You still write your experiences here. Deep respect for this kind of consitancy.
Looks like you are still satisfied with your car.
Some time a go i saw a Prius passing me slowly without any noise and i thought of you.
By the way maybe you are interested in the service, that is freely offered at: http://www.spritmonitor.de/en/ . There you can enter the amout of fuel you buy and the kilometers u drive and it automatically calculates your average. And the best thing is, you can compare your data with other guys with the same car. There are lots of Prius-owners in the database, as far as i have seen. You can even embed little images in your signature or your website, that show your actual average fuel usage.
My alpha test device is now operational (see my posting on this thread of 10 Nov 2006). E-mail or pm me for an online real-time animated demo ;-) or to purchase? ;-)
(requests are not likely to be satisfied immediately, as I need to build in some security, and I will be selective, applicants are likely to be disappointed when I'll reject them).
P.S. Thanks for the kind words Bismarck, I checked the fuel consumption comparison site, I have seen better ones for the real freaks ;-) I could match the real freaks if I didn't drive on the motorway most of the time...
Actually, the tracker shuts down when I drive in EV mode too long, so I have the worst car for this... (except that ALL CARS will be like mine & then some soon).
777km, added only 41.5 liters
(cold weather changes when it looks like you need to refuel)
5.39 l/100km calculated (one of my worst tanks as I recall it, some weird driving induced by the installation of the tracker device may explain it, as well as a bad traffic jam).
5.723 l/100km calculated (this is by far my worst tank since I have the car, I can't really explain why, other than the comparatively cold weather, only driving to my office and short trips, but the weather was not as cold as last winter).
5,4 l/100km on Prius meter (one of the largest discrepancies between meter and my measurement also).
It's been a long time since I checked air in the tyres, I'll do that on next refuel.
Looking at my Prius, I don't expect too many problems. The 2 engines fit in a comparatively smallish compartment, and the battery (invisible behind the seats) is maybe 3x a normal car battery (I wish it were bigger).
A proper hybrid powertrain and electronics are less obvious to fit in the Seven.
802 km, added 45,72 liters! (tank capacity is 45) I knew I was near empty.
(it was 1° celcius outside, pump choked constantly, maybe that affected it, or maybe the petrol station owner is a criminal)
5.700 l/100km calculated (again among my very worst tanks)
5,3 l/100km on Prius meter (again big discrepancy with calc)
I pumped my tyres up to 2.8 bar (they were down to 2.2 rear, 2.3 front). Yep, I pump them up just when it's gonna snow... illepall
As a matter of fact, I detected some uncalled for engine revving upon exiting EV mode (already since it became cold this winter; or maybe even since the car servicing in September; I can't recall this phenomenon occurring last year). If I have another bad tank I'm going to stop by the garage to ask them to look into this.
The point of this thread, developed at the request of Bismarck, is to show my Prius' real-world fuel consumption performance (specifically NOT to rely on 'the figures they quote'). I am a continental European, driving mostly 32 km trips back and forth to my office, most of which on motorways at the allowed speed of 120 km/h.
I have no idea whether the Golf Diesel real-world fuel consumption stats would be equivalent or better than the Prius, but allow me to comment (as a former VW car owner):
1) My previous car (VW Polo 1.6, running 95 Octane) never matched ANY tank on my Prius (also 95 Octane) in terms of consumption - and the Prius winter performance is more than a full litre per 100km worse than the summer performance (you can see earlier in this thread that I have many Prius tanks at 4.7 and 4.6l/100 km).
2) 'MPG performance' is not the same as CO2 and NOx exhaust, not to mention diesel microparticles that kill and make buildings black. It it uncontestable that the Prius is far superior to current mainstream diesel cars on those parameters, which, in my view, are the parameters that really count. Buying a Prius to save money is marginal even at current petroleum prices, and probably negative for me given that I don't drive that much; I passed 22.222km today. Can/should we have (bio)diesel-electric hybrids that do better than the Prius on all criteria? YES, I would hope so. Manufacturers have announced these cars but have not delivered. Is that the best solution going forward? NO. Should we have some in the meantime? Probably YES. I'll debate the objective merits of biodiesel, I am very very sceptical.
3) I have stated above that I certainly didn't buy the Prius for its looks ;-)
4) If available and vaguely affordable (doesn't have to be economically rational) I'll take delivery of a Tesla Roadster or Phoenix Motorcars all-electric plug-in car any day (I seriously considered Prius plug-in hacks but wasn't convinced - until now). Oh, and I should have offered money for the BMW HL7 in the dot.com boom times (1999) when I had the money to get one and put it in a museum. Note that, even today, that car cannot actually be bought and BMW are now shopping it around (i.e. giving them away) to politicians. The scary part is that it runs on hydro made from petroleum very inefficiently, and guzzles the hydro like mad. You may also wish to check out the Honda FCX (real fuel-cell hydro), you can lease one for $500.000/year. I like Honda, I hope they get this right eventually, and I'll switch as soon as they do... or anything else that turns out to be vastly superior to the Prius... on whatever fuel that can credibly assert its enviro-credibility, real availability and sustainability and not be hype (also stated previously in this thread). I am not a Toyota fanboy, but I do have the Solar Hydro nickname since 1995 for a reason ;-)
Solar Hydro
P.S. Following-up on a previous thread where FienDi went down to the hard (published by manufacturer) numbers, I checked the VW website for the most economical VW Golf Diesel they sell. Advertised VW stats are: Consumption EU city 6.4, EU average 5.0, EU high road (whatever that means, speed not specified) 4.3 ; no info on temperatures at which they measured it. CO2/g/km 135 (Prius 104), NOx exhaust not mentioned, diesel particles not mentioned. The 95 octane smallest VW Golf is at 166 CO2/g/km.
P.S.2. All of us that do work that can be done from home or in a nearby location that can be reached by walking/cycling should do that immediately; I include myself in that and admit that I haven't.
P.S.3. I do downclock the processor and video card on my gaming pc on environmental grounds while I keep on editing text-only posts on messageboards.
It's always easier and cheaper for companies to produce stuff that uses old school fuels (and technologies for that matter). From what I've gathered in 27 or so years, nothing will ever truly change until something horrible and irreversible happens suddenly. I believe oil will be pretty much used up until substitutes can realistically take over.
Oh, and when substitutes are mainstream, it's better not to think that it's all for clean environment. No way. Nature is still suppressed by human, as it has been for few centuries. That really sucks. Money can live in clean and healthy environment, and care not for others.
(Sorry about the hijack, but I just got to work and am still *bit* tired. :tired: How tired would I be if I've taken a bus instead of cycle..)
I agree. Not only that, its a horrid car in terms of just driving and the interior is nearly as bad. Had one as a rental while I was waiting for my GTO to come in.
The hybrid system is pretty nice and worked well. But otherwise, no idea why anyone would buy a Prius at all. Sorta like why in the world did anyone buy a Pontiac Aztec...
5.28l l/100km calculated (in cold weather, we had snow)
5,2 l/100km on Prius meter (low discrepancy between calc and meter)
This brings me back to my winter average consumption (previous tank was clearly anomalous). Pumping up the tyres may also have helped.
A bit of bad news, a rock hit my windshield while driving at 100 km/h (it scared me to death because I saw it coming in from afar). Damage is limited, just a chip in the glass, but it's exactly in my constant visual range. I guess I'll try Carglass repair; didn't yet check my insurance as to whether this is covered.
Solar Hydro
P.S. I have black leather seats matching the black and dark grey interior, which is far better than the Prii with those grey/brown cloth interiors which are indeed horrible.
I am seriously considering such a car for my next company car (which is due to be replace March 2008).
If you don't mind, Solar, I would like to pick your brains over the next 8 - 10 months (slowly) about the car to see if it would work for us (incl. family). My first question is: do you know what it is like for packing a holiday into (ie for 2 adults and a 4 year old kid)? How practical is it as a family car, I guess is another way to phrase it?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated, and you do not have to respond quickly (or at all! )
The Prius is fine to carry 4 people comfortably; I have very occasionally had 3 people in the back, which is a bit tight but feasible. I have driven 300km without stopping; it works.
5.30l l/100km calculated (rather cold weather, refueled early on motorway (I saw biodiesel advertised for the first time there) to ensure that my passengers to the airport wouldn't miss their plane)
5.1 l/100km on Prius meter
28th refuel on the Prius:
845km, added 41.5 liters
4.91l/100 km calculated (unusually warm winter weather, a few unusual destinations, and special smog conditions restricting motorway speed to 90km/h (which I didn't realise and didn't respect on the way out, but did on the way back) on the last day may have helped towards the end).
4.8l/100 km on the Prius meter (dropped from 4.9 at the end, so pretty accurate this time).
Note: I started the next tank yesterday about 6km from home, then today I drove to my office, and after a while on motorway at 120km/h I realised that (contrary to media reports) the temporary 90km/h motorway speed limit for smog was still in effect. I (vaguely) respected it 10km into the trip to my office, went to get a sandwich where I usually get one, and then to my office, and I had a nice 3,9 l/100km avg upon arrival at my office. This demonstrates a HUGE difference between driving 120km/h versus 90km/h, and illustrates why the americans with lower speed limits and California weather get better Prius results. Tonight, I left the office (nasty uphill acceleration on motorway ramp made me lose several points immediately), and drove the normal 120 km/h, and I even had to put on the heat as it was getting cold. By the time I got home I was at 4.3l/100 avg (just on the edge of 4.4). We'll see what it will be at the end of this tank. Snow is forecast for this weekend, and next week I'll be driving far to Germany, same trip as I did last year at the same time.
illepall 
!
