Edmunds Prius V vs JSW

[glennco]

Edmunds did a comparison between a JSW and the upcoming Prius V. I must admit the test had a bunch of flaws, but they are definitely TDI fans.

http://www.insideline.com/volkswagen/jetta/2011/comparison-test-2012-toyota-prius-v-three-vs-2011-volkswagen-jetta-sportwagen-tdi.html


Enjoy

 

[TDIinMA]

Comparing a hybrid "appliance" with a TDI? Please..

 

[mischievousMk6]

I don't understand how these magazines always manage to get such low MPG's.....I regularly get 35 MPG around town, and thats with a lot of hard accelerating. No babying the throttle, its just too much fun!

 

[ToeBall]

I don't understand how these magazines always manage to get such low MPG's.....I regularly get 35 MPG around town, and thats with a lot of hard accelerating. No babying the throttle, its just too much fun!

Well, it is a new engine, they take a bit to seal up.

 

[B25guy]

yeah, I wish they'd test them after they've had a year or 20k miles to break in some. Mine, for example, was averaging 39.5 mpg combined last year this time...now I'm averaging 44.3...same route/temps/driving style.

 

[yatzee]

I don't understand how these magazines always manage to get such low MPG's.....I regularly get 35 MPG around town, and thats with a lot of hard accelerating. No babying the throttle, its just too much fun!

because they kick the crap out of them.....

 

[TDiSkater]

Don't forget, we DSGers pay a little price for that in economy, but agree I am regularly over 36 and lately near 39 mpg around town. However, you have to use instant fuel consumption to watch foot pressure. I'm always amazed traveling at 40mph, I look down and my instant readout is 29 mpg. I lift my foot so the load drops ever so slightly and I'm still at 40 mph but the readout shows 44.5 mpg. Takes some practice to get our high numbers. And no babying from me - so no worries about engine. She gets a good run up 2 or 3 times a day. Great thing about the Load feature in Scanguage.

 

[meowguy]

I could not say it better myself except to get the mpg number right. Many of us are getting way more than the 33mpg combined figure quoted. This is mostly because many TDI buyers are long distance highway drivers. Still 33mpg beats many other cars/suv's etc. that provide the performance of our TDI's.

 

[kjclow]

I "loved" reading through the comments with the article. A very heavy prius crowd over there. To me it all comes down to how the car responds to my driving habits. Sure the dsg can be a little funky but it's still better than the snail paced prius.

 

[numl0ck]

snail paced prius.

Funny you should say that. I would probably need two or more hands to count the number of Pri-i (plurlal of Prius ) that I have seen flying by at 80mph with NY or NJ plates. I have to wonder how fuel efficient they are at those speeds. I know I can get 40+ on a long trip averaging around 75, but I don't see that in a Prius. Seems like they either drive them at 55 or 80, nothing inbetween.

 

[nikhsub1]

Then there must be something wrong with my car I average below 30MPG. I do only have 2900 miles on my car though.

 

[kjclow]

Best thing for improved mileage, other than miles themselves, is to back of the accelorator.

 

[securityguy]

Before purchasing my TDI, my wife and I drove a new 2010 Prius loaded. It was nice but, after driving the VW, we looked at each other and said this is a no brainer...VW TDI all the way

 

[P0234]

I've owned 30+ cars. The one I hated the most was my Prius. It took every bit of fun out of driving. I resent the fact that I bought it and kept it so long.

 

[kjclow]

I feel the same way about my 05 corolla! Even running it into the guardrail wasn't enough to get it out of my driveway.

 

[mysql]

I don't understand how they get those poor fuel economy numbers. I got similar numbers towing a 1500 lbs trailer with a sofa and two chairs in it!

 

[kjclow]

I only hit about 28 mpg with the U-Haul trailer. Loaded or unloaded did not seem to matter.

 

[mysql]

I got 29-30 mph on the highway with it. Avg for that tank was 32 mpg.

 

[TDiSkater]

Then there must be something wrong with my car I average below 30MPG. I do only have 2900 miles on my car though.

I had this conversation with a friend yesterday thinking about getting a TDI. I told him - the first 10 minutes of driving is brutually inefficient. Sunday I had to make 5 stops with less than 10 minutes run time between stops. My MPG for that trip was 27. That was my worst trip readout ever. Even with bad construction and no hwy I'm 35+. That instant readout is key to getting CR numbers up, if you drive more locally than on the hwy (especially if you have a DSG). You can't just "drive".

I wonder if ScanGuage can get me the formula for throttle position. Doesn't seem to work on its own with SGII, so I look at Load for now. Amazing how small foot positions yield amazing numbers. I worked it great this morning and I was 39.8 on my trip into work. Its almost like playing an arcade game. Pisses my wife off if I comment on the readout as we are traveling.

 

[mysql]

^ Strongly agreed!

My drive to work is about 19 miles. Halfway there my avg1 reading is around 32 mpg. When I get to the office it's usually 38-41 mpg. If I worked 30 miles from the office, my FE would be even better.

 

[KITEWAGON]

Then there must be something wrong with my car I average below 30MPG. I do only have 2900 miles on my car though.

Stop and go LA traffic? Lots of idling? Lots of A/C?

 

[glennco]

One thing is for sure about the folks over at Edmunds. You seldom see them not working their cars hard. A car like a TDI with the feeling of decent performance is going to be worked even harder. 31 doesn't surprise me one bit.

I also agree with others regarding the poor cold-mileage.

 

[fastalan]

Naturally when you drive a hybrid car, your mentally as a driver is to save fuel and try to get the most out of the fuel mileage. When I drive my TDI, fuel saving is actually not really a priority.

 

[rtking]

Had an Altima Hybrid. Supposedly the most sporty of the hybrids at that time. Drove well, but completely soul-less. One drive in the TDI and I was hooked. And I'm getting better hwy mileage than the Altima ever did.

 

[frugality]

Then there must be something wrong with my car I average below 30MPG. I do only have 2900 miles on my car though.

Don't feel bad. I worked for Fisker Motors in Irvine for 5 months last summer, and I was getting an average of 30mpg with my then-new Sportwagen. I proved that the EPA numbers of 30city/41highway were really true.

Then I came back to Michgigan and averaged 39mpg in the dead of winter -- but that was with more highway miles, too.

Now I'm averaging low-to-mid 40's in the summertime.

It's the city miles that are killing you. If you really get it out on the highway outside of the L.A. bowl, you'll get 40+.