I'm a taxi!) or driving into London or going down the motorway

As it would me, 99% of my driving is all local and no more than 8 miles usually.

Big gains to be had in Summer, but what about winter time ?

1. Will PIP have a cabin pre-heater whilst charging ?

2. Will PIP be able to heat the cabin whilst running the first 14 mile on EV

If not then I can't see that there will be any mpg increase over the standard Prius as the engine will be running to warm the cabin.

A heated front screen and electric cabin heater would be nice, but this would mean a beefier 12v Battery of course.

[Flaninacupboard]

“Our team averaged 83.1mpg, making it easily the most fuel-efficient car we’ve ever measured.”

Doesn't Mr Flan's PHEV Prius beat this?

Yep! :)

If their test cycle is long, or very hard on the throttle, then low 80's makes sense. My kit has the same amount of energy (4kwh) but gets released over about 40 miles rather than 14.

The plugin really will get massively different results for different people.

46.3mpg is a joke though, with the plugin kit i'd have to do about 90mph to get mpg that low!!