Top Gear's Opinion on the Prius

Is the Prius really worth it?

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Top
• Gear
• Prius
• Jeremy
• Clarkson
• James
• May
• Richard
• Hammond
• BBC
• Toyota
• Environment

[IdentifiableUser]

TOYOTA PRY-US

[neptronix]

You can hate on the prius all ya like, but nothing stretches out a gallon of gas farther than this car, at least in the USA market.

[DUBARTIFY]

@asmiddleditch ITS so much cheaper!!

[neptronix]

@forrest225

Perhaps you've never seen a solar panel. Please come by and see what i run my laptop, electric bike, and some other stuff off of.. it will make your brain explode :)

[neptronix]

@acenace24

Wow, you have a lot to learn buddy. Maybe go on wikipedia and look up hydroelectric, solar, and wind energy and get back to us. Not all electricity comes from coal, and 100% of our electricity can be produced with renewables.

[MaddDogg81]

@neptronix a Civic VX will do as well as a Prius

[asmiddleditch]

Why would anybody buy the little VW polo? The Prius is a much bigger, more comfortable car.

[asmiddleditch]

@MaddDogg81. Yes, like all the batteries you use in all the products you use. 95% recyclable btw...

[neptronix]

@JFinne9 I was at a place that recycles/repairs Prius batteries today actually. They send the bad cells off to Toyota, and replace the bad ones with new. Owner of the shop told me that the batteries from '01-'04 are finally just starting to die, but often replacing 1 or 2 little cells ( out of about a hundred ) patches up those old packs.

Potassium hydroxide is the electrolyte in NiMH, is also in alkaline batteries, which get thrown away after use in huge quantities, why? it's quite safe.

[neptronix]

@JFinne9 Not all hypermiling techniques are dangerous. Drafting is the best, but is not required to improve MPG.

I had a 250 mile commute for a period of time and managed to squeeze an addl. 5-7mpg out of my 4 cyl. cars on a long highway trip, without drafting. Gains on priuses are exponentially greater due to the higher efficiency of the atkinson cycle engine and regenerative braking.

Research it and get back to me. Or keep driving a 3/4 ton diesel truck and think you're saving the planet.

[JFinne9]

@neptronix Hypermilers use techniques that can be extremely dangerous, and can be used by any vehicle. For chits and giggles I tried, and drafting a Semi as these Hyper-milers do I got mid nearly 48mpg in a 3/4 ton Diesel TRUCK on a highway.  And for the amount of energy there is LESS harmful emissions in the diesel.

And while they recycle the Metal Hydride and Nickel Hydride the electrolytes are not, where do you think that goes.

I'll say it again. Status symbol, not solution.

[neptronix]

@JFinne9 I've seen claims of 50-60mpg highway ( more so with the gen 3 prius ), and some hypermilers have stretched the fuel economy into the 100mpg zone.

So who would you like to believe? how about you do some research and get back to me.

Diesels emit carbon, yes. They also emit more nitrogen oxides than any gasoline engine, and i believe sulfur oxide is a component as well, again not present in gasoline engine exhaust.

Research acid rain on wikipedia as to why NOx and SO2 are harmful.