2004 Toyota Prius: Running to Empty...Eventually

Glad you're enjoying your new ride, walkthewalk. The Prius certainly shines if your idea of fun is scoring high fuel econony numbers. In terms of the driving pleasure induced by keen dynamics--those qualities treasured by driving enthusiasts--the Prius is feeble.

The Prius is feeble in fuel economy department, too. Canadiandriver.ca recently took a long trip up to Chisasibi indian village on the shores of James Bay in northern Ontario. I took the same trip in my very old SAAB 900 and got slightly better fuel mileage than their Prius. Not to mention the fact that with Prius' tiny fuel tank they risked getting stranded because there is only one gas station in over 600 km. I missed that gas station on my way up there and was able to continue driving after using up my extra 20 liters I had in a gas canister in the trunk. Hybrids have fuel economy advantage in stop and go traffic in good weather. On a challenging high speed winding road in cold weather they suck as much or more fuel as far cheaper, durable and engaging vehicles. And I am not even talking about diesels. Diesels eat hybrids for lunch when it comes to driveability, practicality and economy.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/ly/jamesbay.htm

It depends on what type of driving you do. Canadian driver took a Prius and tested it in a worst case situation (extreme cold) and in the type of driving is not really designed for ( long trips). I agree a diesel would get better mpg on that trip (if it would start in the morning).
 
However for the huge number of people who spend their time stuck in stop and go city driving, the hybrid will beat the diesel in economy, and driveability. Practicality depends on what you are comparing. A Prius is more practical then a Jetta sedan but not the wagon.
 
To see a good comparsion of hybrid city fuel economy, check out this test..
 
http://drivingtelevision.com/?epID=312

Let's see - inspired by Who Killed the Electric Car and bought a Prius as a result.... Being kind to the planet is great but how about showing some of that same kindness to those pesky humans that actually live here. Maybe walk that walk too. BTW - Many drivers don't think "quiet and comfortable" is the same thing as "fun to drive."

Wow, that was a rude posting by Walk the Walk.
I value comments written by professional journalists who test dozens of different cars a month, than that of someone who feels that they have to validate their purchase in a public forum.
If you really wanted to save money, you could have bought a car like a Yaris or Fit that may not get as good gas mileage, but because they are about $10k cheaper on real purchase prices, you will be waaay ahead in terms of real cost. And they are much more fun to drive.
As for being more environmentally friendly, once the life span of any hybrid is up, there is that issue of recycling all those extra batteries...

Actually I think Walk the Walk is new to the long-term blogs so let's be nice. He obviously didn't get the point of our long-term program even though it states clearly at the top that these are "the editors' raw, real-world impressions of living with Inside Line's long-term test vehicles." As it is, mine IS just one person's opinion. And oh that I did own a Bimmer!
  
BTW, running to empty wasn't so much an assignment as it was a request.

Caroline,
I think you need to check on your driving tactics with the hybrid in order to drive the economy down and ultimately drain that tank. Check out this article from Hybridcars.com on maximizing mileage. http://www.hybridcars.com/gas-saving-tips/maximizing-mileage-toyota-prius.html
Then do the opposite of everything they recommend =).

ROFL @ heidis' post! Do the opposite indeed!! :-D

Have you read the maximizing mileage link?
"Make sure you are only going down hill"
"Attach grappling hook to back of semis on freeway"
"Open sunroof, unfurl sail"
"Turn off motor, get out and push"...
Not kidding, on my commute to work from Venice to Century City, Prius' are like rolling road blocks. You wonder why the traffic is only going 25mph down Venice Blvd, and sho nuff, it's cuz some Prius owner is trying to maximize his/her mpg.
Just get a push bike fercryinoutloud!

If walk the walk indeed saw the movie "Who killed the Electric Car", then he'd realize the point of the film was as much about the fact that a truly mass produced electric vehicle would be AFFORDABLE for the masses as well as kind to the environment.
 
In this department, the Prius, and almost all of its Hybrid counterparts fail miserably, save for possibly the VUE Greenline.
 
We have all seen the figures and it takes simple math to calculate that at their current price, it will take over 10 years to realize a cost benefit to any Hybrid. Throw in the fact that they dont actually get THAT much better mileage than your average gas car, and WORSE than your average diesel (which now has cleaner emissions also), the case for Hybrids fails pretty quickly.
 
Seems to me Hybrids were a quick answer to appease those who outcried over the end of the EV programs, while still keeping the ol' gas engine puttering in the same vehicle. Case of the wool being pulled over the public's eyes? I dont know... but I do know Hybrids seem to do more to tarnish the EV's legacy than to honor it.

While I agree the Prius is not perfect, your praise of pure electrics and critism of hybrids doesn't reflect reality.
 
The Prius does get a lot better mileage then other cars. Even lead footed magazine writers seem to average around 40 mpg while the test I checked of a 4 cyl Camry only got mid 20's. Since both cars have about the same interior space and cost around the same, I don't see where the 10 year cost benefit comes from.
 
In city driving, a Prius will easily beat any diesel available in North America in mileage (and completely blow it away in emmisions).
 
Cars like the EV1 only proved that the technology for electric cars is not yet here. The best description I saw of it was a Honda CRX with a 1 gallon gas tank and without the fun to drive part.
 
Even if you could make light weight batteries that would hold energy equivant to a tank of gas, I have yet to hear where all electricity will come from without generating more pollution then the gas motors it replaces.

I agree with you about the feasability of full electric vehicles, but my point was less about defending electrics and more about the fact that Hybrids as a whole have proven, in real world numbers, to be nothing more than a convenient stop-gap measure that only slows the process of finding a truly viable and cost-effective energy source.
 
In fact, I personally fall into the Diesel camp. Diesel vehicles are making tremendous strides in both economy AND environmental responsibility. Most importantly, they achieve this without un-necessarily inflated pricing, and environmentally UN-friendly battery packs (although recycling technologies are improving every day there as well). In a recent Edmunds article, a the Mercedes E-Class Bluetec was rated as being so good at only a 1000.00 price premium over the gasoline E350, that it was practically a "no-brainer" to go for the Bluetec car.
 
Im willing to bet that 1000.00 will probably be a point of negotiation at most dealers, so in most cases, customers will probably drive off the lot at right about the same price as the regular E350. As if that were not enough, the Bluetec E actually out-performed the Lexus GS450h Hybrid in the fuel economy department as well!
 
In that sense, I commend Honda for being the first to publicly announce the removal of their Hybrid star, the Accord Hybrid in 2009, to introduce their own Diesel interpretation in that car.
 
Do not misread me, Diesel is obviously not the answer for the world's reliance on fossil fuels, however in the short-term, it is more cost effective and even better in fuel economy terms than its Hybrid brethren. Better fuel economy still translates into less fuel stops, and that translates into a positive outcome for the environment.
 
Electric, Ethanol, Hydrogen... it does not matter to me which technology takes hold... as long as it happens sooner rather than later.

The Prius may be better in city driving, but the Prius is also the size of a small anthill. It just happens to be a VERY small car. You could put a tiny diesel engine in a Hyundai Accent and still achieve better results with the diesel, or at least marginally close. So I can't really defend full size SUV drivers that drive by themselves, but I would never expect every Tom, Dick and Harry to have to drive a Prius.