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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg The big news is that the 2010 Toyota Prius (base price $22,000) secures a straight sweep by achieving essentially the same fuel economy regardless of driving environment. (http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/153866/article.html)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_Prius-III_front_and_2009_Prius-II_behind.jpgJames Riswick - EDMUNDS (http://www.edmunds.com) - August 8,2009

Like we didn't know this --Ed.

A lot can change in one year. In May 2008, we had the idea to bring four frugal, fuel-sipping cars together to determine which was the most fuel-efficient and the cheapest to run, and which did better in specific driving conditions. While the EPA's fuel economy estimates are a good guide for determining a car's overall thirst for fuel, we wanted to do our own controlled testing to see how different types of cars performed in the real world.

Indeed, the results of the original Gas Sipper Smackdown were telling, but the cars were hardly the sort most Americans could actually consider buying. The Smart Fortwo was frugal, but it was blown all over the windy desert and it didn't sip enough to counter its myriad compromises. The Ford Focus was one of the cheapest, most efficient American cars on the market, but it was an unimpressive rehash of a nearly decade-old design. The VW Jetta TDI was a used car and a previous-generation model since no non-luxury diesel car was then on sale. The eventual fuel-sipping winner, the Toyota Prius, was bound for a complete redesign.

Fast-forward to the summer of 2009 and things have really changed. Not only are fuel prices much different (especially diesel), there are more green-oriented vehicles than ever, with even more technologies introduced to get the most miles out of the least amount of fuel. We decided to revisit our cage match of fuel sippers, this time with a new and/or redesigned roster of green players to see how each did in our meticulous fuel economy testing.

We changed the name to Fuel Sipper Smackdown to reflect that diesel isn't gas and to leave the door open for future smackdowns when other alternative fuel technologies can make it to Las Vegas and back (sorry, no electric cars yet). The goal wasn't necessarily to determine a winner, but to find out the areas and environments in which each car excels and just how thrifty it really is.... http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/153866/article.html

Since when does shifting between 2500 and 3500 RPM count as "relaxed shifting??"

I see that they did note a 6.8mpg discrepancy between calculated and FCD indicated mileage in the Prius -- good to see a major publication highlight this confirmation of what we are seeing. Hopefully Toyota will address this soon!

Hi ALS:

___THe TDI beat the Prius-III in our Cross country drive although it was very very close. The HCH-II would have taken both of them out.

___In the city, the insight-II and TDI are toast which showed in Edmunds report.

___Nice to see the Fusion pull so close to its EPA as well.

___Finally, Edmunds drive like a bunch of lead foots to get such low numbers. IIRC, one of them was in Carefree for the Insight-II launch and they were not even making the time limits with low FE to go along with it???

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Wayne;

I totally agree.

In their defense: Huh, well... at least the Edmunds staff is very consistent; and among the ever present inaccuracies (technical and otherwise) also found in this report, they continue to do an excellent job of upholding their legacy of mediocrity in matters of fuel economy. :rolleyes:

Cheers;

Hi Wayne,

I'd love to know how fast those highways speeds were. Might be the reason why your TDI run did comparably better to Edmunds run. If they were running 70-75 mph I can see how they got such low MPG's at highway. If it was me running these highway tests I'd limited the speeds to 65 mpg on cruise control. I feel the results would have been higher by three to five or more mpg's and all would have beaten the EPA highway numbers.

Hi ALS:

___The Prius-III's avg. speed with a slight headwind on the way to Harry's home was 54 mph before having to turn around twice on his block.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/555_5_miles_-_70_9_mpg_-_53_mph.jpg
70.9 mpg at 53 mph over 555 miles...

___With a stronger headwind coming back a few days later.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/2010_Prius-III_at_a_rest_stop_with_Flags_blowing.jpg
Head winds shown by the flags behind the Prius-III...

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/72_8_mpg_over_815_9_miles_at_44_mph.jpg
815.9 miles at 72.8 mpg and 44 mph average speed.

___Some of this was your time behind the wheel as well.

___Subtract 6 from the FCD's for actual of course :(

___I am not sure about the Jetta TDI's average speed but I suspect it was around the 45 mph range with all the stops removed. It was also loaded with gear and 3 or 4 individuals (3 of us over 200 pounds). The SportWagen had a stick vs. the DSG and that gave us a nice advantage as far as what we could use technique wise as well.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Best guess from you guys- does the current TDI get poorer mpg that the one generation older TDI.

Thanks
Charlie

Hi Charlie:

___I believe it (the 09 Jetta TDI) allows less FE than the 07 and prior year TDI's but Mike Sefton and Jud would best be able to give you those details.

___The Audi A3 in Europe can still be purchased with the older 1.9 or the new 2.0 and the 1.9 achieves higher FE numbers on the NEDC.

___What you gain with the new 2.0L TDI in the 09 Jetta is less NVH, clatter, far lower emissions, better drivability, performance and probably much improved reliability.

___Our Jetta TDI review is almost up and we discuss some of this in greater detail.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Wayne,
I was referring to the speeds that the Edmunds drivers were traveling during their highway mileage tests. Sorry for not being more specific, my bad.

Al

Hi Al:

___Probably my bad. I misinterpret quite a few responses to threads around here ;)

___Since they posted no pics of the Prius-III's FCD after the all-highway drive (I am sure they took them however...), we may never know. I suspect there 65 mph average speeds were in the low to mid-50's range actual with any impediment including the initial take off from stop and final slow down to a stop.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Charlie, overall the new TDI is less efficient than the old 1.9. The big power increase and emissions decreases had to come from somewhere. I think that on a purely highway drive, the two engines will be close. In the city, I'd give the edge to the 1.9.

Hi folks, long time lurker and newish Insight-II owner (and member over at insightcentral.net). I had to respond to this article...!

(remember that I have an Insight-II bias)

Something that seems to have been overlooked in the article is that the 2010 Prius in their test failed to achieve claimed EPA once. Contrast that with the Insight which returned equal or better EPA fuel economy on two of three tests (I consider "backroads" as "highway").

This article substantiates the off-EPA statistical deviation being reported on Fuelly.com for the Prius. Coupled with the mis-reporting fuel economy computer on-board the Prius (yes, I am aware the Insight computer is off by as much as 3mpg) and I can't help but be annoyed.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Prius. If I had had $10,000 more dollars to spend I would have been strongly tempted to buy one instead of the Insight. I think almost all hybrids are a great first step in the right direction.

However, with all the crap-reviews that the Insight has been getting in the press (that don't seem to reflect most of what fellow Insight owners experience) it bugs me that the one "killer" Prius feature, its "outstanding" fuel economy, is... well... an exaggeration, at best. Sure, it's better than the Insight, but not as much as Toyota claims it to be.

Sorry about the rant... I love the website, love hypermiling, love hybrids...!

JP

Hi JP:

___Welcome to CleanMPG!

___I believe it was C&D that gave the nod to the Insight-II vs. the Prius-III in a head to head but their attribute scoring was FUBAR imho.

___That said, the Insight has a lot going for it but the one area where it has its @$$ handed to it is price. It cannot beat the Prius on the highway and especially around town. It does not have the same safety features, amenities and especially size when trying to compare the $22,0000 Prius-III to the Insight-II EX for just $700 less $'s.

___If only we could turn back the clock so that Honda could remove their mistake of pricing the Insight-II at $19,800 instead of the $16,900 it should have started at and price the EX at $18,400. They would have been flying off the lots and the subcompact HI-II vs. mid-sized P-III comparison would not have reared its ugly head. A $20,000 LX without CC and an armrest let alone VSA and TRAC is not a good value by comparison to the Prius-III's $22,000 with all of that and a much more sophisticated drivetrain and fuel economy capability. I drove the $22,000 Prius-III as shown above and the only item I missed was NAVI... Unfortunately you have to buy the Prius-III w. package-III to add NAVI which adds another $2,800 + or so to the package-II.

___Finally, all the vehicles are rated per the EPA, not the manufacturers so they achieve what they achieve on the 5-cycles tests.

___As stated above, the VW TDI is rated at just 41 highway vs. the HI-II’s 43 and Prius-III’s 48. In our own reviews, the TDI can best the Prius-III on the highway. Around town, the Prius will kill it. I have not driven the HI-II other than the launch in Carefree but I suspect its all-highway numbers will not match the TDI either?

___Good Luck

___Wayne