The King of MPG is Being Challenged

[bestmapman]

The fuel econony tide is rising

Jud Engels - CleanMPG - Jan. 10, 2012

The once mighty Prius is not as formidable as it once was.

The MPG king is being challenged. As the undisputed MPG king for several years now, the iconic Prius is starting to be challenged by many vehicles. Although still at the top of the heap, the tide is rising and the once high and mighty Prius is not perched on the lofty peaks that it once was. This week at the NAIAS, with the unveil of the Ford Fusion Hybrid with 47/44 MPG and the VW Jetta Hybrid with 45 combined MPG , the once lofty Prius, although still the leader in fuel economy with 51/48 MPG, is not as secure as it once was as the "King of MPG." The unveiling today of the Prius C, with an announced 53 MPG , has not significantly furthered the lead that the Toyota Prius has on its competitors. The once mighty King of MPG does not seem as dominate as it did a few years ago.

Clearly in the next few years, there will be many advances in fuel economy by all the manfacturers and Toyota will have to step up to the plate to stay in the fuel economy lead with the Prius if it wants to keep the title of "King of MPG."

[ALS]

The issue is once some one sets the height of the bar everyone else has to meet or beat that first mark. Point is the Prius came out in 1997 and everyone still is playing catch up 15 years later. Will they put something on the road better than what Toyota started with? I sure hope so for what they are spending on R&D to compete with the Prius.

[Carcus]

The sub $19,000 (Prius C) price is going to mean more than a few mpg past 50 bragging rights.

Truth is...once you get past a 40ish mpg (real world combined) you start rapidly entering diminishing returns in your annual fuel u$age.

After crossing the 40 mpg (real world combined) threshold-- reliability, performance, purchase price, etc.... will re-emerge as front line considerations for most "fuel economy conscious" shoppers.....especially now that plug-ins are "blurring the bar". (IMO, of course)

[WriConsult]

These vehicles may be closing in on the Prius but they're not there yet.

The Fusion costs considerably more, and is a mere sedan with limited cargo capability (and IIRC non-folding rear seats).

The Jetta costs heaven-knows-what to buy, is also a mere sedan (until the Golf and/or SportWagen versions come out!), and will cost hell-knows-what to maintain as it gets older.

The Prius, widely available for $22,900, is still king. For now.

[topcfo]

A limiting factor for some will be the 9.5 gal tank on the Prius c... I drive 120 mi a day so it won't get me a work weeks worth of travel on paper...

Steve

[Harold]

That little c may give great #'s to people who understand the drive system! Steve: how often do you get over 10 gal in a Prius or Camry? H

[ALS]

My Prius gets me 55-57 mpg at 60 mph and 60 plus mpg at 55 mph.

Still much better than anything else on the road today.

450 - 500 miles per tank isn't something I would complain about even though the Prius C only has a 9.5 gallon tank.

130 miles per day means you would use < 12 gallons per week with the Prius C

If you buy a car that gets 40 mpg you would use a little more than 16 gallons a week.

52 weeks X 4 gallons = 208 gallons X $3.50 per gallon = > $708 per year.

[Carcus]

Originally Posted by WriConsult

These vehicles may be closing in on the Prius but they're not there yet.

The Fusion costs considerably more, and is a mere sedan with limited cargo capability (and IIRC non-folding rear seats).

The Jetta costs heaven-knows-what to buy, is also a mere sedan (until the Golf and/or SportWagen versions come out!), and will cost hell-knows-what to maintain as it gets older.

The Prius, widely available for $22,900, is still king. For now.

I'll make the case for fusion hybrid:

Pricing -- isn't out yet, and Ford has said they're bringing hybrid production "in house" .... sooo? I'm not expecting Fusion to be under Prius, but they (ford) may close the gap. [I'm not hanging my hat on this one, recent history has shown Ford pricing themselves out of the "common man" market]

Cabin comfort -- The fusion has more room for peeps, all the way around. AND the rear seats DO fold down for pass through.

Aesthetics -- subjective, but I think the masses will prefer the looks of the Fusion over Prius.

Power/handling -- fusion is up 50 hp over Prius, Ford is calling it a "driver's car". Of course that's sales pitch but my guess is the Fusion will be a clear winner here.

Visibility -- (actually a big item for me) -- narrow A Pillars, straight belt line, regular sedan, Fusion likely to be better

Cabin noise -- bigger (and most likely heavier)_ car, Fusion likely to be better.


Some Prius/Fusion numbers compo's at bottom:
http://www.c-maxenergi.com/2012/01/f...th-fusion.html

[Carcus]

Originally Posted by ALS

My Prius gets me 55-57 mpg at 60 mph and 60 plus mpg at 55 mph.

Still much better than anything else on the road today.

450 - 500 miles per tank isn't something I would complain about even though the Prius C only has a 9.5 gallon tank.

130 miles per day means you would use < 12 gallons per week with the Prius C

If you buy a car that gets 40 mpg you would use a little more than 16 gallons a week.

52 weeks X 4 gallons = 208 gallons X $3.50 per gallon = > $708 per year.

130 miles per day at 55 mph means you're likely averaging no more than 40 mph. That would mean 130/40 = almost 3 1/2 hours per day sitting in a car!

I think I'd come up with another solution.

[basjoos]

Hopefully this trend will continue, although they still have a long way to go to match the 90's mpg at 60mph and 60's mpg that my car gets at 80mph. I wish I was able to buy rather than have to build to get a car with this level of mileage.