Toyota Prius Mileage at 51/48 mpg has helped to sell over 2 million of the hybrid cars. Total Toyota EV and hybrid sales have topped 3 million units! But just how good is the mileage compared to new models coming out? How much will money and pollution can you save by driving a Prius?
Miles per gallon, or per battery pack for that matter is pretty much controlled by: weight, design shape, wheels, the powertrain, and how the car is driven. The Prius has increased miles per gallon through advanced engineering and integration of electric and gas powered systems. The result is a very complicated and somewhat pricey car that gets great fuel economy.
How good is Prius mpg compared to advanced design gas only powered cars? We list and compare three Prius models to four gas powered cars.
The Three Prius Cars
Since we first wrote this page, two more Prius models have been added to the lineup.Like the three bears: the small Prius C, the Prius standard and the big Prius V wagon. It is interesting that Prius models still use nickel metal hydride battery packs.
The Prius C
The little Prius. This smallest and least expensive Prius hybrid gets the best mpg of all.
The Prius C is a The car also performs a bet less well than the more powerful larger versions....always a tradeoff.
The nano Prius is still big on features however. The car offers the latest in Toyota entertainment and communications systems, climate control, displays and keyless entry capability. For driving flexibility, the car has three driving modes that maximize power and economy: Normal, Eco and EV mode. Normal blends ICE/electric power, Eco maximizes the engine, and EV mode allows about one mile of electric motor only travel.
Comparing The Price
Most consumers these days are motivated by price. Notice that the Prius is more expensive than all the gas cars listed. Price for the 2012 Civic HF is estimated. Note also that these prices are only estimates, they may vary a lot.
Lets look at the price of the Prius vs price of the other gas cars listed, and time to payback.
Since most of the cars are $17,000 or less, and the Prius is $23,000, lets use $6,000 as the price differential between the Prius and new gas cars.
If you drive 15,000 miles per year in a Prius, you will burn 300 gallons of gasoline. At $4.00 per gallon, that gas will cost you $1,200. At $5.00 the gas is $1,500.
Driving Chevy Cruze for 15,000 miles will use 385 gallons of gasoline. That will cost you $1,540 at $4.00 per gallon, and $1,950 at $5.00 per gallon.
The price difrference? At $4.00 per gallon, $1,540 - $1,200 is $340. At $5.00 per gallon, $1,950 - $1,500 gives $450.
As you can see, the difference in the fuel savings is not great. Time to payback of the price difference between the Prius and any of the gas cars listed is over 10 years at 15,000 miles per year, and price per gallon listed.
Comparing The Pollution
Some consumers these days are motivated by pollution concerns. One of the main measures of pollution is carbon dioxide output of the gas engine.
Lets look at the price of the Prius vs CO2 output of the other cars. The Cruze will use 85 more gallons of gas per year than the Prius. At 20 pounds of CO2 per gallon, the Cruze will put some 1,700 pounds more carbon into the air than the Prius. At the other end, the Elantra will put around 2,500 more pounds of CO2 gas into the atmosphere than the Toyota Prius.
The average difference of 1,700 and 2,500 is 2,100 pounds or about one ton. How much is one ton of CO2 gas? Check here.
Wanna put even less stuff in the air? If yes, then follow the theme of this site which is walk, ride a bike, ride an ebike, take public transport, or drive an EV.
The chart below shows the Toyota Prius Hybrid on the top row. The rows below show four 2012 models, their engine sizes, city/hwy/average mpg, weight, and price. These new cars are turning out respectable fuel economy numbers.
The Prius tops the chart in mpg. However, the Chevy Cruze is just 12.5% behind in highway fuel economy. The other cars under the Cruze are close. The city mpg figures are somewhat less, with the Cruze returning 70% of the Prius mpg, and down from there to the Elantra giving just 56% of Prius economy.
The Prius - standard version
The standard Prius is still a gas economy leader. The 1.8 liter gas engine mated to two electric motors gives readings of 51/48 mpg city/hwy. The Prius offers any number of amenities and becomes increasingly popular as gas prices rise. Looking back 10 years, the 2002 Prius achieved 42/41 city/hwy mpg. So, today you can have a more powerful Prius with more options that gets better fuel economy than initial models.
The Prius V
The big bear of the lineup, the Prius V provides some 34.2 cubic feet of storage - over a cubic yard and as much or more than some small SUV types. The car also offers folding rear seats for longer items. Storage space increases to 67 cubic feet. The car comes laden with electronics and offers many options in five different trim levels.
As for fuel economy, the expanded size of the car will set the driver back around 10 mpg over the Psius standard version at 44/40 city highway. The Prius V competes with the Ford C-Max hybrid which lists nearly 100 cubic feet of storage and mpg estimates of 41/36.
