2006 Toyota Prius from North America - Comments

This has been a very interesting column to follow, having lived in Europe and now Canada I think I can safely say that Europe is light years ahead in both car design and technology.

Last year we vacationed in Europe and the UK (myself, my wife and our two children) and for much of the time we had a hired Renault Megane (we owned Renaults prior to moving to Canada).I am not a slow driver by any means and the French roads allowed my to indulge my right foot a little.

I can tell you that with all four of us and our luggage we were getting about 65mpg with the turbo diesel! The car was super smooth to drive, great acceleration (just for the heck of it on one excellent and quiet section of motorway I took the Renault up to 165kmh and felt that it could still give me more) and did not smell.

It really frustrates me the protectionism of the big 3 here in North America, we should be allowed access to these great vehicles. Audi has a people carrier (looks a bit like a Honda element) that can carry eight and has a claimed economy of 80mpg (a diesel of course)...the vehicles are out there, we are just not allowed access to them.

"This has been a very interesting column to follow, having lived in Europe and now Canada I think I can safely say that Europe is light years ahead in both car design and technology."

Its not so much the fact that the companies don't have the ability to catch up its more the fact that these companies don't HAVE to advance in order to make a profit. What they're doing now makes perfect business sense in north america, you give the customer exactly what they want. They don't want what europe has.

Yup, the diesels here in Europe are incredible. We own the 7 seat MPV version of the Megane you hired, with the 1.9 litre dCi common rail diesel in it. This tiny engine makes 220 lb/ft of torque from 2,000 RPM and returns anything up to 50 mpg in a 7 seat MPV.

BMW have recently launched a 3.0 diesel with 286 horsepower and over 410 lb/ft of torque, yet still capable of over 40 mpg in some driving conditions.

Our bugbear in Europe is the limited rev range (few diesels will exceed 5,000 RPM), but in North America where big, low revving engines are common, this will be less of a shock.

OK, so diesels are popular in Europe and have tons of torque, my question is, how fast are they?? Since Americans like cars that actually have good power, remember our roads are long and straight so acceleration is what counts. Can your Renault Megane do 0-60 in under 8 seconds, and pull a trailer up a pass, while full of people, without getting bogged down? Those are the types of questions I would be asking. Personally I think my V8 SUV running on E85 would be faster and cleaner, but who knows...

Now that was a long read. If you have made it to my comment, God rest your soul.

The long and the short is:

If you are trying to squeeze every dime out of you car and gasoline, buy a cheap 1 liter / 4 cylinder compact. I don't care if it is gasoline or diesel. In the long run you will save money on the price of the vehicle, taxes, and insurance. You biggest expense will be repairs and up keep. Have a mechanic inspect any used vehicle.

If you are worried about the impending doom and end of the world, buy a hybrid. If you like it, buy it. If you want it, buy it. The hybrid may or may not get 60 miles to the gallon, but it will compete with any other vehicle out there.

This is not a political debate. Give a review of the vehicle if you have ACTUALLY DRIVEN IT.

Seth.

Bravo!!! I did read all of these and I have driven a Prius for about 4 months while my Acura was in the shop from an accident. Was it easy on the gas "yes" was it fast "It could not get out of its own way" was it a luxury car "No" expensive "yes" my choice "no" But in the end it was the choice for my best friend, and yes I will always give him trouble for wasting the money his parents gave him for a car for the rest of his life. In all I was impressed with the concept, but I will have to agree with our European buddies and demand that we see an improvement in the overall advancement of our cars. We have a long way to go and this car is just a diversion that will satisfy a few eccentrics in the mean time. "BTW my comparison was to my Integra with its 1.8 ltr engine and observed avg 30MPG"

Previous comment: "Do you REALLY think when gas is going to edge to $4/gallon or more people are going to rush out and buy SUVs? I mean, they just announced that if the US invades Iran gas will go to $100/barrel, meaning something like $5/gallon or more at the pump."

What surprised me most about this comment was not the increasing price of gas, but the possible invasion of Iran. Now that would be insane - the invasion, that is, not the price of gas!

A lot of comments on this site! Some good, some not so good. Certainly:

1. Hybrids are a step in the right direction. It's high time there starts to be alternatives to just gas. It's a step, but by no means the overall solution to the world's energy woes.

2. Of course hybrids are pricey, but I don't think that's what their buyers are concerned about. In terms of economy, it may make sense to someone who drives a lot (like over 30 000 km/yr) and "needs" a newer car for business purposes. A taxi cab or a real estate agent's car would be perfect use for the Prius.

3. On a straight economy point of view, several posters have pointed out (correctly) that older is the way to go. If you have an old, but good shape, 1980s whatever, you'll save on everything from depreciation (that's usually nil for a car so old), insurance costs (cheaper repair costs and lower value means lower premiums) and cheaper repair bills (simpler technology means most repairs can be done by backyard and independent mechanics). Even if your car is not very fuel efficient, if you can keep the rust of an old car, thus keeping it on the road longer, the savings will be in thousands of dollars! Gas prices will have to be WAY higher for a new car like a hybrid to make sense on a straight economic point of view.

4. A few Europeans have correctly pointed out that North America is missing out big time on the fuel economy of other cars around the world. The USA and Canada should drop all import restrictions on cars that achieve 5 L/100 km or better. Better yet, these cars should get the same enviro rebates that many States and Provinces already offer.

5. The best efficiency of all: Plan cities that are less car dependent. Cities (especially suburbs) in North America need to be totally rethought so that people can live, work and play all in the same area. Believe or not, driving the Escalade once on the weekend is way more efficient than commuting in the Prius 200 km/day!!

14:16 Thanks for an intelligent, well thought out comment, in my humble opinion. You hit a lot of major points.

Hybrids are definitely a step in the right direction, but the technology is considered transitional by most so called 'experts'.

And yeah, my Tacoma that gets 22 miles per gallon will have to do, because it's flawless, long since paid for, and I'm not about to burden myself with another car payment just to get another 10 or 15 miles the gallon. I guess my mileage would probably double according to what I've heard from most Prius owners (I make an effort to ask them what kind of mileage they are ACTUALLY getting, and it seems to be around 50 in the city and 55 highway), but still, mine is paid for, and having only 72,000 on a Toyota engine is nothing. It's just now breaking in fully.

HOWEVER, I do disagree with you about one thing: driving the Escalade on the weekends still is inexcusable. There is NO reason to own a pretentious, bloated, oversized, overpriced ego-maniacal vehicle like an Escalade. It doesn't matter how often you drive it, it's still wasteful.

Just like you said, other countries do better than this; a car is simply transportation, and once I can afford another monthly payment, I'll most likely buy a Corolla or a Civic and use the truck only when I need a truck for something.

Nr. 70! I made Nr. 70!

It's just to inviting to add another comment. I live in the US and I vacationed in Germany and France last summer. We rented VW Passat TDI station wagon with manual 6 speed and achieved 52 miles per US Gallon with 4 people, light luggage and air conditioner on at a cruising speed of 140 km/hr = 90 mph. It was fun to drive and once I took it to 225 km/h = 135 mph just to see what's in there! Audi Turbo Diesels win the Les Mans 24 hours all the time. Thanks, Rudolph!