Hybrid or Diesel for Motorway?
Discussion
Is there much benefit in buying an EV for motorway miles? I'm talking 200 mile trips (twice weekly). Will be mainly at 70-80mph. Am I going to be any better off than a diesel which will happily give me 45mpg without any concerns re battery life in the future?
I know the VED is free, but these claimed MPGs won't be at motorway speeds I bet?
Happy to be persuaded either way.
I know the VED is free, but these claimed MPGs won't be at motorway speeds I bet?
Happy to be persuaded either way.
My taxi driver friend said he'd never buy a Prius. Apparently quality and suspension are crap. That was the last year's model, not the new one.
I'm in a similar boat, 115 miles a day, but with LOTS of traffic, so a hybrid could work well. But I don't like the look and feel of Toyotas.
Plus my 3.0 V6 CDI returns 35mpg, so can't complain too much.
But the total commuting cost stings a bit.
I'd also consider a Golf diesel - I rented the Octavia with 1.6 lump and was mighty impressed with the mpg and how it drove, considering what it is.
I'm in a similar boat, 115 miles a day, but with LOTS of traffic, so a hybrid could work well. But I don't like the look and feel of Toyotas.
Plus my 3.0 V6 CDI returns 35mpg, so can't complain too much.
But the total commuting cost stings a bit.
I'd also consider a Golf diesel - I rented the Octavia with 1.6 lump and was mighty impressed with the mpg and how it drove, considering what it is.
Toyota has designed the battery in all their hybrid cars to be placed under minimal stress. They only ever charge to 80% and discharge to 20%, i belive the actual usable charge is only just over 50%. As a result they last ages (100k+).
No worries about turbos, clutch, DPF etc
http://www.hybridcars.com/toyota-prius-taxi-runnin...
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/02/th...
No worries about turbos, clutch, DPF etc
http://www.hybridcars.com/toyota-prius-taxi-runnin...
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/02/th...
cjcor said:
your taxi driver appears to had a bad experience with Prius. 7 years ago I lived in vancouver and virtually all taxis were Prius. I have travelled in a couple with well over 500k.
Nothing to do with drivetrain.Just suspension and general trim quality and durability is crap. Supposedly.
qska said:
cjcor said:
your taxi driver appears to had a bad experience with Prius. 7 years ago I lived in vancouver and virtually all taxis were Prius. I have travelled in a couple with well over 500k.
Nothing to do with drivetrain.Just suspension and general trim quality and durability is crap. Supposedly.
On the motorway at around 70mph I am getting about 60mpg. This is without cruise control, climate control on, no attempt made at eco-driving.
Given the choice between a diesel and a Prius I went for the Prius. For me the main factor, besides fuel economy, was reliability. In London there are Prius minicabs everywhere and the drivers take them to intergalactic mileages and claim that they never go wrong.
My local Toyota dealer claims that after selling thousands of Prius they have only ever done 2 battery replacements. One was a minicab where the driver had covered up the rear battery vents with seat covers and as a result it stopped charging. The other was a genuine replacement at 400k miles.
If your only mileage is going to be 200 miles of motorway twice a week then probably a diesel but if you are also going to be doing some other, slower drives then a hybrid would probably be at least as good mpg wise. I've got a Lexus CT200h (same drivetrain as a Prius) and have seen 55mpg in 200 miles motorway trips.
Factor in servicing costs too as you are going to be covering 20k miles a year. On some vehicles that is going to mean 2 or 3 services where as others it could just be 1.
Factor in servicing costs too as you are going to be covering 20k miles a year. On some vehicles that is going to mean 2 or 3 services where as others it could just be 1.
colin79666 said:
If your only mileage is going to be 200 miles of motorway twice a week then probably a diesel but if you are also going to be doing some other, slower drives then a hybrid would probably be at least as good mpg wise. I've got a Lexus CT200h (same drivetrain as a Prius) and have seen 55mpg in 200 miles motorway trips.
Factor in servicing costs too as you are going to be covering 20k miles a year. On some vehicles that is going to mean 2 or 3 services where as others it could just be 1.
I was surprised that my Auris hybrid (gen 3 Prius running gear) has a 10,000 mile service interval. Seems short for a car with an unstressed (99bhp from 1800cc), naturally aspirated petrol engine that won't let you thrash it from cold/rev the guts out of it/labour it etc, no friction elements in the entire drivetrain, and brakes that are subject to minimal wear thanks to regenerative braking. Factor in servicing costs too as you are going to be covering 20k miles a year. On some vehicles that is going to mean 2 or 3 services where as others it could just be 1.
What's the interval like on the Gen 4 Prius?
AmitG said:
Same - every 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. Does feel a bit unnecessary to me given the drivetrain is relatively simple, but on the plus side I expect servicing to be quick and cheap.
Seems to me that Japanese manufacturers tend to have shorter servicing intervals than Europeans. To be fair every other service is basically just an old change and with all the engine stopping and starting it and not always getting up to full temperature it is probably a good thing. raspy said:
If it helps, I just got a brand new Prius, and I was surprised to get over 70mpg on the motorway with radar cruise set at 70mph and the AC on. I have the model with 15 inch wheels which might be why it gets good economy. Driving it in London, I'm getting 90-100mpg.
Seriously?? That is excellent and much better than I thought. So cruising at 70mph with the aircon on and you get 70mpg! I doubt there's a diesel that's going to do that is there?audi321 said:
Seriously?? That is excellent and much better than I thought. So cruising at 70mph with the aircon on and you get 70mpg! I doubt there's a diesel that's going to do that is there?
Yes. One of the advantages of the new Prius vs the previous one is that it can slip into electric mode even at high speeds. So if you're on the motorway and are just cruising along on a flat bit or downhill, then it can stay in electric mode, hence the rather excellent mpg. It's 1 week old, so I hope to see this improve as the engine loosens up. Only one caveat, on my model they have fitted Toyo low rolling resistance tyres as standard, which seem to generate a lot of tyre noise (it could be that wind and engine noise are so low, that tyre noise is very noticeable) - before you place an order for a Prius (either 15 or 17 inch wheels) - try it on the motorway and make sure you're happy with it. If you do go for one, get one with a heads up display.
audi321 said:
raspy said:
If it helps, I just got a brand new Prius, and I was surprised to get over 70mpg on the motorway with radar cruise set at 70mph and the AC on. I have the model with 15 inch wheels which might be why it gets good economy. Driving it in London, I'm getting 90-100mpg.
Seriously?? That is excellent and much better than I thought. So cruising at 70mph with the aircon on and you get 70mpg! I doubt there's a diesel that's going to do that is there?My C350 will get around 80-90mpg sat at 70mph, with AC and radio on; but I'm only going 40 miles.
If I've got to do 130 miles, I return circa 40-50mpg.
Personally, doing 200 odd motorway miles, I'd be looking at a diesel. My 1.6 eco diesel Audi A3 would return 55-60mpg all day long.
Well, I have an Auris hybrid estate, so same running gear as the previous gen Prius. Overall real average MPG for me over the last 20 months and 37000 miles is just over 52 mpg. That's far and away the best of anything I've had before, including several VW derivative diesels. Motorway MPG can be weather dependent, so heavy rain and high winds have a negative effect. I did 270 miles on Monday, with a bit of a headwind coming back from Scotland, indicated average in excess of 58 mpg (70 on cruise).
I always find the display over reads, regardless of the car, and usually by some significant margin. The Auris is more accurate than most of the others though, being only 2-3 mpg optimistic.
For me, as someone who would never have considered a hybrid before, it's a bit of a revelation, so smooth and quiet to drive, and so responsive too. Quicker in normal driving than a regular 2.0 diesel (150 ish bhp), despite an apparent power disadvantage. I don't think I could go back to a noisy, sluggish diesel now, especially not a 1.6.
One thing I haven't mentioned though, is reliability. It's in a different league to anything from VAG, which, although have never let me down, all had niggly little issues that cost lots to get fixed. Even brand new ones started with problems after a few weeks. The Toyota hasn't put a foot wrong.
Servicing, even at the main dealer, is dirt cheap, like £220 for a major service (they're charged the same as a Yaris apparently), so 10,000 mile intervals is no hardship (better for the car if you ask me anyway).
They don't seem to wear the tyres much either, I'm just about ready for a new set after 37,000 miles. That's darned impressive whichever way you look at it, and I'm not gentle when it comes to corners and pulling out of junctions.
I always find the display over reads, regardless of the car, and usually by some significant margin. The Auris is more accurate than most of the others though, being only 2-3 mpg optimistic.
For me, as someone who would never have considered a hybrid before, it's a bit of a revelation, so smooth and quiet to drive, and so responsive too. Quicker in normal driving than a regular 2.0 diesel (150 ish bhp), despite an apparent power disadvantage. I don't think I could go back to a noisy, sluggish diesel now, especially not a 1.6.
One thing I haven't mentioned though, is reliability. It's in a different league to anything from VAG, which, although have never let me down, all had niggly little issues that cost lots to get fixed. Even brand new ones started with problems after a few weeks. The Toyota hasn't put a foot wrong.
Servicing, even at the main dealer, is dirt cheap, like £220 for a major service (they're charged the same as a Yaris apparently), so 10,000 mile intervals is no hardship (better for the car if you ask me anyway).
They don't seem to wear the tyres much either, I'm just about ready for a new set after 37,000 miles. That's darned impressive whichever way you look at it, and I'm not gentle when it comes to corners and pulling out of junctions.
Well guys I've bought myself a Lexus CT200h. Same engine as an Auris by all accounts, but with seemingly better build quality (having tested both the Auris seemed a bit plasticky).
I went for the 2015 model, and the F Sport, so it looks mint too (IMO). I'll report back with MPG from various trips over the next few days (I'll be doing about 500 miles of mixed driving).
I went for the 2015 model, and the F Sport, so it looks mint too (IMO). I'll report back with MPG from various trips over the next few days (I'll be doing about 500 miles of mixed driving).
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