Fuel-Efficient-Vehicles.org

The 2010 Toyota Prius getting 56+mpg

Hybrid Superstar - coming in May - Shines Brighter
March 26, 2009

FEW cars on the road today have been genuine game-changers, but the Toyota Prius is certainly high among those that are.
Not only did the Prius help to prove that hybrid gas-electric powertrains can be feasible, reliable and desirable, the car has become the object of cultlike affection and a social statement. In the decade since the first Prius was introduced in the United States, more than 1.2 million have been sold worldwide. According to Toyota, 8 out of 10 Prius owners say they would buy another.

In keeping with its plans to increase hybrid sales to one million a year in the next few years (from 241,405 in 2008), Toyota is introducing a third-generation Prius in May.

Toyota says the new car completed the government's test cycle with an economy rating of 51 m.p.g. in city driving and 48 m.p.g. on the highway. Combined mileage came out at an industry-leading 50 m.p.g. In much of the nation these days, you can fill the Prius's 11.9-gallon tank for less than $20.

But get this: in my road testing of the new Prius, I managed 69 m.p.g. That happened on a 34-mile route of mostly stop-and-go driving, at an average speed of 27 m.p.h.
Akihiko Otsuka, the Prius's chief engineer, had claimed to average 62.9 m.p.g. on the same route, and issued a challenge to top that. When I and my fellow auto writer crushed it, he asked what technique we had used. "It seems to respond well to pulse-and-glide," I said. He grinned and nodded. "It works," Rick Kranz agreed. "But it's a good way to make everyone carsick."
My co-driver for this exercise, Rick Kranz of Automotive News, drove a steady, conservative speed on the route and averaged 56 m.p.g.

Emissions are also cleaner, although California still rates the Prius as a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle. (It's a Partial Zero Emission Vehicle when running in electric-only mode).

Perhaps more significant, the combined city-highway rating is 50 m.p.g. That easily beats any other car sold in the United States -- it is 8 m.p.g. better than the No. 2 contender, the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Consider, too, that the Prius is slightly larger than its predecessor, weighs 122 pounds more and has a bigger engine. So how can it get 5 more m.p.g. than the model it replaces?

For one thing, the car's fractionally greater girth is put to better aerodynamic use. Sharp creases on the corners streamline airflow over the body, as does a longer spoiler, flat underbody panels and an optimized roof arch.

Moving the roof's peak farther back also created more headroom in the rear seat. A bit more leg and shoulder room has also been carved out.

The Prius weighs a bit more (it's now 3,042 pounds) because of added crash protection measures. The car would have been heavier if the drivetrain hadn't been lightened by 20 percent.

Also, the Prius's 98-horsepower gasoline engine (a 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle in-line 4) is more powerful than the previous 76-horsepower 1.5-liter motor. Net horsepower, including the boost from the electric motors, has jumped to 134, from 110.

Efficiency is further improved by eliminating drive belts for the air-conditioning compressor and the water pump, which is now electric. The nickel-metal-hydride battery pack is smaller and more efficient, as is the power control unit, electric motors and transaxle.

The electric power steering unit is more precise, and changes to the front suspension also improve steering control and on-center feel. As a whole, the Prius, which now rides on a version of the midsize car platform shared with the Camry and the Lexus EX and RX, handles more like a real car and less like a science project.

How much will this markedly improved package cost?

That is another good question that has more than one answer. Prices have not been announced, and the most basic version, to be called Prius I, will not be available until later this year. It is likely to be priced comparably to the base 2009 model, which was $22,600. (Toyota said last week that it was planning a hybrid version of its Yaris subcompact that would compete more directly with the less expensive Honda Insight.)

The mainstream version that goes on sale in May will be the Prius II, in the mid-$20,000 range. From there, there will be Priuses III, IV and V, with additional luxury features and higher prices.

But wait, as the infomercials say, there's more. Stand-alone options like a navigation system, solar-cell roof ventilation, pre-collision automatic braking, radar cruise control, lane-minders and automated parallel parking are all in the works. Fully loaded, the Prius will easily top $30,000.