Prius vs. Odyssey mileage test; one better than expected, the other worse
A South Florida CBS TV station followed a Toyota Prius and a Honda Odyssey around town for a day, checking the actual mileage against manufacturer claims. The
The test was hardly scientific, and the mileage standards against which the actual numbers were judged seemed off. According to www.fueleconomy.org, the Prius is rated at 60mpg city and the Honda at 18mpg city, so why were 50 and 20 the goals? Also, the Prius owner drove around by himself all day while the Honda mom had to tote children and run errands. Hardly similar tests.
[Source: CBS4
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Glenn 1:10PM (9/25/2006)
An apples and oranges test, yes. But the fact is, many people could actually find that a Prius could accomplish their daily "kid-taxi" routine, commute, grocery getting and bi-annual vacation and camping trip scenario with much more MPG than the huge so-called "mini-vans" that they often "think" they need.
I've had a 27" HDTV (IN the box) and a new Honda snowblower in the back of my Prius - front seats were NOT scrunched forward so I was on top of the airbag, either.
We need to (literally) start thinking outside the
box(y minivans and SUVs) in America, truly we do.
Reply
Guenther 3:44PM (9/25/2006)
In stark contrast, we took a previous generation Oddessy (03MY) on a trip from Ann arbor to Appleton, and the thing returned 27mpg with spitited driving. No argument that Hybrids make great city cars, but on the highway they won't do much better than an economized gasoline car, and cannot touch diesel performance.
GW
Reply
Cosmo Kramer 6:46AM (9/26/2006)
What I seem to never really read about hybrids is that they are great if you do mostly city driving, where the auto stop/electric drive comes in handy with the stop and go driving. If it's highway driving, you get some benefit but not worth the extra money hybrids are selling for.
Reply
Joe Herman 10:06AM (9/26/2006)
I have a Civic Hybrid and I do mostly highway driving (~80 miles/day, 70 of which is highway) and I find the mileage is better than the stock Civic. In good weather I averaged about 50 mpg, though my in-city mileage was less (~42 mpg)(Civics are mild hybrids). So, at least for Civics, the in-city rate is closer to the regular Civic than the highway rate.
Reply
MikeW 11:53AM (9/26/2006)
What is the requirement that the tire pressure used to test mileage be the one posted on the door placard? Is there one? Remember the EPA doesn't test the vehicles, the auto maked does.
Reply
Bill Geschwind 12:11AM (9/27/2006)
I have owned an '05 Prius for nearly 2 years now, and I find those comments that hybrids are poor highway cars simply not to be true. Now that my Prius is properly broken in, I consistently get above 50 mpg on the highway. The other day I drove about 250 miles non-stop on the Interstate going 65-70 mph and got 56 mpg doing so. In fact, I generally get even better mileage on the highway than in the city. My city mileage is usually around 46-50 mpg and my highway mileage is usually around 52-56 mpg. Even in situation where I am not getting the best possible mileage I can get from a hybrid, I'm confident that I am still doing far better than just about everything else out there.
Reply