Toyota corrects Prius mpg rating to 51 city/48 highway/50 combined
by Sebastian Blanco on Mar 9th 2009 at 2:23PM 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Toyota Prius
In our Prius info overload post from last week, we highlighted the official (though preliminary) mileage rating for the 2010 model, which Toyota had told us would be 50 mpg city, 49 mpg highway (they'd already revealed the 50 mpg combined number in Detroit). We just got an email from Toyota saying that a "misinterpretation of preliminary data" meant that "the EPA fuel economy numbers we gave you were slightly incorrect."
The combined rating remains at 50 mpg. This is an important number for all the advertisements we'll be seeing shortly, I'm sure. The other two numbers, though, were incorrect. Today, Toyota PR told us that:
While the combined rating of 50 mpg remains unchanged, the city rating went up one mpg and the highway number went down one mpg. Therefore the revised preliminary EPA fuel economy ratings for the new Prius are 51 city/48 highway/50 combined.
There you have it. A deal-breaker? Certainly not. A minor (very minor) disappointment? For some, probably.
Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius
[Source: Toyota]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jharlan 3:22PM (3/09/2009)
Still the best for practical gasoline powered cars
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paulwesterberg 3:14PM (3/09/2009)
That's the magic number, the new bar that all other cars will be judged by.
The change in city mileage from 48 to 51 is marginal, but improving 43 to 49 highway is impressive. I own one Prius, but am waiting to upgrade our other car until they have lithium batteries and a plug.
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Dave 6:46PM (3/09/2009)
Corrections in your numbers,
The 2004-2009 Prius is rated:
48/45 city/highway
The 2010 is rated:
51/48 city/highway
halamkajohn 3:57AM (8/11/2009)
I looked up chrysler k car 26 41 mpg 2.2 4 speed
Beeri Moalem 4:15PM (3/09/2009)
I get about 48 mpg on my 06 Prius... 50 is not a significant improvement. The "new" 2010 model updates are little more than cosmetics.
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Alex 6:51PM (3/09/2009)
If you are getting 48mpg. in your 2006 you will get 55mpg. in the larger 2010
Dave 6:46PM (3/09/2009)
You can't directly compare your fuel economy to the EPA numbers.
Since you get slightly better than EPA fuel economy numbers (48mpg vs 46mpg), you could probably expect to get slightly better than EPA fuel economy numbers on a 2010 Prius.
Of course, you don't mention whether your driving is split 45%/55% city/highway like the EPA tests are or not.
All that said - even if you are comparing EPA numbers 46-50mpg is not that significant at this low level of fuel economy. Though being able to travel about another 50 miles per gas tank would be nice.
Nick 8:41PM (3/09/2009)
A diesel Prius would be even better........because 4.7L/100km is good but not fantastic.
70mpg would be!
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R. Dean 7:59PM (3/11/2009)
Driving from Dearborn, MI to Princeton, NJ last summer, my ’05 Prius averaged 59.25 MPG...on non-mountainous trips 61 MPG.
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Mike Carlover 9:35AM (3/11/2009)
I am still wondering why Toyota is resisting the plug in hybrid.
Have the oil companies warned Japan that if they make plug ins (which may not use any gas depending on how far you go) they will punish Japan with higher prices and lower oil imports?
It makes no sense.
Plug ins and all electrics are the future so why does Toyota stick with obsolete technology?
Toyota should not be surprised with flat sales because I like others am not going to buy any new car that cannot run all electric on short trips. Period.
I have not forgotten 4.20+ a gallon gasoline or the obscene oil company profits.
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Herm 7:14AM (3/16/2009)
Because of the extra $6000-10000 cost and warranty issues of the battery... an people would start complaining that it "only" has a 40 mile range and the extra weight and so on... diminishing returns is the point.
I notice that with the 2010 model Toyota has positioned itself for an instant plug-in upgrade to the Prius.. they probably are watching lithium batteries very closely and are ready to pounce.
Ricus 12:34PM (3/11/2009)
I purchased an 08 and I get 44MPG when it is really cold outside, but I get 48 in the city normally (warmer outside) and 54 on the highway. I know that it is not supposed to be that good especially on the highway, but honestly it really does great. I drove it to Maine last year and it was just as confortable as my Camry. My second and older car (Camry) is due for me to replace since it is 8 years old and I plan on getting a 2010 or possibly 2011. I am excited about having 2 economical cars that are fun to drive.
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Sir.Vix 1:07PM (3/11/2009)
Does anyone know how well the 2010 Prius performs in ECO mode? The 2010 Insight gets a pretty big mileage jump (43ish to 60ish) when it shifts into ECO mode, which can definately make the difference in someone's choice when considering to buy one of those two cars. If the Prius jumps to 65-70 in ECO mode and while trying to drive with a light foot, that would be very important information...so it's just a surprise that nobody has mentioned anything about it yet...
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Ms. Green 11:53PM (3/11/2009)
I have owned a Prius since 2000. What do you say when people tell you that their batteries are bad for the environment and you might as well be driving an SUV. I assume that Toyota has a recycling program. I also tell them that all cars have batteries and are usually recycled given state, and local land fill regulations. I lack the "car gene" however, and don't have anymore reliable technical data at my disposable.
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Jim McCullough 2:29PM (3/16/2009)
48 MPG HWY? Ouch.. It's my deal-breaker. Toyota has the best and most hybrids today, but I'm waiting for better ..like highway MPG better than my last new 4-seat car..a 92 Honda Vx, now rated 49 mpg (orig 55 mpg, non-hybrid, non-diesel). Maybe I'll have to wait for a non-CVT hybrid ..maybe dual-clutch or GM-like 2-mode (clutched) or Volt-like (series, ER-EV)?
The Toyota system is great in lightly loaded city use, but seems to suffer in highway or (Highlander) towing use. I've heard the E-CVT is only 85-88% efficient..that's more like an unlocked torque converter in an automatic (ie electric slippage, if you please) and maybe 10 percentage points less than a clutch & gear tranny (either manual or automated).
100 MPG or BUST.
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halamkajohn 4:15AM (8/11/2009)
My dodge minivan only gets 33 mpg highway. The k car gets 40 mpg with a 4 speed . One time I was driving on the salt flats in Utah and the mini van appeared to get about 60 mpg. I dont have a seperate gas tank for tests. I drive a Dodge Dart that gets 25 mpg highway with a 3 speed at 49 mph. I can drive the Dart for 16 - 18 hours a day at 50 mph and travel about 900 miles a day for several weeks. I think the prius might pick up a few mpg if you attach a large piece of styrofoam to the rear. The profile does not appear to have pressure return.
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