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Aren't these driving conditions, i.e. high-speed long distance, exactly what Prius does NOT get good mileage?
Yeah, high speed driving does severely cut into mpg on the Prius, as do headwinds, cold weather, rain and snow/slush. Those things affect mpg for all vehicles but the Prius even more because of its terrific gas mileage with ideal conditions.
I drive my Prius 25-30k miles per year in all weather and road conditions -- in town, on country roads, secondary highways and interstates, summer's heat and winter's wind, cold and snow. Interstate speed limit here is 80 so that's where I keep the speed; secondary highway speed limit is 70. On spring/summer/fall trips where the speed is 70 I'll hit that magic 50 mpg figure, but in the winter, with temps below freezing and a stiff wind, it can fall slightly below 40 mpg at 80 mph -- still not horrible and probably better than most any other car not tethered to an AC outlet.
My wife asked me the other day how much it was going to cost us to drive to the Oregon coast this summer (mostly interstate driving at 75-80 mph). I used 44 mpg to figure fuel costs. That's fairly conservative, but it assumes we'll have some wind, probably a little rain, and the car will be packed to the brim with camping gear. Tires, being small, are cheap. Oil is changed every 10k miles, so that'll be cheap too.
My last daily driver was an F250 PSD. I loved it, but it was expensive to operate (even being diesel) and had become a nightmare for repairs. I was through with that and wanted cheap, dependable transportation. I couldn't care less that the Prius is a bit on the ugly side, nor that it takes awhile to get up to highway speed. It's cheap to operate and has so far (61k miles) been wonderfully dependable. It won't pull a 5th wheel camper and it won't break through many 5' snow drifts, but I knew that in advance. For the reasons I purchased it, it's been 100% perfect.
The Ford C-Max certainly seems to have been a failure, I never see them on the road. I guess we'll see if Hyundai can have any luck with their Ioniq (also Kia Niro).
So last night I was talking to my buddy who's a parts manager for a big Infinity dealer here in town...
He explained that some of the hybrids "aren't really hybrids" like the Prius.
What he meant is this: The Prius runs on the electric motor until additional power is needed. That's when the gas engine kicks in. Other hybrids run on the gas engine until additional power is needed. That's when the electric motor kicks in.
Totally different results, regarding fuel economy.
Obviously that's one reason that some of the hybrids aren't as popular.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
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Quote:
Originally Posted by southernnaturelover
The Ford C-Max certainly seems to have been a failure, I never see them on the road. I guess we'll see if Hyundai can have any luck with their Ioniq (also Kia Niro).
I own a C-Max Energy plug in hybrid in the Bay Area. I see probably 20 a day, including the 5 that are in electric car parking here on campus. It's a fantastic car, great infotainment system, great seats, etc. Not a lot of ground clearance so not the choice for areas that get a lot of snow. The issue with the C-Max is that Ford does zero marketing of the vehicle in the US. In Europe they are popular cars, especially in the UK where I see them all the time.
Because of the total lack of US marketing, used prices are dirty cheap. I would strongly recommend this car for anyone looking for an efficient, reliable commuter.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stonepa
I own a C-Max Energy plug in hybrid in the Bay Area. I see probably 20 a day, including the 5 that are in electric car parking here on campus. It's a fantastic car, great infotainment system, great seats, etc. Not a lot of ground clearance so not the choice for areas that get a lot of snow. The issue with the C-Max is that Ford does zero marketing of the vehicle in the US. In Europe they are popular cars, especially in the UK where I see them all the time.
Because of the total lack of US marketing, used prices are dirty cheap. I would strongly recommend this car for anyone looking for an efficient, reliable commuter.
We have the C-Max as company pool cars, so I have driven them and agree, they are decent cars for local driving. We also have some Civic Hybrids, and unless they have improved a lot since those we have (2011-12) I would not recommend them. Parking is a chore, because of the drag on the brakes from the regenerative system, it's almost impossible to "inch forward" without smacking into the car or wall in front. They have also been surprisingly troublesome with minor problems like trim falling off, windows coming out of the door channels.
Most of them probably won't even get driven that much.
My weekend / show car gets driven about 1K miles a year and just about every weekend from May thru October I'm going somewhere.
There are multiple Hellcats at any decent size show or cruise-in.
So, you are comparing what is basically a hobby car with a workhorse, functional vehicle. Apples and oranges. Each has its own place.
I'd never buy or want or be interested in a Hellcat (unless you mean my Maine Coon cat in an imperious mood), while my Prius serves me very well on a daily basis, both for short and long-distance driving. But then, I don't take it to car shows or cruise-ins, and would find them boring (though I did enjoy a visit to the Corvette Museum shortly after the sinkhole cave-in few years ago).
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140
We have the C-Max as company pool cars, so I have driven them and agree, they are decent cars for local driving. We also have some Civic Hybrids, and unless they have improved a lot since those we have (2011-12) I would not recommend them. Parking is a chore, because of the drag on the brakes from the regenerative system, it's almost impossible to "inch forward" without smacking into the car or wall in front. They have also been surprisingly troublesome with minor problems like trim falling off, windows coming out of the door channels.
Regarding the issues, are you talking about the C-Max or the Civic? I haven't had any of the issues you mention with my C-Max.
The Civic Hybrid is a failure and it has been discontinued years ago. The MPG just isn't there because Honda could not match Toyota on several patents they have with Hybrid tech.
You could get similar MPG to the Civic Hybrid with most non-Hybrids today.
C-Max has reliability issues and MPG ratings because they wanted to make the car less hybrid like so it drives better but sacrificing MPG.
People just don't realize that you can get good MPG with a regular car just by not hitting the gas too much and not braking too much.
Braking often kills mpg. I often drive and see people using the brakes too much on the roads. They hit gas to a certain speed then brake to slow it down. Just let off the gas pedal and don't use the brakes unless you need to. Prius has regenerative braking which puts energy back into the battery.
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