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Happy 2008! Your Prius' Fuel Efficiency Just Dropped 16%
Old-school Detroit must be smiling just a bit right now. After decades of providing unrealistic fuel-efficiency estimates—those big numbers touted in magazine ads and printed in large fonts on the vehicle-details stickers in new car lots—the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally modified its method for calculating average miles per gallon, and the most fuel-efficient cars on the road have taken the biggest hit. Then again, they have a lot farther to fall.
The new method, which applies to all 2008 models and beyond, still doesn't quite reflect actual driving conditions, but unlike the old numbers, which basically reflected your mileage in heaven (or, if you prefer, in an idealized lab setting), the new ones take into account things like acceleration, winter driving, air conditioner use, and realistic speeds (ever tried doing 55 in a 55 zone on a moderate-traffic day? It's a recipe for abuse). Alas, the new formula appears to favor the gas guzzlers. Combined mileage for a 2007 Toyota Prius (automatic, 4 cylinder, 1.5 L engine) is down 16 percent under the new formula, to 46 mpg. The '07 Honda Civic Hybrid is also down 16 percent, to 42 mpg.
On the other hand, the Hummer, that very symbol of anti-environmental profligacy, didn't do as badly. The mileage for a 2007 H3 with 4WD only fell 12 percent. Its new EPA rating is 15 mpg.
Some of the very dirtiest dogs, the midlife-crisis vehicles, did almost as badly as the Prii, although to knock the mileage of a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti down 15 percent only required a drop of 2 mpg. It's a fast car, but with its new EPA rating of 11 mpg (premium gas), it'll drain wallets even faster. Ferrari's 599 GTB (automatic, 12 cylinder, 5.9 liter engine) got luckier; it only lost 8 percent in its drop from 13 to 12 mpg—and who drives an automatic Ferrari, fer chrissake! Meanwhile, Lamborghini's L-148 Mucielago (manual, 12 cylinders, 6.5 liters) dropped from 11 mpg to 10, a 9 percent loss. (You can find out how your own muscle car did here.)
The general trend was thus: The more beef under the hood, the less efficiency loss under the new calculation. The Ford Escape Hybrid and Toyota Accord Hybrid, which have bigger engines than the hybrid Civics and Prii, lost 13 percent EPA efficiency, leaving each with 27 mpg.
Now if only the agency could find a way to include guilt in its calculations…
It should be noted that a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti will not drain wallets any faster because only a formula of measurement was changed. This will not effect actual gas expenditures.
affect
Friends have a new Prius - older folks. They drive only a little and much of that around town (Tucson AZ) but they are getting very good mileage. As good as advertised.
As "science!" pointed out - they will continue to get that mileage with or without the calculations and recalculations.
The original model T Ford got 25 mpg. It shows how far efficiency has come.*
*sarcasm
Good Mileage aside.
The Prius and the others are tuned towards good EPA ratings, so of course they take a hit when MPG is recalculated. I wonder if those guys zooming by in their Prius on I-280 with 85mph think they still get those amazing MPGs. I know I beat them in MPG with my conventional car, but it requires taking Caltrain once a week and boy, that sucks
sometimes.
"I wonder if those guys zooming by in their Prius on I-280 with 85mph think they still get those amazing MPGs."
The Prius is backwards in that it gets the best mileage "in town" and the worst on the highway at 48/45.
FWIW
Toyota Accord Hybrid? Never heard of it.
Going 85 in any car will net you terrible MPG. Wind resistance increases cubically with speed, and really ramps up around 75. Besides, going 85 is rather unsafe, no matter what you're driving.
Using a few tricks, I can get 60 MPG out of my Prius at 65 MPH and >70 MPG at 55. Take that, new EPA estimates.
Hi PDK,
Well, no power to overcome air-drag increases cubically with speed. Air-drag itself only increases by a square with speed.
Yea, MJ is onto something here. The Prius is the only car I have ever owned that gets right on the old EPA ratings - 58 mpg combined, that even driving at 65 mph (rather than the old EPA test 55 mph) and using the AC (old EPA test has the AC off).
My previous car, a Saturn SL2 got 28 mpg driving this same route (which has regular slow-and-go traffic in spots) at the same maximum/average speeds. Even though the SL2 was slower and smaller.
So why does the new EPA rating impact the Prius so much more than SUV's? Seems like some kinda disconnect here.
My parents taught me a respect for the law. This country needs people who will obey the law, even when they know they won't get caught. But then I'm sure that's something you wouldn't understand. So let me put it this way. Keeping within the speed limit allows me to get 38.5 MPG, saving me money, saving the country extra pollution, and helping to send less money to terrorists.
Your title trolled me out. As others have noted, my milease won't change on my 2005 Prius. I get 48-50 generally, though cold weather and short trips can drag that down to 46 or so.
I actually got 42 MPG with a 16 foot sea kayak on top ;-)
Anyway, check out the "real world" mileage databases. Those are the ones who compile what MPG real people in real cars really get. The EPA manages one (called their "Shared MPG Estimates") and Green Hybrid runs another.
I'll think you'll find that the Prius not only gets the best reall world MPG of any car offered on the US market, it does so as a "midize" car (by EPA designation).
That's not a small feat, and I think your headline ultimately points the wrong way. Check out those other cars for their real-world mileage.
Viewing mpg changes in terms of percentage is misleading, because obviously 10 percent of 50 mpg is only half as much - in terms of actual fuel used - as 10 percent of 25 mpg.
In fact, under the new rating system, the Prius' mpg advantage over traditional cars actually increases.
For example: The new rating system drops the 2006 Chevy Suburban 1500 2wd from 17 mpg to 16. This looks trivial compared with the Prius' 9 mpg plunge from 55 mpg to 46. But what this actually means is that the average Suburban uses .0625 gallons per mile instead of .0588 - an increase of .0037 gallons per mile. Meanwhile, the average Prius now uses .0217 gallons per mile instead of .0181 - a slightly smaller increase of .0036 gallons per mile.
That's one few comparisons I've found that's even close, The 4wd version of the Suburban, for instance, drops from 16 mpg to 14. Relative to the Prius, that's well over twice the additional gas consumption - about the same increase as with the Hummer H3.
I regularly get over 50mpg on the highway (and our Imperial gallon is 4.5 liters, not only 3.8 liters like a U.S Gallon, so in US Gallons it would be in the late forties per gallon) out of our new diesel Volkswagen Golf with DSG auto...why the hell would we buy a Prius that costs more and uses more fuel, just to "feel green"...?
This is odd, the fact that the formula seems to favor gas guzzlers is interesting. I'm not being conspiratorial, but how do we know that the formula wasn't created to favor them so people will go back to buying gas guzzlers. I'd like to see an independent organization test the cars.
Gosh, I'm sure my government would not recalculate mpg in way that favors our gas guzzlers and oil companies, would they?
spelling really took it to science
My 2001 VW TDI Golf 5 speed gets 39-44mpg around town and 50-57 mpg highway (best was 60mpg!)
I got 54 MPG with the AC doing over 70 last summer! The handling and braking are vastly superior to the Prius and usable power is typically better also - hence it is a safer car. TDI technology is the one that holds global and national long distance mileage records. Prius betters it in stop and go NOT highway.
Whn I first bought my Prius I drove it from Reno t oSan Jose at high speeds (75 average and as high ass 90 to san jose and stil got 48.5 MPG I have never seen it go below 48 no matter how fast I drive
Whn I first bought my Prius
tagged as:- solution
- result
Whn I first bought my Prius I drove it from Reno t oSan Jose at high speeds (75 average and as high ass 90 to san jose and stil got 48.5 MPG I have never seen it go below 48 no matter how fast I drivetiffany jewelry
tiffany and co
It's no wonder the new
It's no wonder the new formula hits fuel efficient vehicles hard as it takes into account haveing the A/C turned on. The A/C unit in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti might very well use the same amount of power as the A/C of a fuel efficient hybrid vehicle.
Adding a constant fuel consumer, the A/C, to the calculation will hit the more efficient vehicle a lot harder percent wise.
Another factor to consider is that inherently inefficient vehicles like SUV:s, trucks and sports cars might not use much more fuel regardless how you drive them as the majority of fuel is used to just to keep that big engine running :)
There's a gas mileage calculator here that you can use to calculate your real MPG in case you don't like to do the math yourself.